By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
SANTA MARIA — Few teams in the Rio Grande Valley improved as dramatically as Santa Maria did under coach Israel Gracia in 2019.
For his part in that development, Gracia is the Valley Morning Star’s 2019 All-STAR Football Coach of the Year.
Gracia and his staff maximized the potential of his squad’s 36-player roster, and finished three wins and one playoff seed better than the team’s 2018 performance in District 16-2A Division I.
“ I had high expectations coming in,” Gracia said. “We knew there was going to be a culture change. With the (assistant coaches) I brought in, the kids really bought in to them.
“ It was an all-around effort, from the support of our superintendent to the school board and this community,” Gracia said. “They gave me the tools to be successful.”
The Cougars (7-3, 3-2 16-2A DI) closed out the regular season by winning four of their final six games and two in a row. Among the Santa Maria’s highlights were a 36-0 win at La Villa, a 21-7 win over Progreso, and a come-from-behind 35-30 victory against Freer to clinch the third seed.
“ We overcame adversity, we were down and we came back when everyone counted us out,” Gracia said of the win over Freer to cap the district slate. “The lead changed four or five times. That game showed the character of our kids, and of all the wins, that one (gives me) the most satisfaction.”
In the bi-district round of the playoffs, Weimar defeated Santa Maria 35-13. The Cougars trailed 14-7 at halftime.
Among Gracia’s savvy moves were his ability to produce two quarterbacks that ended up being valuable contributors on defense in Nathan Rodriguez and Jesse Ortiz.
Rodriguez, a defensive tackle, was an unorthodox choice to run the Santa Maria offense, but he did so quite efficiently, racking up 521 rushing yards, 764 passing yards and 15 touchdowns during the 2019 regular season. When an injury to Ortiz gave Rodriguez the opportunity to seize control of the starting job, Ortiz transitioned out to wide receiver and became one of four Cougars receivers to record at least 100 yards.
Bernie Castellanos, Santa Maria’s top wideout, ended the regular season with 706 yards on 31 catches and 13 touchdowns. Erick Castellanos was the Cougars’ top rusher, posting 575 yards on 87 carries and six touchdowns.
Middle linebacker Marcos Sandoval was the linchpin of a fearsome defensive unit that allowed 164 yards per game and surrendered an average of less than 13 points per game.
Gracia said he’s already started to see the sacrifices of some of his veteran players pay off in the form of momentum and motivation for his younger returning players during the offseason.
“ You can see some of the kids are starting to step up now,” Gracia said. “We lost a couple of seniors, but the younger kids now know that they are going to step up and it’s going to be their role. I don’t have anyone that thinks they’re only going to play one way.”
As far as Santa Maria has come as a program, Gracia said he expects to see continuous improvement in the 2020 season and beyond.
“ We’re not satisfied with where we’re at,” Gracia said. “There’s a lot of growing to do and a lot of changes we have to implement. But we can’t stop. We’ve got to continue to build. I think we’re barely getting started with where we want to be.”