PROGRESO — The Progreso Red Ants established themselves as a perennial Valley power in boys soccer over the past decade. Led by then-head coach Margarito Jimenez, the Red Ants dominated the Class 4A competition, advancing to seven straight postseason appearances (2013-2019), including three straight state tournament appearances (2016-2018).
The last two years put a pause to the Red Ants’ dominant run, with the 2020 season ending prematurely amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Progreso opting out of the 2021 campaign.
Uncertainty clouded the air going into this season, with the Red Ants nearly two years removed from their last contest and Jimenez announcing his resignation prior to the start of the year.
“It was really difficult for all of us,” Progreso forward Yahir Perez said. “With the pandemic, a lot of us had a lot of time without playing. We lost a lot of conditioning. Little by little, however, we’ve been getting back to the rhythm we were before the pandemic.”
Despite the near-two-year hiatus and a newly appointed head coach, the Red Ants’ goal this season remained the same: eyeing a return to the state tournament.
Through two rounds of postseason play, the Red Ants have proven they’re still one of the RGV’s elite soccer programs, emerging as one of seven Valley teams advancing to the regional quarterfinals this weekend.
Progreso takes on the Brownsville IDEA Frontier Chargers in the Region IV-4A quarterfinals at 4 p.m. Saturday at H-E-B Park in Edinburg.
“Our vision has always been state,” Progreso forward Jose Torres said. “First, we wanted to win district. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for us. Still, thanks to God, we’re in the third round of the playoffs. Now, our only vision is getting to state.”
Progreso is led by first-year head coach Gerardo Alanis, who served as an assistant to Jimenez during the Red Ants’ last state tournament appearance in 2018.
Replacing the 28-year veteran hasn’t been easy.
“Coach Jimenez had a certain playing scheme,” Alanis said. “For someone else to come in and replace it, it’s very difficult because the scheme has been planted. To get the kids to play the way we want to, it’s hard. But we’ve been able to accomplish it. We’re becoming more offensive, different than the scheme Coach Jimenez had.”
Alanis’ offensive philosophy is simple, with the Red Ants looking to score early and often. Progreso has evolved into one of Class 4A’s most potent offenses under Alanis, scoring 70 goals during district play en route to a 9-3-0 finish.
“We try to get our shots early, get inside and resolve the game during the first half,” Alanis said. “We don’t want to wait until second or the final 15 minutes. It’s happened, where we had to go to overtime to win. We don’t want that. We want to resolve the game during the first 15 to 20 minutes and put the game in the bag and emerge victorious.”
The Red Ants are led by a flurry of offensive weapons, with seven players scoring five or more goals during district play, including Perez and Torres. Cesar Cuenca serves as the team’s leading scorer, netting 11 goals in 12 district appearances.
“Our forwards are really good, to be honest,” Perez said. “Then our midfielders do a great job of recovering the ball and distributing it. But they can also score.”
During their first two postseason games, the Red Ants have struggled to score, mustering only three goals through the first two rounds after averaging 5.8 goals per contest during district play.
Still, the Red Ants remain confident in their ability, looking to get back to their offensive prowess and punch their ticket to the Region IV-4A tournament next week in McAllen.
“We just have to come out and play our game,” Torres said. “The result we’re looking for is always 3-0 to put the game in the bag. If we can’t do that, we’re just going to look for at least one goal before the half and take advantage of that.”
