MISSION — A five-year run of consecutive playoff appearances that included five postseason victories and three district titles came to an end for Sharyland Pioneer after the 2021 campaign.
The Diamondbacks used last year’s 5-5 overall record to drive them throughout the offseason. Now, they’re determined to put Pioneer back where they feel it belongs — in the playoffs.
In order to get there, they’ll have to battle against defending district champions and crosstown rivals Mission Veterans and Sharyland High, while also holding off fellow District 16-5A DII playoff hopefuls PSJA Memorial, PSJA Southwest and Roma.
“We fought, nobody complained and we worked hard to improve, and that’s the name of the game — getting better every day and outworking yesterday. We’re going to take it one week at a time, and God-willing, it’s going to get us what we need to get back in the playoffs,” second-year head coach Eddie Galindo said.
| Sharyland Pioneer head football coach Eddie Galindo gives instruction at practice at Sharyland Pioneer High School on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, in Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez |
Star receiver Joseph Graham Jr. will be the focal point of Pioneer’s spread offense. The speedster displayed big-play ability during his sophomore season before spending time all over the field for the Diamondbacks as a junior, including at quarterback. This year, junior Julian Valdez is leading the race to earn the starting nod behind center.
“I’ll play wherever the team needs me to play just to get back in the playoffs. It’s really important to us because here at Pioneer, we have high expectations,” senior receiver Graham said. “Last year motivated us and put a fire in us to get back into the playoffs and to get back to the Pioneer we used to be.”
| Sharyland Pioneerâs Julian Valdez hands off the ball at practice at Sharyland Pioneer High School on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, in Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez |
Anchoring Pioneer’s defense is its defensive line, led by end Cole Woydziak, a towering edge defender with a combination of speed and strength.
“We’re trying to get back to where we were, bring up Pioneer standards again. We’ve been competing against each other and are ready to start the season,” Woydziak said.
Last year’s district title was split three ways between Mission Veterans, Sharyland High and Mercedes. With the Tigers gone due to realignment, it leaves the Patriots and Rattlers as the front-runners for this year’s trophy. They also both have the same goal — winning it outright.
“It’s our senior year, and we want to leave with a legacy. A district championship back-to-back would be pretty cool,” senior quarterback Cole Gerlach said.
| Sharyland High QB Cole Gerlach |
“This year, we don’t want to share a district title. We want it all to ourselves,” senior slot receiver and safety Alan Gonzalez said. “And we want more than that. We want to make a deep playoff run, and we want to make it a memorable last run for all us seniors.”
“We’re going for that district title and making it through district undefeated. We’re looking forward to those games and the new district,” senior slot receiver Enrique Ordaz said.
| Mission Veterans WR Enrique Ordaz |
Roma is out to put an end to a six-year playoff drought. The Gladiators bring back six starters on both offense and defense led by junior left guard Artemio Belmontes, a key player in Roma’s Slot-T offense.
“We have been putting in a lot of work this offseason and growing as a team,” he said. “We feel really good about the district this year. We feel prepared, confident and we feel like we can do good things.”
| Roma G Artemio Belmontes |
PSJA Southwest running back and safety Angel Hernandez, a four-year letterman, was part of the Javelinas’ team in 2020 that qualified for the playoffs for the first time in program history. With a new-look district featuring six teams and four postseason spots up for grabs, Hernandez firmly believes the Javelinas have what it takes to return to the promised land.
“It was not an easy task, but we learned how good you have to be to make the playoffs and how good teams are in the playoffs,” he said. “We’re expecting big things and focused on making it back to the playoffs.”
| PSJA Southwest’s Angel Hernandez |
PSJA Memorial’s focus under second-year head coach Will Littleton has been changing the culture, which began last season for the Wolverines despite a 1-9 finish overall.
“Personally at PSJA Memorial, we’re all excited about changing the culture and changing how people think about us. We’ve been working extremely hard and can’t wait to get out there and play ball,” Littleton said.
“Everybody’s bought in and everybody’s been showing up. The culture is changing,” senior running back Oziel Flores said.
| PSJA Memorial’s Oziel Flores |