KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
The time has finally come, the 2019 football season is here and area teams are gearing up for another season.
Here are a few area games to keep tabs on. Lyford will travel to Santa Rosa, Harlingen South will host Edinburg High, San Benito will be home to Corpus Christi Calallen, Rio Hondo welcomes in La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, La Feria will travel to Raymondville and Harlingen will play at Sharyland Pioneer.
Cards and Hawks have strong camps
Harlingen South enters their regular season opener with some swagger and confidence. After a strong camp the Hawks will meet Edinburg High Friday night at Boggus Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Both Edinburg High and Harlingen South both made the playoffs last season. Last year Edinburg High 34-21. Edinburg High finished 7-4 last year and went 3-3 in district play.
Keep tabs on senior QB David Torres as he makes his return from an elbow injury he suffered last season, Torres is fully healthy and a three-year starter. Along with Torres will be their speedy defense.
“We had a great week of practice,” said South coach Brian Ricci. “This first week are concentrating on special teams but this week has been great and I love the way the kids attitudes have been, they are running around and we are excited. Edinburg High is a good team and they are well-coached. They have some size up front, their defensive line is good and I know they graduated some kids but so did we.”
Across town, the Cardinals also checked in a fine camp. Big Red will kick off their season at Sharyland Pioneer Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Richard Thompson Stadium.
The Diamondbacks are a young squad looking to have a true breakout season under second year coach Thomas Lee and are in their sixth season as a program. Last season, Harlingen thumped Pioneer 64-17 to kick off the season.
One thing fans can keep an eye on will be the quarterback play. Harlingen’s signal caller Jaime Galvan had his strongest camp to date and will meet junior QB Eddie Lee Marburger. The Cards will look to running back Rayden Berry and wide receiver Justin Galvan to help generate the Cardinal offense.
“The guys you are talking about, Rayden and Jaime literally lived in the weight room and got in a lot of running when everyone else is watching. They have gone above and beyond and it shows. We have had other kids work hard busted their butts and it all shows. We have had a lot of young kids get in work with the upper classmen and they see the work ethic and seeing it translate to the field.”
Rio Hondo and Lyford look to open season on a winning note
Lyford will travel to Santa Rosa Friday at 7:30 p.m. to kick off their season. The Bulldogs edged the Warriors last year 13-6 in Lyford.
This season the Dogs’ enter the season with experience and a little chip on their shoulder. The 2019 pack will be led by junior QB Cayleb Klostermann along with Abel Mendoza who will lead the aerial attack and on the ground Devon Mendoza will lead the rushing attack.
The Warriors will counter with wide out Mike Bermea and running back Jose Diaz-Mendez will look to make plays for Santa Rosa.
“We are feeling good, the kids are excited to get out and play under the Friday night lights,” said Lyford coach Israel Gonzalez. The kids have been flying around all week and at the same time we are making sure the kids take care of their bodies. We wanted to make sure we were on point on Monday and Tuesday. Those are our work and teaching days and Wednesdays are our polishing days but we have had a great week of practice with a lot of intensity and the kids flying around.”
Meanwhile in Rio Hondo, the Bobcats just might have found that confidence they were looking for. The Bobcats will host the Huskies Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
Despite Rio Hondo being a 4A school and Juarez-Lincoln being a 6A school, the two have a familiarity with each other. Last year the Bobcats took down the Huskies on the road 41-21 and managed to pitch a second half shutout.
This year Rio Hondo’s question mark was at the quarterback position. On Friday sophomore QB Zachariah Rios will be the starting quarterback. Along with Rios, Ethan Reyna, Smiley Rodriguez and Jonah Ortega all have found their form over the last few weeks.
“We played a really good team in Lyford and I thought the kids played great on both sides of the ball,” said Rio Hondo coach Rocky James. “We had some big plays on offense and we saw some more urgency and that was one thing I was excited to see.”