KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — The Harlingen 7on7 league wrapped up Thursday evening, and now the focus can shift towards August 6th, which marks the first official day of high school football in Texas.
10 teams all took part in the two-month season and got a feel for the upcoming season. San Benito was one of the top teams in the league.
The Hounds rolled through their schedule with a 10-2 record and finished as the league champs in division I. San Benito elected to pull out of the league with two games left due to strength and conditioning.
Rio Hondo got off to a slow start, but finished 9-3 overall and may have found some answers on offense. New starting QB Josiah Ortega showed improvement with this his receiving core and will look to continue that trend.
“In our first game we didn’t do so well but we improved over the summer,” said Senior running back Danny Vasquez. “We had a new quarterback and a few new guys, but we got better and came together. We got in sync, Josiah did a great job on offense, and we’re excited for the season.
“As a senior this is it for us, we want to go out there and give it our best.”
La Feria, like Rio Hondo, showed some offensive fire power with young gun slinger Dorian Hernandez. Hernandez is slated to be a junior this year and was in sync with his offense and is looking to take the next step.
“Over the summer we learned we can depend on each other,” Hernandez said. “We were able to see what each guy can bring to the table, and everyone had a role. We were able to see some opponents that we will see in the fall. We also showed we can compete with the bigger schools, and that makes us better. Now we can focus on the upcoming season and we’re expecting big things.”
Of the 10 teams, Raymondville was the only team to punch their ticket to the state 7on7 tournament in College Station. The Bearkats, like the Hounds, pulled out of the league after the state tournament, to focus on the upcoming season. Despite pulling out of the league, the Kats like the Hounds were two of the top teams over the summer.