By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Hanna outside linebacker Ezequiel Cardenas generally keeps to himself and is very humble.
Except when he is on the football field.
“Zeke is one of our quiet leaders, he really is,” Hanna coach Rene Medrano said. “He really turns it on when it’s game time.”
Cardenas is playing his second year of varsity and has been a starter each season. The senior has helped the Golden Eagles’ defense excel on the field and allow less than 300 yards per game to their opponents. But his main focus this season is making the postseason.
“We’ve been short the last couple of years now, so it’s time to get to the playoffs,” he said. “It has (been disappointing).”
Medrano said his coaching staff has set the bar high for Cardenas and his fellow seniors. They have the talent and potential to lead them to a postseason berth.
“We expect a lot out of him, he’s a senior and we expect everything’s he’s got,” Medrano said. “I think he realizes we have just as good of a chance as anybody to be there (in the playoffs). I think he really believes he has to do everything in his power to get us there.”
The linebacker is a part of a group of seven returning starters on a mostly senior-laden defense. Cardenas said that most of his teammates have played together since they were kids on teams during elementary and middle school.
“We have bonded together since we were small,” he said.
It’s that bond that has kept the Eagles close, and it was the summer workouts that have helped Cardenas and his teammates get where they are today.
“We put a lot of heart and dedication into the offseason,” Cardenas said. “We were here every day.”
The Eagles’ coach has noticed but thinks the tight-knit group is even more committed to its goal.
“I think we’re a little bit quicker, a little bit stronger than in the past,” Medrano said. “They seemed more determined to be there at the end when it’s all said and done. We’re not really deep, but we have the kids that are determined. I think that’s the difference.”
Cardenas thinks the team has finally started to play together this season. He thinks the defensive line has been the key to its improved play and credits the players for their hard work this season.
Despite a 0-2 record to start in district, Medrano feels the team can reach its postseason goal.
“I hope and pray they saw what I did (during the first two district games),” he said. “They’re capable of being a really good team if they jell and put everything together, putting foolish mistakes behind them and focus in on everything throughout the game.
“I feel like everything is coming together. They want to make their senior year the very best they can. It’s there, you just have to go and do it.”
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.