KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — La Feria is gearing up for their McAllen State Qualifying Tournament this weekend. The Lions are one of many small schools from across the state that will be looking to punch their ticket to the state 7 on 7 tournament later this month in College Station.
McAllen’s state qualifier will be La Feria’s second attempt to reach state. This past weekend, La Feria fell a game shy at the Rockport-Fulton qualifier.
“I felt that we played really well offensively this past weekend in Corpus,” said Lions quarterback Dorian Hernandez. “Our offense was on the same page and our defense made plays, we just came up a bit short.”
The Lions narrowly missed out on the state tournament last summer at the McAllen qualifier and are looking for better outcome this time around.
While the pools haven’t been released for this weekend’s qualifier, La Feria has an idea on who they will see.
Raymondville, Port Isabel, Hidalgo, La Villa and Rio Hondo are just some of the familiar names that will be in this weekend’s tournament. The Lions are shooting for their third trip to College Station. 2015 and 2016 were the last two years La Feria reached the state tournament.
“Our key this weekend is to rely on our speed,” Hernandez said. “We want to find some mismatches that we like on offense, but the biggest key for us will be to motivate each other and have each other’s backs.”
Hernandez will have some solid targets on offense in Darius Hernandez, Noah Conde and Eric Alegria.
“I feel great running the offense, I ran it last year and I felt great,” said Hernandez. “I’m so glad to have such an amazing team alongside me. Together we have fun and enjoy our time on the field. Right now we’re enjoying the 7 on 7 experience.”