MARK MOLINA | STAFF WRITER
When Hugo Ramirez left Lopez to become the defensive coordinator at Rivera, he was going to choose his defensive players base on who made an impression on him.
It didn’t take long before strong safety Damian Juarez, a three-year sub varsity player, would be on the new DC’s radar.
Juarez didn’t have many endorsements from those who knew him, but Ramirez didn’t care and trusted what he saw.
“When I got here, I noticed him but people would say ‘No, no, he’s not a starter,’” Ramirez recalled. “I said ‘I don’t know any starters from last year.’ I’m here new, so nobody’s a starter. (Juarez) did everything I told him to do on full speed and I was like ‘Man, I like that kid.’ I kept hearing he was not a starter, but in my book he was because he goes all out and that’s all I ask from the kids.”
Juarez was thrown into the proverbial deep end that is varsity football and has swum, becoming an asset in the secondary while putting his best foot forward to make a lasting impression on his teammates and make every snap count during his lone varsity opportunity.
“I try to bring the fire on every play and I try to get everybody pumped up for every play,” Juarez said. “I feel teammates can feed off what I bring and my mentality to get ready for every play and go again 100 percent all the time.
“This year has been a very big moment for me. I’m really just trying to show everyone what I can do. A lot of people never believed in me and this year, I’m trying to show them different.”
The first-year varsity safety has made the most of his time in the secondary so far, recording three interceptions on the season.
Juarez is proud of the feat, but knows it’s a simply a small reward from a position that can yield some unforgiving results.
“It feels great because not a lot of people can play secondary — it’s a tough position,” Juarez said. “Because you’re either going to make a good play to help out the defense and the team, or you’re going to make a bad play that might cause everyone to go down. You just have to make sure to keep your head up and nit’s everyone’s job to be there to pick up anybody on the entire defense after a bad play and get ready for the next one.”
This season has had its share of bad plays against a tough non-district schedule, which concluded with games against big-play offenses like Sharyland Pioneer and La Feria.
Still, Ramirez said Juarez has kept the right attitude on the field, which is no surprise seeing as the senior defenseman has his future ahead of him as he will attend Texas A&M after high school.
The Rivera DC said Juarez is a prime example for players to come.
“(Pioneer and La Feria) are on fire, but this kid (Juarez) goes out and has a lot of confidence,” Ramirez said. “Believe it or not, he’s also dropped like two or three more (interceptions), but he’s always right there in position. He’s an awesome kid, man. I will use him as a role model and he’s a kid that has everything aligned, everything set and everything planned for his future.”