Peña has Pirates looking for history

Jorge Peña’s reputation as a coach preceeds him.

Peña is a demanding, expectations-driven coach, wanting nothing but the best from his players. Some years his teams align with his hard-line approach while other seasons it is a challenge.

The Hidalgo coach has said all season that he has had little discord in molding this year’s Pirates into a dedicated group, mostly because they have taken it upon themselves to expect the best from each other.

“These kids want nothing more than to keep playing,” Peña said. “That has made all the difference in the world. Their energy is so high and they are so focused, they don’t want to stop playing.”

And the best might be just around the corner.

If Hidalgo defeats Gonzales in the teams’ Class 3A Division I regional game Friday in Alice, it will be the first time a Pirates team has ever won two playoff games in one season.

It could be the type of success many fans thought the Pirates should have had in 2006. Last season’s team was a much-heralded crop but fell below expectations.

“To be honest, I just thought some of the better players on last year’s team were looking forward to basketball season,” Peña said. “It was just the way I felt. I could sense it and my coaches could sense it.”

The ’06 Pirates spiraled out of playoff contention with a three-game District 32-3A losing streak. Some expected the same this year. Four weeks ago, the Pirates were coming off back-to-back district setbacks to Rio Hondo and Port Isabel, respectively.

Their egos were bruised and they were hit hard by the injury bug. After the loss to Port Isabel, coaches in the Pirates’ huddle could be heard urging the team not to give up on the season.

The cries to march on did not fall on deaf ears this year.

“It has to be leadership,” senior middle linebacker Jaime Contreras said. “On this team every senior is a leader. Everybody leads by example. We don’t just have one guy that is the leader. Every senior picks up the younger guys.”

One of the injured Pirates was senior free safety Abraham Garcia, who watched helplessly as his team fell to Port Isabel in Week 8.

Garcia tore his ulnar collateral ligament during the Hidalgo-Rio Hondo game in Week 7 and was not completely healed but returned to action so that he could help his team punch its ticket to the postseason.

“When it came to the La Feria game, I told everyone I was going to play,” Garcia said. “I know I wasn’t supposed to, but I told my mom and the doctor I was going to play. I signed a waiver and everything just so I could play.”

Garcia helped Hidalgo win its final two weeks of the regular season, posting consecutive shutout wins against La Feria and Progreso to clinch a playoff spot for the second time in three years.

“(The players on the team) have never played in a playoff game,” Garcia said. “We were not going to take no for an answer. We were determined big time. We weren’t going to let anyone hold us back.”

Peter Rasmussen covers District 32-3A or The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448. For this and more local stories, visit www.rgvsports.com.