KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — In year three of the Brian Ricci era, Harlingen South has the most experienced team under Ricci. 2018 is looking up for Harlingen South after a turbulent 2017.
On Wednesday, the Hawks hit the field wearing a half shell (shoulder pads and helmet); it added a little extra to the early morning grind.
“The kids are excited to get back out here and work,” Ricci said. “We’re up beat, and today we threw the shoulder pads on, so that was a plus.”
Last season, there were questions at the quarterback position, this year junior David Torres is the man under center. Torres took over last season for senior Dylan Carreon against Harlingen in week five.
Torres made progress the final six weeks of the season, giving the Hawks a passing option. Now with a full offseason under his belt, Torres is poised for a strong year and will have plenty of weapons around him.
“We threw him into battle against Harlingen, it was the biggest game, biggest crowd and as a sophomore at the time, he went out there and did well, and he got better each week. He is confident now and has taken that next step and has a full grasp of the offense.”
Torres will look to a pair of big targets in senior Derrick Delgado and junior Brady Bennett at wide receiver. In the back field, speedster Emilio Quiroz will look to pick up where he left off along with Corban Hendrick who looks to get some touches this year.
“Brady looks great, he lost some weight and can move well,” said Ricci. “He is a big target for us, and David likes throwing it to him.”
Last season the strength of the defense was along the defensive line with arguably the best pass rushing duo in Brandon Bennett and Sky Tatum. This year, the strength is in the secondary.
Junior Kike Alvarado and senior Kaleb Solis will play the cornerback position and provide a physical presence with plenty of range. Solis who played safety last season, moved to corner opposite of Alvarado. Also making his return is safety Isaac Moreno who was also a starter last year in the secondary providing South with an experienced and physical secondary.
“We have two corners in Kike and Kaleb right now that I feel confident in,” Ricci said. “It wasn’t a hard adjustment for Kaleb at all moving from safety to corner, he is a physical corner and we felt having two athletic corners can help us.”
The Hawks will kick off their season August 31 at Edinburg High with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.