KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — With the NFL Preseason in full swing, week three of the preseason means one thing, dress rehearsal.
It’s commonly looked at as the final preseason game that coaches and fans will get a strong look into the crystal ball on what they can expect from their team.
Such is the case for the Harlingen Cardinals.
Harlingen took the field this past weekend in a tri-scrimmage against Weslaco and PSJA Memorial and will have their final scrimmage before they kick off the regular season at home against Sharyland Pioneer on Aug. 31.
Harlingen will host the Sharyland Rattlers out of District 16-5A DII. Tonight also marks the 2018 home opener for the Cardinal faithful. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
“Absolutely we look at it as a dress rehearsal,” said Harlingen coach Manny Gomez. “Every coach in America should look at these games as a final tune up before the regular season starts next week. We need to make sure we’re limited to our mistakes and know where to line up and not have any alignment issues.”
Harlingen has vamped things up on both offense and defense with the regular season beginning next week.
Justin Munivez and Jose Garcia have provided some speed in the secondary, while Tristian Garcia and Cameron Anderson have provided a strong push up from along the defensive line.
“For one, we come across teams that like to run a lot of screens, and we are a defense that likes to blitz a lot, but we blitz with a purpose and my main thing is effort,” Gomez said. “On the front side, anyone can play football; it’s the backside that is important as a defender. The effort on the backside is one thing I’m looking for on both sides of the ball.”
Senior Wide receiver Joe Reyna is primed to have a strong year and is in sync with his quarterbacks and is one of the leaders on this year’s team.
“Our quarterbacks and I have worked out and spent a lot of time over the summer on building chemistry and working on our timing,” Reyna said. “We ran some things we liked offensively in our scrimmage last week and we’re looking to continue that on Friday.”
Reyna will be a key piece to what Harlingen wants to do offensively and against Sharyland, it be a good tune up for the Cards offense as they are meeting one of the top defensive units in the Rattlers.
“I got nothing but love for coach Ron Adame, it’s like a family affair we go way back,” Gomez said. “We are able to help each other out, the main thing is to get it right and the bottom line is we need to be prepared and execute.”