By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
So far, so good for Hanna.
Football practice just started for the Golden Eagles, and they are getting along without any hitches thus far.
“To this point right now, everything is going smooth,” Hanna coach Rene Medrano said. “I think we have the guys in the order that we need them right now.”
Medrano hopes to improve on last season’s 3-6 record. Those improvements are starting early from within, as the team was set to watch film of their practice to make adjustments going forward.
“(We’re focusing on) technique, play recognition,” he said. “We’re going to watch what we did wrong, what we did right, what we need to correct. That way tomorrow we don’t do the same thing over again.”
But Medrano isn’t content. He wants to see how the team looks when they are able to go all out. But full pad practices will have to wait a couple days until Friday.
“I see things moving in the right direction, I see kids pushing each other to get things done,” he said. “We’re ready at this point to put the pads on and see where we’re at. Then we’ll see what we really need to work on.
“It’s going to show how the true ones and twos (on the depth chart) are and we won’t be wasting a rep out there, really moving forward faster.”
Hanna is scheduled to scrimmage against Weslaco High on Aug. 14 and one week later against PSJA Memorial on Aug. 21.
The Eagles are set on offense with senior Andy Lopez, a three-year starter, behind center. But his favorite target last season, Lucas Olivares, graduated, and the rest of the receiving corps are younger and less experienced. Jaime Gonzalez and a few players who were on JV last year are expected to fill the void left by Olivares.
“The passing game’s going to be there, we just have to find receivers,” Hanna offensive coordinator Rodney Morales said. “We have other guys that are stepping up, making plays for us and they’re looking good now.”
The offensive line is going to be crucial, Morales said.
“Our line is going to be key this year, to give Andy some time,” Morales said. “I know we have a good passing game, but we’re going to have to have a running game to go along with that. Our key is going to be our running game, to balance our offense.
“Our line plus our running game, making (the offense) more effective.”
On defense, the Eagles have the system in place, it’s just a matter of figuring out which pieces go where.
“We’re really not changing much, we have youth and experience coming back,” Hanna defensive coordinator Danny Pardo said. “It’s just getting the young ones up to speed. We’re ahead of where I thought we’d be, but we’re not tweaking too much.”
A point of emphasis has been speed on defense, something that Hanna had gotten away from in the past few years.
“Our defensive line is faster, and the younger players (moving up) from JV are faster than what we had last year,” Pardo said. “They’re understanding the importance of speed, so you could say we’re off and running.”
Once again, offseason work was key. Pardo said he and fellow coaches helped players during the spring and summer get the right workouts to make that possible. And the players responded by taking matters into their own hands and working on their own as well.
Overall, the Eagles’ coach has been pleased through just a couple days of practice.
“(Tuesday) was better than (Monday), “ Medrano said to his team after their morning workout. “Let’s make sure (Wednesday) is better than (Tuesday).”