BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
Sharyland Pioneer’s season opener last Friday marked the first game of Tommy Lee’s tenure as head coach and was his first game as a head coach in 10 years.
Lee and his team figured they were running into a buzz saw with a road game against Harlingen High on the schedule. The Cardinals made many forget that they missed the playoffs last season with a 64-17 victory on Friday.
“Harlingen’s a senior ballclub,” Lee said. “They have 40 seniors on their sideline and a bunch of other kids who played a lot last year. The final score didn’t indicate how we played. We could have scored some more points, because we had almost 300 yards of offense. We made some rookie mistakes that’ll happen when you have a young team. We were in spots to make plays. We just have to make them.”
The Diamondbacks allowed 534 yards on defense, including 389 through the air.
“We have to do a better job of tackling,” Lee said. “A lot of their yardage was on plays right on the line of scrimmage. We’re not as strong as we need to be, but we’re working on technique and other things that will make us better.”
Sophomore quarterback Eddie Marburger showed some promise and youth in his first career varsity start, throwing for 145 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
“It’s not easy to go down to Boggus Stadium and play, for him or any of our other kids,” Lee said. “We had nine sophomores that got action against Harlingen. They played well in certain spots. They’re only going to get better with each varsity game that they play.”
After seeing time as a running back and wide receiver, senior Jacob Rosales played quarterback once the game was out of hand. Rosales completed just 4 of 9 passes, one for a touchdown to fellow senior Diego Perez, with an interception.
“We’re going to do the same thing, which is to give them both an opportunity to play,” Lee said. “As far as who starts this week (against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln), we’ll have to see Friday.”