BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
RIO GRANDE CITY – The turnaround has come rather quickly for Rio Grande City and coach Aaron Garcia. A three-win improvement in 2016 put the Rattlers in the hunt for a playoff spot in one of the toughest districts in the Valley, but the Rattlers settled for a 4-4 mark in 31-5A.
The turnaround isn’t possible without the efforts of their stout defense, which allowed 19.4 points per game in 2016. With eight defensive starters returning, halting opposing offenses will be on the Rattlers agenda in 2017.
“There’s a lot of confidence on our defense,” senior free safety Izrael Lambert said. “It helps out a lot to have guys coming back. Everyone knows their spot. Everyone knows their position and what to do.”
Lambert’s road to his senior season was admittedly a bumpy one.
“Before my sophomore year, they (previous coaching staff) tried to put me here on varsity,” Lambert said. “Unfortunately, during that summer after freshman year, I didn’t really come to practice that much, and that was my fault. If I did, I would have been here already.”
Former Rattler coach Carlos Longoria decided to instead place Lambert on the junior varsity team as a sophomore. His play was enough for Garcia to give him a varsity shot when he became head coach last season.
“I’m grateful that they did give me a chance,” Lambert said. “I hope I can keep it up this year.”
Coming from a safety spot, Lambert was Rio Grande City’s fourth leading tackler (57) in 2016.
“I try to stay focused on the line of scrimmage. That’s where you get most of your reads and tells you where the ball is going,” Lambert said. “I play with a lot of intensity. I try to make sure everything I do is perfect even though it’s hard to do that. I’ve gotten some tackles here and there. It was good I came in fourth. I’ll try to go first or second this year.”
He also accounted for four of the team’s eight interceptions by himself.
“At first, it was hard, because I started playing free safety last year,” Lambert said. “So, I had to work on man and all that. But I was able to adapt to it quickly and it became easier for me.”
Toward the middle of the defense is another senior: middle linebacker Jeremy Gorena. Gorena’s 82 tackles were second most on the team last season and are the most of any returner.
“It goes back to us playing as a team,” Gorena said. “I couldn’t have as many tackles without my teammates. We’re a great team. We’re a great defense. We jell well. We’re just fortunate we have a lot of returners coming back.”
Gorena knows his team is on the brink of a playoff berth this season, which would only be the sixth playoff appearance for the program since 1985.
“We look great so far,” Gorena said. “Last year we came close to making the playoffs, but now we’re hungrier. We know what it takes, how we have to play. And that’s what we’re going to work for.”
A NEW DIMENCIO
Senior wide receiver Dimencio Venecia had played football all his life, including a stint on Rio Grande City’s freshman team.
“Everything was going great, but I had too much stuff going on. I needed a break,” Venecia said.
Venecia stepped away from football and decided on focusing his time toward basketball and his grades for two years.
“As the years went by, I felt like the sport needed me back,” Venecia said. “I need to be on the field. I was put here to be on the field. So, I came back and I’m going to give it my all. It’s better late than never that I’m here.”
Venecia said he will continue to play basketball at Rio Grande City, and he’s making straight-A’s in the classroom. His return to the field coincides with a mass exodus at the wide receiver position for RGC. Their top three senior receivers — Javier Garcia, Diego Garcia and Jacob Guerra — combined for 109 catches, 1,254 yards and nine touchdowns lost from last year’s team.
“I don’t feel like I’m behind any of the other guys,” Venecia said. “I feel like I can come out onto the field and perform at the same level as I did before, or greater, because I’ve been putting the work in. I haven’t slacked off. I’m not scared to come in and play. I’m going all out.”
Venecia is aware of his physical tools and knows how he can use them to exploit defenses.
“My height (6-foot) is a great advantage,” Venecia said. “The hands, the speed. I feel like I can perform at a high level every game this season.”
BIG JUMP
Sophomore running back Angel Galvan will make quite the leap in 2017, joining the varsity roster after spending last season on the freshman team.
“I want to thank the coaches for giving me this opportunity,” Galvan said. “I’m here to help my teammates reach their goals of winning district.”
Galvan steps into a backfield that desperately needs to shoulder the load senior quarterback Jason Perez has carried. Perez ran for 900 of RGC’s 1,279 yards in 2016. No one else on the roster ran for more than 88 yards the entire season.
“I have good vision as a runner,” Galvan said. “I’m patient with the ball. Once I see that hole open, I go inside real quick.”
RIO GRANDE CITY’S PROGNOSIS
The Rattlers have a strong enough defense that will keep them in most games, but if last season is any indication, they will need to finish at better than a .500 record in district competition in order to make a return to the postseason.
2016 record: 6-4
Returning starters O/D: 6/8
COACH’S TENURE
Coach: Aaron Garcia
Year at school: 2nd
Record: 6-4