By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — The Harlingen Cardinals have been clicking during the last month of the season, winning four straight games en route to earning a share of the 32-6A tri-district championship.
The driving force has been the defense, which has allowed 11.5 points per game and pitched two consecutive shutouts to end the season.
It’s only fitting they meet one of the top defensive teams in District 31-6A to open the playoffs in a contest against Edinburg Economedes tonight at Boggus Stadium.
“I know they scrap on defense and that’s what we want,” Harlingen head coach Manny Gomez said. “We want to be able to accept challenges and then apply challenges to our opponents. It’s the playoffs and there’s no going back to the drawing board—you have to get it done on every opportunity, series and quarter to get it done.”
Economedes allowed the fewest yards per game in District 31-6A this year, but turnovers on offense led to many struggles for the Jaguars this year.
Unlike Harlingen, the Jaguars don’t have much momentum after losing three of their last five district games.
The matchup is favorable for Harlingen, as Economedes ranked near the bottom in total offense with less than 280 yards per contest heading into the final week of the season.
In Week 11 they were able to hang 35 points on Edinburg North just to qualify for the postseason.
Meanwhile, Harlingen has shutout Brownsville Lopez (48-0) and Harlingen South (20-0) to end the district season.
But the Cardinals aren’t dwelling on that stat heading into tonight.
“Our responsibility is to stop the offense, but as a team we want to be at our best in every part of the game,” Gomez said. “The mentality is to be at our best and see what the outcome can be if we give maximum effort. If it presents itself, you can keep a team scoreless, but we won’t hang our hat on that stat.”
Harlingen, as a whole is a well-rounded team.
On offense, the Cards will present Economedes’ defense with a stiff challenge.
Harlingen has recieved productivity from several playmakers throughout the season.
Running back Leo Tienda led District 32-6A in rushing with 1,344 yards and 16TDs, while receiver Michael Allen Gonzalez had 1,007 all-purpose yards and 11 TDs this year.
At quarterback, Jesse Castro has thrown for more than 1,300 yards and had the district’s highest completion percentage (65.1).
Even with the solid numbers, Gomez feels his team hasn’t peaked on offense.
“We haven’t played our best game and know we have to play better if we want to succeed in the playoffs,” Gomez said. “Every coach feels like their team is playing their best football, but I can honestly we aren’t. Hopefully, we can go out Friday and overcome some of these obstacles.
“Only time will tell, but we know we’ll go out there and play as hard as we can to try and win this football game.”