LOS FRESNOS — Just one week into their preseason, the Los Fresnos Falcons have looked like they haven’t missed a beat from the end of last season.

After a strong summer in which Los Fresnos head coach Patrick Brown said his players went the extra mile, the Falcons’ energy is high.

“We had a vast majority of our kids show up all summer long, so we hit the ground running,” Brown said. “I was very proud of the numbers we had … I’m very happy with where we’re at right now. We’re not having to kill the kids conditioning-wise and we can focus on football stuff because a lot of our kids are ready to go.”

With the Falcons in good shape, a lot of the first week of practice revolved around readying the offensive side of the ball.

With a young crop of players set to take the field for the Los Fresnos offense, getting to reps earlier has been a plus, especially with an experienced defense working against them in-house.

“We are going to have a lot of new faces with probably nine new starters in that group and one of them is a sophomore,” Brown said. “We’re going to be young, so we’re trying to break that group in. Our defense has a few kids coming back and they are very, very solid, so they’ve been getting after our offense pretty good.

“We’re trying to get our offense some confidence and trying to jell our o-line, trying to find out who our quarterback is going to be and that’s what our focus is right now.”

Even with the new faces, the Falcons offense doesn’t believe there has been much of a drop off.

“It’s just correcting little mistakes here and there.” junior tailback Albert Banuelos said. “That’s what leads us to a good day of practice, a better day of practice and better preparation for the games. People have to step up and play a bigger role, but honestly, everyone is doing their job.

“Our staff is just trying to push us harder to get further than we did last year. Every day is come out and do better than yesterday.”

And as a whole, the Falcons have looked comfortable in Brown’s system.

Even with the summer sun beating down on the team during tough workouts, the process hasn’t felt as strenuous under the second-year coach.

“Coach is pretty consistent with his beliefs in training and practice,” said senior linebacker Sebastian Gonzales. “The biggest difference has been the cultural difference. It hasn’t felt like a grind, things are more fun and we’re always fresher on game days.

“This year, everyone is working hard and came in with a lot of energy and that’s what we need, a lot of competition.”

For Brown, he hopes that mentality and competitiveness will lead to continued success in the program.

“Since we have good numbers, it creates a high level of competition,” Brown said. “If you’re starting right now, you know that kid in back of you is just a step behind you. If you’re going to start here, you’re going to compete for that job every single day. That’s helping our young kids understand that you can’t come out here without 100 percent effort and keep your position.

“That’ll benefit us and I know we’re still struggling a little scheme-wise, but the effort is there for sure.”

With football practices just a couple of days old, the Pace High School Vikings are not only trying to shake the doldrums of summer and install new schemes, they are also undergoing somewhat of a culture change under first-year head coach Danny Pardo.

The message is one of accountability and expectations.

“I feel that these kids never really got to understand what people really wanted out of them and now, they seem to catch on a bit more to what we want,” he said. “We push it quite a bit and demand a lot of them and expect them to know that there is a consequence to everything and I think they’re buying into everything.”

And so far, Pardo is having no problem getting his Vikings to buy in as it has shown in attendance and overall effort during the week.

“They’re here an hour before (practice) and we’re supposed to start at 4:30 p.m., but by 4:15 they’re all lined up,” Pardo said. “The enthusiasm is there a little more and I think they were ready for something new and I’m glad they are catching on and running with it. I came in last year late as a head coach. We went against each other and I demanded certain things and I think it’s going to catch on.”

On the field, Pardo calls the first couple of days of practice a down time before the players begin to compete against one another.

So far, it has been all about conditioning and installing new schemes on both sides of the ball.

While senior defensive end Elimelek Acuna said that not everyone was in peak condition physically upon returning, that didn’t diminish the team effort.

“The first day back was a lot of conditioning, I have to be up front,” Acuna said. “Not everyone was back in shape, but you know what, that’s what we’re here for, to work. I see a lot of potential in my teammates. I know them, I believe in them and I know we’re going to get there. Every day, we come out, we’re executing the drills and we’re getting a bit better.”

Senior quarterback Randy Aguilar is another eager Viking to get back on the field, especially after Pace fell a game short of the postseason a year ago.

Beginning to right the wrong from last season, however, starts with the fundamentals, conditioning and learning new terms.

“(Missing the playoffs) really motivates us a lot, especially me — everybody hates losing,” Aguilar said. “We just have to use that to help motivate us more so that we can get into the playoffs. It’s very exciting but there are a lot of drills, a lot of fundamentals we have to get through first. We have new plays, new coaches and we all just have to get into a rhythm and just go with it.

“It’s going to involve more working, to keep lifting — more of everything.”

For Pardo, this week’s goal is the same one the Vikings will have all season: Don’t be outworked.

“One thing I push is competitiveness — they have to compete and I don’t care if it’s against each other,” Pardo said. “Winning is the No. 1 thing on my mind. Our motto since I’ve gotten here — and it has always been mine — is don’t get outworked. That goes for coaches and players. The other team may beat us because they have more talent, but not because they outworked us.”