BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
PROGRESO — Coach Tom Salazar tried simplifying Progreso’s offense last year in hopes of kick-starting a team in desperate need of wins. The Red Ants primarily ran plays in the I-formation and attempted to pound their way to points.
The results, however, were all too familiar for a program on the skids. Progreso finished 1-9, went winless in District 16-4A and were outscored by an average margin of 32 points per game. Their lone victory came during Week 1 wherein they defeat Brownsville Porter 7-0.
This year, Salazar and his coaching staff are going back to the drawing board in hopes of avoiding another dismal year. Instead of concentrating players on the line of scrimmage, the Red Ants will look to implement the spread offense and push the tempo of the game. The team employed it last week during a scrimmage against Zapata, scoring twice.
“The kids have been picking it up real well,” Salazar said. “They played with a lot of energy, they liked the offense. Things happened. The reason we adapted is because it fits our kids better. We have decent speed in the backfield, our linebackers are pretty decent, and all we have to do is block for a tenth of a second and then we’re gone.”
Senior Gasper Trevino will start as quarterback, replacing the graduated Dagoberto Zamora. Though he’ll be playing under center, very little of his duties will require throwing the ball.
“A lot of what we do is going to be very simple,” Salazar said. “We only have about five running plays that we run. But we try and disguise a lot of what we do. We’re going to focus on running the ball.”
Trevino says he sees an improved morale from his teammates, and that he’s been studying up to help carry the load for the Red Ants.
“Everyone is showing up and being more aggressive,” he said. “The offense is moving the ball pretty well, and I’ve been studying the defense a lot lately,” he said. “I’m looking at linebackers and the corners to see where I can run with the ball.”
BOTH SIDES
Trevino is one of a handful of athletes who play one side of the ball. With only about 40 kids on the roster, many Red Ants will pull double duty and oftentimes play every down during a game.
“We don’t make excuses,” Salazar said. “We have to compete with the team that we have. We prepare every week like we expect to win, and we do the best we can and give maximum effort. But the numbers do hurt us. Last year, we’d come out strong in the fist half, but by the third quarter our guys were gassed.”
Progreso’s freshman team is giving a small inkling of increased participation. Salazar says the team only had five freshman players in 2014, but has more than 20 headed into this season.
FAMILIAR SCHEME
While the offense undergoes a makeover, the team’s defense will mostly be the same as it was a year ago. The team will run a 3-4 with an occasional 3-3 stack depending on the situation.
The defense has five returning starters including junior lineman Hector De Los Santos and junior linebacker Manny Flores.
A KILLER BEE NO MORE
D’arcy Wiart enters his first year as an athletic trainer and equipment manager for Progreso after spending two years with the Rio Grande Valley Killers Bees, a North American Hockey League team which moved this summer to Pennsylvania.
Wiart, a native of New Brunswick, Canada, previously worked with football teams in Georgia, including a two-year stint at Georgia Southern from 2008-2009.
PROGRESO’S PROGNOSIS: The Red Ants hope a spread offense will make them a more competitive team than they were a year ago. But even with shortening the gulf between them and their district peers, Progreso still has a ways to go before being competitive on a weekly basis.
PROJECTED 2015 RECORD: 1-9
COACH’S TENURE Coach: Tom Salazar
Year at school: Third
Record at Progreso: 4-16
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