This past season, the offense of the Harlingen Cardinals football team was as potent as any in the Rio GrandeValley.
A big reason for that was junior running back Leo Tienda, who helped guide the Cardinals to a 10-3 record and trip to the regional quarterfinal round of the state playoffs.
Tienda rushed for 1,849 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2015 and averaged 7.3 yards per carry, including a 232-yard, five-touchdown performance in an area-round win over Trevor Speights and the McAllen Memorial Mustangs.
After the season, Tienda was named to the 32-6A All- District first team running back and now he is a finalist for the Football Player of the Year Award, which will be presented at the 2016 All-Valley Sports Award Banquet on June 14 in McAllen.
Q: What are your thoughts on being nominated for this award?
A: I’m honored to be nominated with the likes of Trevor Speights and Joshua McGowen. They are great athletes who are going to continue to do great things in college. That’s pretty cool.
Q: You had a huge breakout season. What did that mean to you?
A: I knew I needed to come out and train hard. It’s football and I really love football. I am always having fun out here, so it’s not like I had to be out here training — I was just having fun with the guys.
Q: What has it meant to play for a program like Harlingen?
A: It’s meant a lot and done so much for me in the classroom, and out in real life. The coaches mold us to be great men. That’s what the Cardinal tradition is all about.
Q: What’s your favorite football memory?
A: It has to be practicing on Thanksgiving week. I think that was the best time. You’re thankful for a lot of stuff and I was thankful for Cardinal football.
Q: What is the hardest part of playing football?
A: I think it would have to be the third and fourth quarter. Not in the game, however, but in practice. The staff is pushing us to do the extra sprints and they’re yelling out ‘third quarter’ and ‘fourth quarter.’ We may have to play five or six quarters, so that’s why we work out all year. So, the toughest thing is working out here and putting in work before the games.
Q: What’s some of the best advice you’ve ever gotten from your coaches?
A: Most of the coaches have been in our shoes. They grew up here and went to the same school. The best advice they have given us is to not give up. They push us and tell us not to use excuses as crutches. Basically, they tell us to practice hard in the classroom as we would here out on the field. They know football is a big part of our lives, but it’s not all about football. We have to do well in the classroom and out in real life.
Q: Who’s you favorite athlete and why?
A: It would have to be Walter Payton. He was a monster and would work extremely hard. He went out on the field and went to work.
Q: Who are some of the heroes in your life?
A: My mom and dad because they work extremely hard to give us everything we have right now. Even when they can’t, they do everything in their power to give us everything we want to keep us happy, whether it’s food on the table, a video game or just some Whataburger. My parents are my everything.
Q: What’s your favorite subject in school?
A: It would have to be history. There are a lot of interesting things to be learned about what happened in the past and what our country went through.
Q: How do you prepare for a big game?
A: I wake up and thank God for giving me another chance to wake up. Then I have a good breakfast and just basically get mentality ready. It’s game day, so it’s time to get in the right frame of mind.
