McALLEN — The Harlingen High Cardinals defense stuffed the McAllen Memorial Mustangs at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in a 21-6 victory to start the 2020 season in the winning column.
In an offseason marked by the novel COVID-19 pandemic, both teams were excited to get back and return to some sense of normalcy under some Friday night lights.
“Well, for one, it was a win-win for both teams because you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Harlingen High head coach Manny Gomez said. “It’s important that we take every opportunity that we can, so I was ecstatic when Coach [Bill] Littleton called the other day, actually last night around six-ish and we made this happen. Any time you can come out here and see kids play and perform and have fun it’s a win-win.”
As expected, due to the long offseason and the limited number of practices leading to the game, both teams struggled early in the first quarter as the Mustangs picked up a quick first down and then were forced to punt. Cardinals wide receiver Justin Galvan then fumbled and gave the ball to the Mustangs.
“Throughout the whole Valley, throughout the whole state of Texas — even the college ranks — you are not going to get the best production because it’s pivotal the offseason and the spring ball,” Gomez said. “Everybody is on the same page when it comes to this so it’s not an excuse, so you got to be able to come out here and fire. We started off a little slow but eventually, the defense picked up the pace.”
The Cardinals’ defense was the key to the game as they held the Mustangs scoreless through three quarters until allowing a 4-yard touchdown to running back Max Alaniz-Choy up the middle at the 11:57 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Harlingen High defense caused a lot of trouble for the run-heavy offense of McAllen Memorial by recovering two fumbles and getting key stops on fourth down to give the ball back to the offense in favorable field position.
“I was proud of them (Cardinal defense),” Gomez said. “They almost held them scoreless but almost don’t count. I’m super proud of them and super proud of this team.”
Offensively for the Cardinals, quarterback Joe Zuniga kept the offense moving with a healthy mix of short and intermediate passes alongside some backbreaking runs and scrambles.
Zuniga was able to find the end zone three times hitting his receiver, Tristian Vasquez, twice for 27-yard touchdowns in the first and third quarters, and his running back, Izaiah Bell, out of the backfield for a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
The McAllen Memorial run-heavy offense struggled with starting senior running back Andrew Salinas and senior fullback Michael Lewis. Yet, after Salinas, Lewis and the rest of the offense stalled early the backfield turned into a committee with Choy and junior Ethan Garcia all trying to jumpstart the offense.
“I don’t know about more touches next week,” McAllen Memorial head coach Bill Littleton said. “But Ethan Garcia looked pretty good tonight.”
Questions at running back is a new dilemma for Littleton as he has been able to enjoy the Division I talents of Trevor and Campbell Speights since 2011 and is looking to see who will step up this 2020 season.
The Mustangs will head back to the drawing board as they prepare for a showdown against the McAllen High Bulldogs next Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium. Harlingen plays district rival Harlingen South at J. Lewis Boggus Stadium.