HARLINGEN — The Harlingen South Hawks did endure growing pains during the 2014 football season.
After taking their bumps last year, the Hawks’ morale was high after kicking off two-a-day workouts on Monday.
The Hawks got the late start as a result of holding spring practice earlier this year, but those practices have been nothing but beneficial to the team according to head coach Lanny Wilson.
“The team is looking good so far and they’re retaining a lot of the work we did during spring football,” Wilson said. “The guys came back in good shape and are more experienced because of the spring practices. It looks like we haven’t missed a beat.
“In my experience anytime you have a chance to do spring ball, coaches generally do it.”
The experience will help as the Hawks look to bounce back in what was one of Wilson’s tougher years as a head coach.
The Hawks went just 2-5 in a strong District 32-6A and finished 3-7 overall.
Still, even with youth and injuries creating obstacles, South is looking at the silver lining.
“Last year we had a lot of injuries, but we had a lot of younger guys get some valuable playing time and experience because of it,” Wilson said. “Now they have game experience. That really puts us ahead of where we were at this point last year.
“The guys never quit last year and we’ve continued to work this year.”
The Hawks return about 10 starters this season and will see some players play on both sides of the ball.
In the trenches, Adey Away , Manny Leal and Abel Villarreal will see time on both the offensive and defensive line.
Another returning player who will see a lot of time on the field is senior Alec Garza, who will play wide receiver and the cornerback position.
As a senior, Garza likes what he’s seeing from the team and younger players thus far.
“Well we are looking good and really coming along. I’m seeing a lot of effort coming from the younger guys coming up and it’s looking better than expected,” Garza said. “I think once the pads come on at the end of the week, we’ll really see what we got.”
The Hawks also return leading rusher Steven Rodriguez, who led the team with 400 yards rushing and four scores in last season’s running-by-committee system. He is looking to have another big year.
“Our offense looks pretty good. We have most of our starters coming back along with a few different players that we have adjusted in and are looking good,” Rodriguez said. “Last year was a good year and I learned a lot of new things I didn’t know before.
“As a team we’re looking to get to the playoffs.”