Top-ranked Harlingen High routs Edcouch-Elsa at Black Hole

ELSA – Both Harlingen High and Edcouch-Elsa’s efforts from Week 0 carried over into Week 1.

That was only a good thing for Harlingen.

In a rematch of one of 2008’s most memorable games, won by E-E, the No. 1 Cardinals eased past the ‘Jackets 35-3 Friday night in The Monitor’s Game of the Week. Harlingen, which routed McHi 59-20 last week, was just as impressive in its second game of the season. Quarterback Mack Sanchez threw for 132 yards and two TD passes, with Anthony Reyna catching one and also finding the end zone on a 45-yard punt return in the first to give the Cardinals a 14-0 lead. The Cardinals defense held E-E to only 17 passing yards and took advantage of an E-E team giving sophomore Aaron Lopez his first career start.

That performance was more than enough for the Cardinals to start 2-0, and maintain what they had built up in last week’s rout of McHi.

“We talk about momentum. Why slow down after a game like that?” Harlingen coach Manny Gomez said. “We aren’t going to slow down our momentum. We’re going to carry it every following week, add a little twist here and there. But the bottom line is, we have to play extremely hard and live up to the motto. And that’s what we preach and that’s what we teach. That’s an example of what Cardinal spirit is all about.”

E-E, however, now has to deal with a whole host of problems.

No. 10 E-E meanwhile, struggled like it did in last week’s 8-0 loss at Calallen. The ‘Jackets didn’t complete a pass until halfway through the third (the lone one all night), gained just 25 yards of total offense and are still waiting for their first TD of the season. They also lost running back Roger Garcia to a left leg injury late in the third quarter.

The loss was their second straight to start the season, something E-E hasn’t experienced since the 2000 campaign, when the ‘Jackets began 0-3.  

Along with reversing the team’s worst start in recent memory, E-E coach Joe Solis has to deal with the uncertain status of both junior QB Ryan Garza (who didn't play) and Garcia. He also has to fix an offense that, even with Garcia, struggled to move the ball and has scored only three points all season.

“One thing is you never give up. You have to regroup,” Solis said. “I think one of the things that’s hurting us right now is that we have too many injuries. We need to get healed up and do the things we’ve done, which are work hard and get our confidence back and come back with pride.”

Right now, Harlingen sounds like one of the most confident teams in the Valley, one that doesn’t need to build its level of self-belief. And after a performance like Friday’s, that attitude is justified.

“You hear it from a lot of people, the fans, the community the players, the coaches that this could be a special team,” Sanchez said. “Knowing what people say about us is nice. We know that we have to work hard to get where we want to be.”

Brian Sandalow covers District 32-4A football for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4436 or via e-mail at bsandalow@themonitor.com.