By FREDDY GONZALEZ
Staff Writer
SAN BENITO — San Benito wide receiver Mando Medrano is a man on a mission.
And after last weeks career-high 211 receiving yards and four touchdowns, the purpose of that mission seems a bit clearer.
“We are for real,” said Medrano. “Nobody believes in us, but we have to believe in ourselves. I’m not going to be complacent on last week’s performance, because I want more.
“We are aiming for that state championship. We just need to stay humble, keep working hard and we’ll make history.”
This season, Medrano has been quarterback JR Gaitan’s go-to target, linking up for more than 800 yards and 14 touchdowns. Five of those have come in the postseason.
Despite his brilliant performance against Laredo Alexander last week, the humble wide receiver is quick to pass along the praise he has received to another deserving bunch.
“The offensive line did a great job blocking for us and that gave us time and the opportunity to make those plays,” said Medrano. “Most of us have been playing together since we were freshman and we see ourselves more as brothers than a team. We are more united as ever and we just like playing for each other.”
At this point in the season, there is no shortage of motivation for the Greyhounds.
Whether it’s the stinging lack of belief in the team or the tunnel vision-like attitude of going for it all, for Medrano and the team, it’s the love of the fans that keeps them going.
“A lot of fans go to our games and that keeps us motivated,” said Medrano. “It feels awesome knowing that they go to all of our games, because in the end we play for them.”
Last week in CalAllen, the large San Benito traveling contingency engulfed the west side of the Wildcat Stadium and flooded the field with applause and cheer on every touchdown play.
This week, the Greyhounds face their biggest test of the season when they go up against the Schertz Clemens Buffaloes at 7 p.m. at Texas A&M Kingsville’s Javelina Stadium.
And they will need every bit of Medrano’s talent to go toe-to-toe with a team that has racked up more than 5,900 offensive yards this season.