GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
Progreso coach Tom Salazar enters the 2016 season facing an all-too-familiar problem: low roster numbers.
When Progreso travels to face Lyford on Friday, Salazar anticipates the team taking at most 21 players. But Salazar reminded the Red Ants of 2014, when the team brought a similarly small roster to Brownsville Porter and pulled out a 7-0 win.
“I told them, ‘We can do it,’” Salazar said. “’It’s going to take a lot of hard work on your part, but it is possible. It’s not a thing where we don’t stand a chance. We just have to be positive and do what we can with what we’ve got.’”
Though Progreso is coming off a 1-8 season and has made the playoffs just once in its 30-year history, Salazar said the players have consistently come to practice with a strong effort and positive attitude.
Salazar said Progreso was clearly overmatched and outgunned in Friday’s scrimmage against powerhouse Brownsville St. Joseph, but that his team continued to persevere, scoring on its final possession.
“They beat us like a drum, but we kept fighting back and fighting back and we kept going,” Salazar said. “They could have given up, but they didn’t. I’m grateful to them for having the heart, and that’s the way it’s going to be.”
Salazar is hoping to get his roster up to 28 players once classes begin and students return from summer jobs. As it stands now, many of the skill players are in camp, but the Red Ants are limited in the trenches.
Salazar entered the year wanting to be able to focus more players on just one side of the ball, but the turnout has forced him to continue using about a dozen players on both offense and defense. He said he doesn’t remember any other group responding to the demands with a better attitude.
“These kids, they never complain,” Salazar said. “I’ve been running the heck out of them, because they have to be in shape to play the whole game, and they don’t complain. They just do it. Period.”
The goal for 2016 is simple: win some games, Salazar said. The task will not be an easy one, as Progreso has the smallest enrollment and by far the lowest roster numbers in District 16-4A Division II. Last season, the Red Ants lost their five district games by an average margin of 37 points.
“My goal is to try to pull one or two district games,” Salazar said, “and I think we can.”
SPREADING IT OUT
Progreso switched to a spread offense last season, a change Salazar said the players enjoyed because it was reminiscent of playing sandlot football.
Steven Alaniz projects as the team’s primary running back, while Cristian Trevino moved to quarterback from wide receiver and won a four-way battle for the starting job.
“He’s very gutsy,” Salazar said. “If he sees an opening to run, he’s going to take it.”
On the line, center Miguel Quintana and Jesus Torres are the returning starters.
ATTACKING DEFENSE
On defense, Progreso’s plan is to attack out of a 3-4 alignment and use stunts to generate pressure on quarterbacks despite a lack of size.
The Red Ants have a strong linebacker core in Octavio Alvarez, Hector De Los Santos, Estevan Silva and Manuel Flores, plus reliable defensive back pieces in corner Dagoberto Treviño and safties Anthony Solis and Joshua San Roman, a freshman.
“I think our pursuit, being aggressive and trying to get to the ball is going to be one of our strengths when we get that developed,” Salazar said. “We’re getting there. We still have a ways to go, but I think we’ll be able to have some success with it.”
PROGRESO
With low roster numbers and a demand on many players to work both sides of the ball, Progreso could be in store for another difficult season.
Projected 2016 record: 2-7
TENURE
Coach: Tom Salazar
Year at School: Fourth
Record at Progreso: 5-24