KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — The Cardinals used a little bit of magic to pick up a 32-30 win over La Feria Tuesday afternoon at Victor Park. Wide receiver Joe Reyna began the scoring for Harlingen and hauled in the winning touchdown in the final minute against the Lions.
Big Red began the Harlingen 7-on-7 league with a win and will now play San Benito Thursday at 8:00 p.m.
The Cards can punch their ticket to College Station for the first time since the 2012 season if they win their state qualifying tournament this weekend in Mission. The state 7-on-7 tournament will be held at the Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station and will begin June 28th.
While it will be a small preview of the Battle of the Arroyo, the Cards main focus is this weekend’s state qualifying tournament in Mission.
“This week gives us some practice reps for this weekend’s tournament,” Reyna said. “In this league we will get a feel for teams that are in our district and some teams that are not in our district. I enjoy playing 7-on-7, I just miss the contact, I like to get hit and I like to give hits.
“We have talked about making state, last year we just missed the tournament, so we’re determined to make it this year.”
Harlingen High will be in Bracket I along with Edinburg North, Laredo United, PSJA Memorial and Sharyland Pioneer.
“As a defensive back there is only so much you can do,” said cornerback Justin Munivez. “We work on communication, and chemistry. The back end is one of the most important positions on the field so it is important that we take care of business. I believe in our team and I feel we can make it to College Station.”
Along with the speedy Reyna, Damon Cantu provides height at the receiver position and can take snaps at quarterback. Jaime Galvan will play the quarterback position, and on Tuesday, the lefty displayed his strong arm and was in sync with his offense.
Defensively, Munivez leads the secondary while linebacker Marcos San Miguel anchors the middle. Munivez will be teamed up with Pedro Luna who displayed his speed in the secondary.
“Chemistry is important, and that is something we are working on,” Reyna said. “It takes a lot of work for a quarterback and wide receiver to get into sync, but right now Jaime (Galvan) is on page with the offense and us receivers.”