By FREDDY GONZALEZ
Staff Writer
RAYMONDVILLE — With three games left on the schedule, every game is important for the Raymondville Bearkats who are stuck in the middle of a congested District 16-4A DII.
The Bearkats (3-3, 1-1) face another must-win against the Progreso Red Ants (1-5, 0-2) tonight at Burnett Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
“This is a must-win game for us,” said Raymondville head coach Frank Cantu. “In order to get into the playoffs ,you have to make every game count. After coming off a loss to Sinton and Orange Grove, we turned it around against West Oso, and now we’re just looking to gain some momentum
going into the last three ball games.
“When there are so few games, every district game is a tough ball game and you never know where you’re going to end up.”
After going through a tough three-game losing streak, which saw the Bearkats lose to Kingsville King, Sinton and Orange Grove, last week’s 48-20 victory over West Oso was the turnaround Raymondville needed.
Nevertheless, the message remains clear, don’t take any opponent lightly.
“The main thing is to take it one game at a time and don’t overlook anything and don’t look ahead,” said Cantu. “We tried doing so fundamental things and get back to how we started the season. If you do all the little things well, everything else will just take care of itself.”
“Progreso is a very athletic team, and have some very good looking kids. Some fast receivers and a quarterback that can throw it to them. Any time a team is athletic they are never out it.”
With Progreso’s speed, the Red Ants will have some opportunities for some big plays.
The Bearkats started the season 3-0, which took some teams by surprise, considering coach Cantu was starting quarterback Daniel Gutierrez, a sophomore with no prior varsity experience.
The outcome has been a pleasant surprise. This season Gutierrez has passed for 620 yards and rushed for another 300 yards.
However Gutierrez has had help from the offensive line and running backs Bert Najera and David Marroquin who have both rushed for a combined 895 yards with 13 touchdowns.
Tonight’s weather is calling for heavy rain and possibility of thunderstorms, follow me on twitter @Freddy_vms for the latest updates on any possible schedule or time changes for the game.