BY MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Two-a-days begin before the start of the fall semester, a fact lost on Sharyland High’s Rudy Tornero, who had been in school in the U.S. only two years before entering his freshman season.
By the time he realized it, it was too late to do anything. His family had already made plans that caused Tornero to miss the first four days of practice. It ate away at him. Without being there, he had already made an impression. A bad one. And he believes it cost him more playing time as a freshman.
“I was pretty much on the bench the whole time,” he said. “I knew I had to do what was best for the team (by accepting a lesser role), but at the time I didn’t understand that.”
Tornero harnessed that anger, that disappointment, and used it as the driving force behind his summer workouts. Never again did he want to be lost in the shuffle. So he worked to shed whatever reputation followed his absence, and he quickly climbed up the totem pole — earning a varsity call-up as a sophomore, along with a starting role, and developing into one of the more terrorizing middle linebackers in the Valley.
He recorded 130 tackles (65 solo), 8.5 sacks, six big hits and 13 tackles his senior year, anchoring a Sharyland High defense that posted three consecutive shutouts en route to the third round of the playoffs. For that, he’s the All-Valley Defensive Player of the Year.
“It feels great,” Tornero said. “It means hard work pays off. Throughout my whole high school career, I’ve always worked hard. I’ve always tried to be the best I could be. So to have my hard work recognized, it’s an honor.”
The Rattlers were known for being one of the most proficient teams in all three phases of the game, and Tornero did his part to make sure the defense excelled. They came within one win of recording their third consecutive 10-0 regular season. They recovered from their 36-35 non-district blemish against Laredo Alexander to rip off eight consecutive victories.
And with Tornero leading the defense, Sharyland had six games in which it allowed one touchdown or less, as the Rattlers captured their third straight district title.
“He just has a nose for the football,” Sharyland coach Ron Adame said. “Playing linebacker, you need certain skills, and he’s got this knack for making people miss or him not getting blocked. His speed. He just has this way of dodging would-be blockers.
“He studies a lot of video. He goes into a game knowing the tendencies that a defense has, and he’s got a real good motor.”
While sidelined at the start of his sophomore year, Tornero helped the Sharyland coaching staff track plays to review during their film session. Always meticulous with his preparation, Tornero developed a reputation as a diligent worker and a student of the game.
“What he does on a daily basis throughout the season and in the offseason is what makes him special,” defensive coordinator Craig Krell said. “I just think his leadership that came across every day, his work ethic that came across every day, his ability to practice hard every day, his ability to study film every day, speaks volume to who he is.”
The idea of being lost once again motivated him. Amid all the success the program has enjoyed over the years, Tornero wanted to be a contributor on those squads. Not merely a spectator.
“I didn’t like it,” Tornero said about playing sparingly. “Since I didn’t want to feel how I felt that (freshman) year, I started working hard, working every day in the morning, going into my coach’s room. Every day before school, I would go study the game there.
“The way I see it, I guess sometimes you have to feel like you’re not good enough. Just wake up and know that you have to get better all the time. You have to constantly keep getting better. Constantly work hard. That’s what freshman year showed me. Just because I was on varsity, I didn’t have to stop trying.”