Harilngen, Westlake have rematch one year later

SAN ANTONIO — The "R" words are endless.

Rematch.

Revenge.

Respect.

But the Harlingen Cardinals can think of one only.

Redemption.

Hollywood couldn't have scripted it better.

One year after the Cardinals got beat by Austin Westlake at the Alamodome, the schools face off again in a Class 5A, Division I regional game.

Same place. Same date. Same teams.

"We're all excited and ecstatic about this," Harlingen DT Nick Aviles said after a morning Thanksgiving Day practice.

"We wanted this. We want to prove to the Valley to the state and to ourselves that we can play football down here. We're looking to redeem ourselves and take that pride back that they (Westlake) took from us last year."

The stripping of pride came in the form of a 49-23 loss that ended the Cards season in 2008.

Aviles started on that team. As did fellow linemates Mingo Rincon and Tipper Ramirez. Corner back Erwin Oliva was also on the field when the Chaps took it to Harlingen.

On the offensive side, receivers Luke Lucio and Anthony Reyna were starters. As was RB Pablo Garza and OL Nick Casas.

Quarterback Mach Sanchez started on the other side at defensive back.

So the bitter pill that Harlingen was forced to swallow is still there.

"This is what we've been preparing for since August," Cards head coach Manny Gomez said.

Harlingen (12-0) earned a date with the Chaps (10-2) following a gritty 21-14 win against San Antonio Southwest last week at Kingsville.

Playing in the mud and muck, the Cards played great defensively forcing six turnovers.

And today, it'll be the defense taking center stage against the Chaps and quarterback Tanner Price.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound QB played last year too. And while it was RB Ryan Swopes, now with the Texas A&M Aggies, that hurt Harlingen with two early kickoff returns for TD, Price is the man on offense for the Chaps this season.

Price has passed for 1,985 yards and 11 TDs this season. He's also Westlake's leading rusher with 884 yards and seven TDs. Van Grammann has rushed for 801 yards and two TDs.

Under first-year head coach Darren Allman, the Chaps are more of a spread team this season compared to the pro-set offense they operated from a year ago.

Allman noted he was aware of Harlingen's quick and swarming defense.

The Cardinals stop troops are averaging 196 yards yielded per contest in 12.

One of the best stop units in the state, Harlingen's defense vs. Westlake's offense will be a key matchup today.

"They've got great team speed and they play hard," Allman said. "They play defense a lot like us. They play an emotional upbeat type of defense. We know we're going to have our hands full."

Harlingen's offense is nothing to sneeze at either.

Sanchez leads the Cardinal attack with 2,029 yards passing and 24 TD passes in 12 games.

In that same span, he's also rushed for 848 yards and 19 TDs.

Garza's rushed for 129 yards and 18 TDs including 129 yards and one score in the mud at Javelina Stadium last week.

The teams match up and the lines are drawn.

Gomez simply told the players after a recent practice to, "take care of business."

"We just have to stay focused and not get caught up in the excitement too much and that's my job as their coach," Gomez said. "We just have to go play Cardinals football and believe in ourselves."

Eladio Jaimez covers District 31-5A for Valley Freedom Newspapers.