BY MARK MOLINA | The Brownsville Herald
The Hanna defense has been a large part of the team’s success this season and senior middle line backer Jose Cruz has been quite literally in the middle of it all.
For the third-year varsity veteran, that means a lot of responsibility.
“ I feel like I’m the quarterback of the defense,” Cruz said. “I call the plays; I have to know every position and where to put them to limit mistakes. I also just have to go out there and play out.”
Cruz definitely has played out this season and last.
As a junior, he finished with 105 tackles, 11 for a loss and three sacks on his way to being a District 32-6A first-team selection.
In five games this season, the senior is on pace to do the same as he leads the team with 56 total tackles including 35 solo tackles and 11 for a loss.
Hanna head coach Mark Guess said Cruz has a nose for the ball and despite his size ( 5’7”, 160 lbs), is as strong smart and is as athletic as they come.
From stats to physical abilities, Cruz has all the tools to play linebacker, but his demeanor on the field is probably his biggest contribution.
“ The intensity that he has in practice is what really picks up the level of play from the other guys,” Guess said. “He doesn’t accept anybody else taking off a play — he does not stand for that. If they do, he tells me ‘Coach, we have to get them out of here, they’re not going hard enough.”
Coming into the season, Hanna lost some heavy hitters on the defensive side of the ball, leaving room for players like Cruz to not only step in as senior leaders, but fill the production void as well.
The senior didn’t shy away from the challenge and did his homework to ensure he was up to the task after doing a great deal of growing during his time with the program.
“ I watched way more film than I did last year and I’ve gotten better tremendously,” he said. “I’ve had to know other players’ responsibilities and my own responsibilities and make better calls. I feel like I’ve changed a lot. The game is just an instinct now. I don’t think twice about doing stuff and I just react — everything comes by itself.”
While a standout and a leader with much responsibility, Cruz recognizes he’s not in it lone as the defense has the tools to be as good as and even better than last season’s squad that helped pace the way to the post season.
“ It’s been a good year having good players on defense take off some of the tasks from me,” the senior defenseman said. “I don’t have to always be relied on to make the play and they’re all just as good as me there at the right place at the right time. The defense from last season left some pretty big shoes to fill, so everyone wants to fill them in and be better. As a result, we have a lot of people stepping up and playing out.”
As of right now, the Hanna leads the district in total defense, allowing just 257 yards and 16.8 points per game to opposing defenses.
Guess said that comes from the unit being stingy and taking scores on them personally.
Cruz agrees and said that having opposing offenses scoring on them erases all the work they’ve done to prepare.
“ All of us together want one thing and that’s a perfect shutout in a game,” he said. “When you practice against each other hard all week and then go into the game and get scored on, it hurts us personally. We gave up all that time practicing and by mistakes that we made, it costs a touchdown. Everything that happens on the field is personal, because we give our time, blood, sweat and anger. We all try our hardest for each other.”
The defense will go as Cruz goes and the feeling around the Hanna locker room believes that they can be the driving force of a district title run.
Hanna won’t guarantee that they will eventually hoist the trophy, but Guess said Cruz has the defense and the rest of the team feeling that anything short of it will be a waste.
“ We only take it one game at a time and we want to get this game against Harlingen and (Cruz) really feels we could get that and the district championship,” he said. “That’s his mentality and that’s what he spreads to the others around him. He’s as good as he wants to be and he’s a pretty darn good linebacker that’s for sure.”
How good does Cruz want to be?
It’s simple — the best.
“ I want to be known as the best linebacker to go to Hanna High School,” he said. “I want to leave a legacy for that No. 40 to be represented.”