BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Edinburg High senior running back Hearlin Benavides has been thrust into the spotlight by his dazzling play over the past season and a half, and rightly so. He has been at or near the top of the leading rushers list week in and week out.
Benavides doesn’t want to hog the spotlight, in fact quite the opposite, he looks for every opportunity to share it.
“It’s because of the o-line that I have gotten a lot of success and all the touchdowns,” Benavides said. “I always emphasize them and give them the props. And that is because if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
The Bobcats’ line is a source of strength for the team, and the Bobcats are excited to face off with another physical team in Weslaco East at 7 tonight at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
“We love it,” Senior left tackle Bobby Salinas said. “A smash-mouth game. But I think we are more physical this year. We thrive in the trenches. That is Bobcat football.”
It wasn’t always that way though. After the Bobcats lost seniors Oscar Juarez and Nelson Carillo, there were questions about what the 2018 line would look like.
“When we started the offseason, the o-line was our big question in spring ball,” Edinburg High coach J.J. Leija said. “These kids put their time in, in the weight room. During spring ball we had to find and solidify our offensive line. I was happy with what we saw in spring ball, and they came into fall camp and retained a lot of what we taught them in the spring.”
Bobby Salinas took it upon himself to lead the offensive line, and senior center Johan Salinas stepped up to lead the younger linemen.
“They just looked up to me,” Bobby Salinas said. “I’ve always wanted to be a role model for the younger guys. I just tell them I am always here for you, if you need help.”
That support from the pair of unrelated Salinas linemen was what sparked the younger guys to step up and fill the gaps.
“I knew I had to give it my all for Bobby and Johan,” junior left guard Luis Trevino said. “As coach tells us, we lost a lot of leaders last year, but we can make up for them, as long as we put in the work.”
That is exactly what the Bobcats big boys did. They got to work as soon as the summer started; the weight room sessions were intense. The players pushed each other, and got themselves better physically.
But it isn’t all brute strength on the o-line.
“This is a very smart line,” Edinburg High offensive line coach Eddie Carillo said. “They have been working hard together in the offseason. They communicate well with each other. They have calls with each other to discuss football. They watch a lot of film, to know how the defense will play us.”
The love between the o-line — and it is love, make no mistake about it, being in the trenches day in and day out under the hot sun of South Texas really brings young men together — it also extends to the running backs.
Benavides went to middle school with many of the linemen, and they have had a bond since they were playing together on sub-varsity.
“They are always hustling,” Benavides said. “That is the best thing about my line, they are always hustling.”
Benavides and the o-line are known to go out to eat together from time to time, more frequently during the summer.
“We always go to buffets, and we are always killing it,” Benavides said. “Giving everybody a hard time with the food.”
The jokes and banter flow just as much as the football talk does, but the bond that is built, unites them on the football field.
“We take so much pride in what we do,” Bobby Salinas said. “We love Hearlin. We are there for him. We don’t want him to get hurt, and if we mess up he could get hurt, so we work as hard as we can for him.”
And those seniors from 2017, while they may be gone, can still help this year.
“They taught me a lot, and molded me into a great leader,” Johan Salinas said. “Oscar Juarez, Nelson Carillo, those guys were big leaders to this team. We called them before the season and asked them how we can get better, and how we can keep pushing the team.”
Now that this line is clicking, it is a source of confidence for the team. With Benavides running the way he has for the last season and a half, the Bobcats are more confident than ever.
“We are taking it one game at a time,” Benavides said. “But we are excited about the start that we have had. Now we just have to keep pushing to accomplish our goals for this year.”