MARK MOLINA | STAFF WRITER

It has been a rough start for the Lopez Lobos after opening the season 0-3 (0-2 in District 16-5A Division I) and being outscored 167-32.

Heading into Week 3, all that goes out the window as the Lobos prepare to take on the Porter Cowboys in the annual Battle of Southmost, set for a 7 p.m. kickoff tonight at Sams Memorial Stadium.

Lopez head coach Armando Gutierrez said the team has had to overcome some adversity this season, but is expecting his team to be ready to play tonight’s rivalry game.

“(Morale) has actually been really good,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a year of teaching and retooling, but we don’t accept that. The expectations stay high, but there has always been a buzz around here between us and Porter for a while. At the same time, the kids are excited to play. They are cousins and guys they grew up with. It picks up the morale a lot and helps out with the practice.”

Despite the being winless, Lopez feels this week could be their week, as it has won the last three meetings with Porter.

For defensive end Luis Barrera, his feelings towards the rivalry have been intense and he views playful banter between the two schools as nothing more than bulletin board material.

Though it’s all in good fun, the defenseman believes it only heats up the annual clash.

“(The game) means a lot and shows who is actually better,” Barrera said. “Last year, it was a really close game, but we were supposed to win by a lot. Hopefully, we can this year. I know (Porter) has been talking, but we don’t do that. What we do is show it on the field — we’ll see what’s up.”

That fire has gone around, helping Lobos players to not hang their heads and use the Battle of Southmost as an opportunity to reset and start fresh with seven weeks to go.

“Every week has been rough, but every week we have to come with a different mindset,” offensive lineman Santiago Garcia said. “We just have to get better every day. This week is Porter Week and it’s the Battle of Southmost. Rivalries are always intense and they get you excited just to play the game, so we’re excited. We’re ready and we just want to go play.”

Lopez is fresh off a 69-19 loss at Rio Grande City, in which their defense allowed more than 400 yards of offense and gained just 227, including just 46 on the ground.

One bright spot in last week’s rout was quarterback Jose Cruz, who completed 11 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown to go a long with a rushing score.

Cruz is anxious to build off that performance and feels good about the matchup with the Porter defense.

“I’ve had the chills; I want to play already,” he said. “We just have to execute and go play by play. I feel we should do well. We’ve watched a lot of film on them and their defense and I feel like we’ve got it down really good. We won last year and I expect the same thing. I expect for us to have a good game and for everyone to be safe.”

Porter’s offense presents issues, specifically when it comes to quarterback Kevin Garcia, who has rushed for 326 yards and six scores in two games and has passed for another 267 and a score.

“Part of it is (the matchup with Garcia),” Gutierrez said. “We have to limit their opportunities on offense and we know (Garcia) won’t beat us with his arm, it’ll be with his feet. We’ve worked on a lot of things like that. Football is cyclical and we’re where Porter would be at and Porter’s where we would be at; it goes up and down. For this one, kids know that’s my cousin, that’s this or that’s that. I believe we’re on an even keel regardless what anybody says or regardless of the records. We’re just going to come play hard.”

By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

Despite four first-half turnovers and a double-digit halftime deficit, the Porter Cowboys had the La Joya Palmview Lobos on the brink of overtime.

But it just wasn’t Porter’s night.

After finding Brandon Reta for a 33-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone, Porter quarterback Kevin Garcia bobbled the snap on the extra-point attempt, forcing him to roll to his right and find a receiver.

Garcia found a man and launched a floater to the end zone but it was intercepted, securing a 27-26 District 16-5A Division I win for the Lobos on Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.

“(The snap) rolled on the floor, and I felt a defender coming up,” Garcia said. “I didn’t have time to put it down so I called our signature rollout play, but it was a pick. There’s nothing we can do about it. We just have to go back and fix it. On that last drive, I was thinking, ‘Do or die.’ We have to score. So I went out there and I told the team if they believed in me, I believed in them. We came out and struck out, but we do what we have to do.”

The Cowboys (1-2, 0-2) trailed 13-0 at halftime but then outscored the Lobos (1-2, 1-1) 26-14, led by Garcia, who finished the night with 119 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns on 17 carries to go with 158 yards passing and another score.

“I saw a lot of fight on the last drive,” Porter coach Carlos Uresti said. “Down 13 points at the half and down in the fourth, these kids never gave up. That just shows you how much heart these kids have. The last play was a bad snap, but mistakes happen. It is what it is.”

La Joya Palmview had a big night on the ground, rushing for 304 yards and four scores, including three from running back Adrian Vasquez.

“We all played really well, and our running backs gave us all the yards,” Vasquez said. “I had the touchdowns, but it was all (our backs and our offensive line blocked) really well.”

Both teams struggled during the first quarter, combining for four turnovers (one on downs), a punt and a missed field goal on the game’s first six drives.

La Joya Palmview eventually got something going after Porter’s missed 31-yard field goal, mounting a 79-yard, 10-play drive that culminated in a 1-yard score by running back Adrian Vasquez to make it 7-0 early in the second quarter.

Porter’s struggles continued on the ensuing possession with its third turnover of the half, a Kyle Aguirre fumble. That set up a 33-yard run by Lobos running back Carlos Pena, making it 13-0 after a PAT.

Pena recorded 78 yards on 14 carries, and A.J. Chapa rushed for 63 yards.

Porter will take on Lopez next week to continue district play. La Joya Palmview will play host to Donna High.

MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

For the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers, getting motivated for their highly anticipated District 16-5A Division I matchup with Mission Veterans Memorial is easy as they hope to avenge last year’s 45-24 loss.

Prior to Tuesday’s practice, morale was high in the Chargers’ locker room as they prepared to hit the field, but observers would be hard-pressed to find anybody who was more anxious to try and right last year’s wrong than defensive tackle Alex Villarreal and middle linebacker Jason Ambriz.

Both want the win for the team, but they also realize that they have unfinished personal business to tend to Thursday night at Sams Stadium.

For Ambriz, finishing with a win and at 100 percent would go a long way for his psyche.

“At first, the game started well, but then I hurt my ankle that game,” Ambriz recalled. “I sprained it really nasty, so I played the rest of the game with a sprained ankle. My potential was about 85 to 90 percent; the injury was holding me back from playing an even better game. I was bummed out because I would’ve played better.”

Villarreal’s main issue was about fixing a single blemish.

“This game means a lot,” Villarreal said. “(Mission Veterans) is the only team I lost to last year. I ended my season early with an injury. I tore a ligament in my foot and my last game was against Donna High. (Mission Veterans) was the only team to beat me — that’s my grudge.”

In last year’s matchup, the duo combined for nine tackles. Villarreal racked up a tackle for loss and a sack, and Ambriz also got to quarterback Landry Gilpin once and recorded two tackles for loss.

Their efforts kept the Chargers in the game, trailing just 14-10 at the half to what was a potent Patriots offense under Gilpin.

Mission Veterans outscored Brownsville Veterans 31-14 in the second half due in large part to three Chargers fumbles, and cruised to victory and, eventually, an undefeated district crown.

“We had (Mission Veterans) on the ropes in the first half,” Villarreal said. “We had some turnovers that eventually let them pull away.”

The sense of unfinished business for the senior pair has been parlayed into solid practices early in the week for the entire defense, and the coaching staff has taken notice.

With Ambriz and Villarreal extra motivated to go and get the win back, Chargers coach David Cantu feels good about his defense heading into arguably the season’s biggest test.

“It’s a good feeling when the leaders of your team have that sense of urgency,” Cantu said. “It is a big moment, and it’s a big game for us. We have a sour taste in our mouths after the loss last year.

“It’s a good feeling knowing we have kids like Jason and Alex on the field, knowing how much they care and knowing that they’re such great students of the game. They take such great pride in understanding the offenses, and once they get to game day they have a really good feel for them.”

By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

LOS FRESNOS — For the second straight season, the Los Fresnos Falcons were trailing the Austin LBJ Jaguars with an opportunity to make a late comeback.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, their offense just never found its footing.

After cutting a double-digit lead to eight on a Job Esquivel 20-yard FG, the Falcons recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff in Jaguars territory, only to watch a Chris Resendiz fumble shut the door four plays later, preserving a 14-6 LBJ win Friday night at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.

Prior to the field goal, Los Fresnos had a first-and-goal from the LBJ 1 after Alonso Requena blocked a punt and set up the Falcons inches from the end zone. But they settled for three points and a one-possession game.

“I was proud of our kids. They really battled,” Los Fresnos coach Patrick Brown said. “We lost 37 seniors last year and we’re starting five sophomores right now, and I was very proud of our kids. I’ll tell you what, you have four or five Division I kids (at LBJ) and (Jaguars coach Jahmal Fenner) does a good job coaching them up, and (beating them) is a tough ask for anyone.”

Los Fresnos (1-1) erased a 28-point deficit last season to upend LBJ (2-0) 36-35, but that was due to a late offensive explosion, much different from Friday night, when missed opportunities seemed to be the theme of the game for the Falcons’ offense.

The Falcons were in the Jaguars’ red zone three different times and settled for two field goals.

One of those possessions was the game’s opening drive, which set up the Falcons in good field position after receiver Nico Valencia recovered an onside kick.

Los Fresnos’ offense, which is still trying to sharpen its flexbone attack, was led by running back Miles McWhorter, who rushed for 62 yards on 10 carries, highlighted by a 36-yard scamper during the third quarter.

“We really feel like this offense fits our kids, and it’s something we believe in 100 percent,” Brown said.

The offensive problems overshadowed what was a big effort by the Falcons’ defense, which made Jaguars quarterback Hunter Scott uncomfortable throughout the night, leading to interceptions from Daniel Cadengo and Cameron Rivera during the first half.

“We lost our starting corner Elian Gonzalez in a walkthrough this week, but our backups played a heck of a game,” Brown said. “I thought our DBs were outmatched as far as speed, but technique-wise our guys up front got after them. I see a lot more positives than we did negatives.”

Scott did have a 58-yard touchdown pass to Sean Fresch early in the second quarter to make it 6-3, but not much else. The Jaguars did most of their damage on the ground, handing off the ball to Da’qwon Donaldson, who rushed for 87 yards and a 3-yard score in the late third quarter that made it 14-3.

“We know Los Fresnos is going to play hard,” Fenner said. “I told my kids all week that they have to play all four quarters. You have got to play the full game. We kind of rolled our kids back about just finishing. Los Fresnos had a lot of things go their way, and our kids kept overcoming.”

By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

Upon meeting Hanna senior Brandon Esteves, one might notice his stoic demeanor mixed in with a handshake and yes, sir, no, sir answers.

Get the star defensive tackle on the field on the other hand, and he might be a scary player to come up against for the simple fact that life playing on the line is what he chose.

“I’ve always really enjoyed being in the trenches,” Esteves said. “Coach (Mark Guess) tried to move me to linebacker to see how I liked it. I honestly tried it out and I didn’t like it. Being in the trenches is something I love and something that I’d die for. I’ve played football since I was in seventh grade at Oliviera Middle school, and ever since I got a taste of it I’ve enjoyed every passing moment.”

Some of the biggest moments for Esteves came during his breakout season one year ago, when he tallied 91 tackles (31 for loss) 13 sacks and two forced fumbles.

Esteves, who is in his third varsity season since being called up as a sophomore, anchored a defense that helped lead the Golden Eagles to arguably their best season in program history.

Following the big season, Esteves was named District 32-6A’s top defensive lineman, was an All-Metro first-team selection and a Class 6A all-state first-team selection by the Associated Press.

It was a surreal moment for the now-senior lineman, who didn’t think such accolades were attainable.

“It was a pretty crazy experience and truly one of a kind,” Esteves said. “When I came to Hanna, I didn’t think I would be a star football player — I never regarded myself in that way. But I had a lot of mentors in my fellow teammates that really whipped me into shape. My breakout year was thanks to them, my coaches and everyone around me. It was their support that pushed me towards that year.”

Hanna coach Mark Guess said Esteves’ huge junior season was not surprising, as he saw flashes of what he was capable of just two seasons ago.

“It all goes back to when we picked (Esteves) up as a sophomore,” Guess said. “We had three guys rotating two spots at defensive tackle and he was one of those three. The effort he gave us as a sophomore really opened our eyes, that’s why we picked him. There aren’t many sophomores that can play at the varsity level and can be that effective, but he was.”

After Esteves tallied 35 tackles (seven for loss) and three sacks as a sophomore, he continued to work in the offseason and returned better than ever as a junior, boasting speed, good hands, strength and a relentlessness that Guess said makes for the ultimate defensive tackle.

“Those things have made him an incredible defensive tackle — best one I’ve ever coached,” the Hanna coach said. “Those are things we ask of those guys in the trenches and everybody else on the team, but he takes it to another level.”

That level is where Esteves’ high school career has now come full circle, as he now looks to take young players under his wing as a leader like the veterans before him did.

“I’ve really tried my best to pass on my work ethic to this young team,” Esteves said. “I really want what’s best for them, and I’m just trying to lead them the right way.”

Leading a locker room is work, but just like working in the trenches Esteves enjoys being in the thick of it.

“I don’t notice that workload,” he said. “The job pays itself. Being on the field with my teammates is all I can ever ask for. It’s like Coach Guess says sometimes, he hasn’t been working here a single day in his life. Every single day he’s had fun and enjoys what he does, and the same goes for me.”

MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

After taking part in spring practices, the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers got off to a late start when it came to summer practices, but they feel as prepared as any other team already two weeks in.

A big reason for that was getting in every possible workout allowed from May to August.

“It’s a continuation of spring football in May,” Chargers coach David Cantu said. “Then, June and July, the UIL lets us do two hours a week, which we took advantage of. So to be honest, it doesn’t feel like anything new. We’re out here and it’s August now. We’re just getting closer to gun time, that’s all.”

The Chargers enter 2019 hoping to win back a district crown and rebound from a 7-3 regular season that included a third-place finish in District 16-5A Division I and a subpar ending in which they lost three of their last four games, including a 44-14 bi-district loss to Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial.

Expectations are high once again as the Chargers return nearly 20 players with some varsity experience, including six offensive starters and eight players with some starting experience on defense.

“We have a lot of kids who have a lot of varsity experience and a lot of kids who made a lot of big plays in games already,” Cantu said. “We’re happy we have these guys with that type of experience. We feel like last year was a good year. We made the playoffs, and to a lot of teams that’s their ultimate goal, but there are some things that we left out there. We have that ‘take it back’ mentality.”

One of the biggest takeaways from the first week of practice and even in the spring has been the completely revamped offensive line.

That is going to be looked at as one of the areas of concern on that side of the ball, but Cantu said he has seen big strides from the unit.

The skill position players share those feelings after productive reps through spring practice and the past week.

“The reps in practice with the offensive line have been really good,” wide receiver Damian Maldonado said. “They’re really good, and they look ready and they are prepared. We all feel confident in the offensive line, and we have the weapons around them. We don’t have any doubts here.”

One of those skill players trying to maximize his reps during the first week of practice has been former-cornerback-and-district-defensive-player-of-the-year-turned-running-back Marlon Montelongo.

The ex-cornerback said his transition has been a smooth one thanks in larger part to the program culture.

“All of our coaches have the same work ethic,” Montelongo said. “So switching over, you still have to bring the same energy level to practice. It was definitely a big change with different plays and different schemes, but I’m excited to play offense and potentially making big plays.”

The Chargers will get their first real action next week when they play host to Weslaco High in the team’s only scrimmage, set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Brownsville Veterans.

BVM will open the season by playing host to Rivera on Aug. 30, also at Brownsville Veterans.

Those will be their only chances for live action before the District 16-5A Division 1 opener Sept. 6 against Lopez at Sams Memorial Stadium.

Cantu hopes to see high effort until then, as well as healthy bodies.

“We want to see a commitment level of these kids being here every day like they’re supposed to,” he said. “Also, more than anything, we want to be injury-free entering that nine-week district run pretty soon.”

By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

It seemed like all the pieces came together for Pace last season under then-second-year coach Danny Pardo.

Led by a solid running attack and a tough defense, the Vikings went 7-4, finished second in a grueling District 16-5A Division I and made the postseason for the second straight season.

The Vikings are hungry for more, but repeating last season’s success will be tougher this time around with a young team boasting just 10 returning players.

Pardo and company remain confident as the new varsity faces have meshed during the first two weeks of practice.

“ They are young kids, but they are working hard,” said Pardo, who is now in his third season with the Vikings. “They’re working and we’re confident. We have a lot of these kids also in our athletic period, where we work all the scenarios and on chemistry. So all these kids feel comfortable with each other, and now we just have to go out there and play.”

The Vikings have a lot of holes to fill, especially on defense, which returns just three players from last season’s group, which held opponents to 20 points and less than 300 yards per contest.

It’s a situation that makes the first two weeks of practices and two scrimmages all the more important.

“ There’s a group of kids on the bubble that we don’t know if we’re going to carry on the varsity or not,” Pardo said. “Right now, we’re at about 32-33 kids on the varsity with about six or seven other ones that we haven’t made decisions on. That’s why we play the scrimmages so we can see how they look.”

The Pace defensive players admit the process has been a long one, but middle-linebacker-turned-defensive-end Jay Gomez has high hopes that the unit will be ready based on what he’s seen through the early parts of practice.

“ It’s been a lot of hard work shaping these young players into what a solid defense could look like,” Gomez said. “But with preparation, determination and hard work, we can get to where we need to be. Guys are fighting for spots on the varsity team, and it’s good to see them compete against each other and push themselves to their best capabilities.”

The Vikings’ offense returns seven players, but it, too, has had to iron things out during the first two weeks with some inexperience on what used to be a dominant offensive line.

But with experienced and speedy backs and receivers, Pace’s offense is ready to carry a lot of the weight.

That includes helping the young defense across from it to be ready.

“ We lost a few on the line, but we saved a lot of our receivers,” running back Dylan Barron said. “Over the past couple weeks we’ve just been improving what we have, and it’s looking pretty good so far. It’s tough losing a lot of defense, but we want to help push the defense to get better. It’s all about everyone getting better, honestly, and that’s where we have to start from.”

Pardo said next season, things will be flipped when it comes to youth and experience, but right now he’s ready to attack the season and have this year’s players ready to go.

“ Our youth is what we have, so they’ll be coming,” he said. “Next year will be a different story, but this year we have a lot of juniors and sophomores that haven’t played. We graduated the majority of kids last year and it’s a rebuilding year, but don’t get me wrong, we have good talent.”

By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

While the La Feria Lions looked every bit like a veteran football team in its first action of the season, the hosting Hanna Golden Eagles showed signs of youth.

Led by quarterback Dorian Hernandez, the La Feria offense gave the young Hanna defense fits, finding the end zone four times during the first scrimmage for both teams Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.

La Feria and Hanna each put up a pair of touchdowns in the controlled part of the scrimmage, but it was the Lions who prevailed 16-14 after two semi-live quarters where plays were blown dead prematurely to protect the quarterbacks.

“ First of all, Hanna is a good team,” La Feria coach Oscar Salinas said. “It’s good to play great competition. Our kids came out to play; they were focused and ready to go. We’ve had a good two weeks of practice. We came out here and our kids played well tonight.

Hernandez had a big night as he threw for a touchdown in the controlled portion — a 33-yard strike to Derek Perez — and ran for another from near midfield during the first live quarter.

Hanna’s defense struggled to start both the controlled and the live portions, giving up touchdowns to La Feria on the first two drives of each segment.

“ When we set this scrimmage up, we knew what we were getting into,” Hanna coach Mark Guess said. “La Feria is a great program year in and year out, and they have been for a number of years. Coach Salinas does a great job with those kids and we knew it was going to be a battle for us with our youth, and it showed early on. We started making some strides and started growing up a little bit towards the end of the scrimmage, but it took us a while to wake up. It’s OK because we’re going to go back and see what we did wrong and what we did right, and especially fix some things that were wrong.”

Hanna quarterback Victor Campos and the rest of the Hanna offense struggled in their first bunch of plays during the controlled portion.

It wasn’t until their second set of first-team reps that Campos hit Ryan Trinidad for a 70-yard catch and run for a score. Hanna running back Brandon Robles also scored on a short run after Campos and Trinidad hooked up for another long gain to set them up.

The Lions put up 16 points during the first live quarter, scoring on Hernandez’s long run (missing the point after), a Avishai Dickerson 2-yard run and a 28-yard field goal.

Campos put Hanna on the board with a 12-yard touchdown pass and Robles added a 5-yard run to make it 16-14.

PICK ’EM

La Feria’s secondary was a big reason why Campos and the Eagles failed to score early in the controlled portion as they forced plays to be blown early due to downfield coverage.

Cornerback Evan Avila parlayed that coverage into two interceptions on long passes near the goal line on two different occasions.

“ Evan Avila has been there three years at corner for us,” Salinas said. “He’s a good kid with a lot of experience and played really well tonight.”

RESTRICTED

While the Golden Eagles’ offense struggled, they did not have full use of their biggest weapon in Campos.

Several Hanna plays were blown dead early, but each time Campos was on the run with a small bit of daylight to evade defenders.

Campos’ legs and ability to extend plays were a big part of Hanna’s passing game last year and will be even more so this year.

“ (Campos’) decision making has gotten a lot better than last year,” Guess said. “There are times he knows he needs to get rid of the ball and not hold on to it. The good thing is that he’s pretty athletic. If he pulls that thing down, he’ll be a tough load to tackle.”

MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

LOS FRESNOS — The Los Fresnos Falcons football program always had been a model of consistency and was a postseason mainstay.

That was until last season, when the Falcons finished the year 3-7 and out of the postseason for the first time since 2004.

So needless to say, the Los Fresnos players have been motivated to get back on the field and right the wrongs of last season.

“I think, for the kids in our program, this is an opportunity (for a) wipe-the-slate-clean type of situation,” Falcons coach Patrick Brown said. “(Last season) did leave a bad taste in our mouth. I think this summer and first week of two-a-days has been exceptional with our turnout and how hard our kids have been working. It’s been a fun week for us to kind of start anew and get the season rolling.”

Senior wide receiver Nico Valencia said that thought has weighed heavily on the minds of players and has really helped get the most out of them in practice.

“Getting back is something everybody was looking forward to,” he said. “The best thing to do to get over a speed bump like that is to get back in the office and get back to work. So we’re all pretty excited and we’re all stepping on the gas pedal — everything is going smoothly right now.”

One thing the Falcons have kept a close eye on is the health of their players after being hit with the injury bug right before district play last season. The team returned from a game at Odessa Permian with several injuries to key players.

“Last season was my first experience with losing in 20 years,” Brown said. “So I had to go back and re-evaluate everything that we do, and that starts with me all the way down to our student trainers and managers. We had to look at everything, including our offseason conditioning, our summer program, our nutrition, psychologically, physically — everything. We did keep a vast majority of things because we’ve been very successful, but tweaked some coaching methods, some of our nutrition, sports psychology and character development stuff. We really think we have something special and positive going into this season.”

Valencia, who came out of the Odessa Permian game with a knee injury and was sidelined for a couple of weeks, said injuries are never planned, but said taking those extra measures to limit them is must.

“ Injuries are tough because at the end of the day, it’s something you can’t control,” he said. “My coaches and parents say to focus on the things you can control and put effort into, including injury and as much as you can prevent it. One thing we’ve emphasized this year is ice baths after practice, stretching and resting at the end of the day. You work hard, but you have to recover hard. That’s one thing coaches have emphasized, and I think it’s really going to help us out.”

On the field of play, Brown says the Falcons have just four or five kids who have started a full season on varsity, so there are many fresh faces for veterans and coaches to help get up to speed during the early parts of the preseason camp.

“You have to be there (for the young players) and you have to push them,” middle linebacker Alonso Requena said. “You have to keep them on the ball, too. You have to just make a bond, and I really think we’ve done that throughout the summer. I just want the best for my team and I want to help lead them to their max potential and effort, making sure they’re here every day and not (giving) up. Time is limited, and we have to go hard all the time.”

As camp rolls on, Brown is aware that getting the veterans and new players on the same page will be an uphill climb, but he is positive that this bunch of younger, unproven players has what it takes to make an impact and compete.

“We have a good younger core,” he said. “We have a couple of freshmen that started last year for us and are going to be good players as sophomores. We also have some juniors that were very good on JV and are going to help us. It’s pretty scary as a head coach because you have a lot of unproven kids. One thing they have proven is that they are willing to work hard and be coachable.”

MARK MOLINA | STAFF WRITER

Since winning a District 32-6A quad championship in 2014, the Rivera Raiders football team has won just two games and is in the midst of a 19-game regular season losing streak.

Then, the program moved on from legendary head coach Tom Chavez in the spring and put the team in the hands of first-year head coach Beto Leal.

It’s been a rough stretch for the Raiders, though you wouldn’t know it from the team’s attendance and morale through the first week of practice.

“For the first week, I’ve been a little surprised with the numbers,” Leal said. “Kids have been coming out and the coaching staff has been real optimistic. They’ve been working real good and have gotten the kids out and reached out to a lot of these kids, that’s why our numbers have been getting back up there little by little. It’s a reflection on the coaching staff and the kids have been very receptive. Everybody has been nothing but positive and it’s good to be out here; I’m loving it.”

As much as Leal is enjoying the first part of getting his fingerprints on the new program, the players he’s leading are brimming with confidence and are ready to get the program back on its feet.

Though it won’t be easy, considering the program’s 0-10 2018 campaign was its second in four years and are just 2-38 in that span.

With a crop of seven returning defensive players and six on offense, Rivera’s players are ready to put the past behind them and follow their new coaches.

“It’s energizing, it’s new,” Rivera senior defenseman Bryant Ponce said. “We’re coming out here and we believe in each other. We believe that every single one of us is out here for one another; it’s a different team. We feel like we cut out the fat from before and whatever wasn’t there last year, we worked on it this offseason.”

Coming in as coordinators on Leal’s staff are Hugo Ramirez as defensive coordinator and David Torres as the offensive coordinator.

Ramirez comes over from Lopez, where the Lobos’ defense stats were among the best in the Rio Grande Valley, while Torres comes over from Hanna, where he was previously the quarterbacks coach.

Having both coordinators come on board has been a big motivating factor for the program and senior receiver Elian Hernandez believes big changes like that are just what the doctor ordered for the program.

“Change means different,” the veteran receiver said. “And that’s what this program needed. We’re just very excited for this new season, to show what we have. Our attitude has changed and there’s excitement with the new coaches coming in; we’re not used to excitement. That just brought us up. It’s going to be a big change in what we give to these teams and they’re going to like what we’re going to give them.”

With everything falling into place early on, the Rivera players have found it hard not to be anxious about what lies ahead.

And with morale so high, neither can Leal.

“I’m glad (the players) are moving forward,” he said. “Because it is a new season; it’s the 2019 season. To see these kids come out here excited and jumping around, it makes it exciting to get going. Just looking at them, how can you not be excited for these kids? I’m glad they’re putting the past behind them. Because you know what, like I told the players, I don’t care about the past, what are you going to do now?”