By MARK MOLINA
Valley Morning Star
HARLINGEN — Harlingen South head football coach Lanny Wilson knew these early times out were going to be a learning experience.
During Friday night’s scrimmage at Boggus Stadium, the Hawks’ youth showed against a more experienced McAllen Memorial Mustang squad.
The Mustangs looked dominant up front on both sides of the line, as they scored seven touchdowns on the night and won the live period 7-0 after Trevor Speights scored on a 4-yard run following a fumble by South’s Steven Rodriguez.
For the Hawks, it’s still a work in progress.
“We’re not good right now, but we’re getting better and we got better throughout the scrimmage,” Wilson said. “We have some good players, but we have to teach them what to do in the right position to get them playing hard and we’ll be OK.”
The Hawks did show signs of progress during the controlled portion as they scored touchdowns on three of their four possessions.
“We have to go in there and watch the film,” Wilson said. “We have to get all 11 working together. We have some kids who haven’t been on a varsity football field before tonight. We’re getting some jitters out and we’ll get better in a hurry.”
However, the Mustangs scored at least one touchdown in their first three times with the ball. The Mustang speed created problems for the Hawks defense.
Memorial’s quarterback Trevor Pedraza scored a rushing touchdown and threw for one on a 38-yard strike to DJ Talamantez.
Speights scored three times on the night, including one from 70 yards out in the controlled period.
Other than penalties, everything went right for the Mustangs.
“We had some penalties but the kids are excited during the first time out. We did some good things and we did some bad things. We want to take care of the football and play good defense behind it,” Mustang coach Bill Littleton said. “I was proud but at the same time we have to get better because our whole schedule is tough and we have to able to play in a hurry.”