KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Last season the strength of the Harlingen South defense was along the defensive line lead by Sky Tatum and Brandon Bennett.
This year the defense is led by their secondary in corners Kike Alvarado who is a junior and Kaleb Solis along with safety Isaac Moreno who both are seniors.
Alvarado stands at 6 foot 1 inch, Solis is listed at 6 feet 2 inches and Moreno checks in at 5-foot-8 inches. Along with the size, the trio brings speed and a physical presence when they line up on defense.
“After we lost Brandon and Sky last year, we knew we were going to have to step up this year and we have,” said Moreno. “We all worked hard over the off season and we knew we would be a big part of this defense.”
The trio of defensive backs have played together for a majority of their football careers. Solis who played safety last year moved to corner this past offseason.
Solis is as physical a corner as they come. It is a trait that Solis brought over from playing the safety position.
“The coaches decided to move me to corner and with Isaac at safety he knows how to make the calls and is a very smart player on the field,” Solis said. “It was a smooth move over to corner, I play physical and that is just something I have obtained over the years.”
With one physical corner on one end, Alvarado who also plays baseball is as athletic as they come with the long range ability. The two-corner duo makes quite the combo with range and physicality on each side.
The Hawks secondary are also known as the “Legion of Zoom” with all three premiere athletes in the secondary.
“I try and be savvy and make plays with my range,” Alvarado said. “We have played together for so long and we know how each other works. We are here for each other and people are taking notice of our talents and all the work we put in.”