KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Toughness was the first word Harlingen head coach Manny Gomez used to describe the 2018 Cardinals. With a new season come high expectations for the Cardinals as they do every year.
Last season was an odd year to say the least, the Cards missed the post season for the first time since the 1999 season, and the first time Harlingen missed the postseason under Gomez, who is entering his 11th year.
Make no mistake; Big Red is motivated as ever to prove last year was an anomaly.
“We don’t live in the past, we don’t harbor any feelings from the past by any means,” Gomez said. “We learn from it, this group of kids right now, they have a whole different mindset and it was all based on the offseason, we learned and moved on from it.”
This year the Cards will look to either Damon Cantu or Jaime Galvan to lead the Cards under center. Last year Daniel Ramirez directed the offense and is now graduated.
Sticking with the offense, four starters return from last season, while eight starters on defense will be back.
Senior wide receiver Joe Reyna will be one key piece to the offense this season. Last season the speedy Reyna hauled in seven touchdowns on 28 receptions for 482 yards. Along with Reyna, Dalton Mann, Cantu and Galvan will also look to make plays through the air.
“Every day is an opportunity to get better,” Gomez said. “We didn’t have things go right defensively today, but hey it’s a chance to get better and learn from it. Sometime you learn more from a loss, early on we can’t be over confident, it’s important that we stay humble to a point where we grind every day.”
Historically the Cards are known for having a hard hitting defense. Expect the Cards to find that form once again.
Tristian Garcia and Cameron Anderson make their return to the defensive line while hard hitting linebacker Marcos San Miguel will look to anchor Big Reds defense. Justin Munivez and Jose Garcia will patrol the secondary providing the Cards with speed at the defensive back position.
“Anytime you have kids that are battled tested, it helps,” said Gomez. “With experience, comes confidence and when you have that you have kids that are confident and that allows them to play fast.”
Harlingen will begin their season August 31 at home against Sharyland Pioneer with the kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m.