By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
While the Harlingen Cardinals are known for their defensive mettle, they also understand it’s a combined team effort that is going to get them victories.
This year, despite losing a few seniors from last season, the offense is as confident as any heading into their season opener this week.
Much of that confidence is due to those returning players with game experience.
“We had a bunch of our seniors graduate, so we have new-looking offense,” said Harlingen senior tight end Nick Sanchez. “However, we have core guys here from last year. I mean, Leo (Tienda) stayed, Jesse (Castro) stayed and I’m confident in this unit I feel like we’re going to do well this year.”
“Everyone, I feel, is solid. The offensive, blocking, receivers running routes, the quarterbacks; everyone does their jobs.”
Spear-heading this unit is the offensive line.
“With a young group like we have, especially with the skill positions, they’re going to be protected by our offensive line,” said head football coach Manny Gomez. “They’re battle-tested and we have some starters back. Our offensive line is definitely going to act like a security blanket.”
Along that line are seniors Davis Ericksmoen, Bobby Melendez and center Michael Noyola.
All three were All-District selections and have attributed their success to the chemistry they’ve built over the years.
“We’ve been together since middle school and freshman year; we have a bond,” Noyola said. “We go out to eat the
Thursday before game day and we put in work in the weight room and keep each other from slacking.”
Noyola also knows that, as seniors, they must.
“We have to take that responsibility and coach those younger guys up,” he said. “Without them, we can’t drive down the field. It’s always a process. The young guys learn and the seniors teach, but it’s going to be a good year for everyone.”
Some of the experience behind that line is the 2014 32-6A New Comer of the Year Leo Tienda and quarterback Jesse Castro helping lead the way.
Gomez admits that there have been some bumps in the offense this preseason, especially with some turnovers during scrimmage play.
However, if they can limit those miscues, their offense can help make some noise this year during their hunt for another district title.
“The bottom line is that it comes down to execution and ball security. We’ve had some issues there,” Gomez said. “Percentage-wise, it’s said that you have a 76 percent chance of winning a game if you force a turnover defensively. We had a couple of turnovers against Sharyland in our scrimmage.”
“What we need to understand is that if you take care of the football and get some first downs, we’re going to be successful.”