By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Midway through the season, the Lopez Lobos are struggling. Winless through five games overall and 0-2 in District 32-6A, the Lobos are trying to fix what they can.
The young squad has struggled on both sides of the ball, but particularly with turnovers.
Lopez lost a pair of fumbles and threw two interceptions against Harlingen South, and the Hawks turned three of those micues into points during a 35-0 win. The Lobos have made that a focus during practice, but it hasn’t translated onto the field just yet.
The biggest struggle for Lopez has been mentally said Lopez coach Jason Starkey.
“If we’re going to be successful, we have to take care of the football,” he said. “This game is played between the ears, I’ve been focused on that (in practices). We have to change that mental picture.”
Most frustrating for the Lobos coach is he knows he has several skilled players, but without as much experience compared to last year, the confidence isn’t there at times.
“I’ve got kids that are talented, but between their ears they have to go out and prove it,” Starkey said. “We have to take care of the football and eliminate mental errors (Right now) we’re just taking this one day at a time.
“But I’m looking forward to being on the sideline when we start realizing our full potential.”
Starkey continues to stay positive though. He recently showed the movie Rocky 4 to his team to help motivate them.
“At the end Rocky said, ‘it’s not how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and still get up and move forward,’” Starkey said. “So (starting this pst Saturday) we’re going to move forward.”
RUNNING WILD
With 1,452 yards accumulated by the ground game through five games, the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers sit atop the standings in District 32-6A.
The Chargers average 350 yards of offense (second to only San Benito with 385 yards per game) and 290 yards per game come from their rushing attack.
Three players have already surpassed 400 yards apiece on the season, quarterback Marcus Castillo, and running backs Derrik Rodriguez and Carlos Garza. The trio has combined for 14 touchdowns on the ground and more than 7 yards per carry.
Even more impressive is that Brownsville Veterans lost its starting running back, Omar Rodriguez, during the non-district part of the season.
With a run-heavy offense that scores 33 points per game, the Chargers are 4-1 overall and 2-0 in district play.
TOUGH STRETCH
Though just two games into the district season, San Benito (3-2, 2-0) knows that its season and possibly its postseason chances hinge on this stretch of games.
The Greyhounds defeated Los Fresnos 17-14 in Week 6 and face two more tough games in Week 7 and 8. San Benito plays host to Harlingen High (3-2, 2-0) in the Battle of the Arroyo this week and goes on the road against Brownsville Veterans (4-1, 2-0) the following week.
The Greyhounds boast the top offense in the district. They average 385 yards per contest and are third in points scored with 30 points per game.
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.