WRITER’S NOTE: STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH CORRECTIONS ON PREVIOUS FOURTH-ROUND TEAM.
HARLINGEN — Hanging inside Harlingen High’s weight room is a picture of the 2011 Cardinals with the quote, “How do you want to be remembered?” underneath it.
That year’s group became the first team since the 1989 Cardinals to make it to the fourth round of the postseason, raising the bar for an already historic program.
After coming within one game of tying the 2011 Cardinals’ mark last season, the 2023 Cards are locked and loaded for their chance to create their own legacy. They open the year at No. 4 in the RGVSports.com Top 10 poll.
“We feel like we’re ready for this season to come up,” Harlingen High quarterback Randy Morales said. “We have some new faces on both sides of the ball, completely new faces to be honest. Last year was incredible for us. We really surprised everyone last year, but I feel like this year will be a similar outcome.”
Fresh off their third district title in four years, expectations are as high as ever despite graduation hitting the Cards hard.
Gone is 2022 Valley Morning Star Player of the Year Izaiah Bell, who accounted for 1,779 yards and 32 total touchdowns last season. Harlingen High also lost seven starters on defense, including disruptive defensive tackles Remzi Memik and Pedro Silguero.
Like always, however, Harlingen High is ready with a next-man-up mentality.
“We have a lot of new faces this year,” Harlingen High offensive lineman Adrian Aguirre said. “We don’t wait for anybody, though. Cardinal football waits for nobody. We just keep on going because of who we are. That’s the mentality. Just keep going.”
The offense will lean on the arm and legs of quarterback Randy Morales. The senior signal caller is back after serving as the team’s starter last year, airing it out for 1,427 yards and 13 touchdowns to go along with 654 yards and 10 scores on the ground.
He’ll be joined in the backfield by the running back tandem of Samuel Montejano and Noah Huerta, with the duo set to help shoulder the load left by Bell’s departure.
On defense, the Cardinals are loaded with impact players at every level.
District 32-6A Newcomer of the Year Sterling Tomlin returns after a breakout sophomore season, which featured the hard-nosed linebacker racking up 80 total tackles, eight TFL and four sacks.
Fellow junior Jacob Ortiz was a disruptor up front after being thrown into the fire last year, feasting on defenders in the backfield to the tune of 14 TFL and a team-high six sacks.
Seniors Andres Deur and Adrian Lizcano give the Cardinals a pair of playmakers in the secondary, with the duo combining for eight forced turnovers last year.
“The expectation is just to go out there and play hard,” Morales said. “We want to dominate on both sides of the ball. I know the defense will do their thing out there, and we’ll try to do our thing on offense as well.”
Harlingen High opens its new campaign with the 31st rendition of the Bird Bowl, taking on the Harlingen South Hawks at 7 p.m. Friday. It will continue non-district play with games against Mercedes and Mission Veterans before closing it out with back-to-back games against Laredo area schools.
The Cardinals will kick off their District 32-6A title defense after a district-wide bye week following non-district play, taking on Weslaco High in their league play opener on Oct. 6. A tilt against Brownsville Hanna follows before hitting the road for the always electric Battle of the Arroyo against San Benito on Oct. 20. Harlingen High closes out the regular season with games against Brownsville Rivera and Los Fresnos.
