HARLINGEN — Harlingen High’s 2023 campaign could be labeled a successful season by most program standards. The Cardinals finished 8-4 overall and advanced to the second round of the postseason for a fourth straight year.
The Cardinals aren’t just any other program, however, with district titles and deep postseason runs the standard.
A “down” 2023 season has this year’s group motivated to get back to that level, with the Cardinals opening the year as the No. 5 team in the RGVSports.com 5A/6A preseason poll.
“The mood has been good going into this year,” Harlingen High junior running back Noah Huerta said. “We’re trying to get revenge for the season after last year. We got a few losses we feel like we shouldn’t have had. We have a lot of people coming back, a lot of leaders. We’re just excited. We got that motivation, and we’re ready to get it this year.”
While the 2023 campaign could be viewed as a rebuilding year on the outside, for the Cardinals the season served as valuable experience.
The experience will be on full display on both sides of the ball, with a total of 13 starters (seven offense, six defense) returning for the 2024 campaign.
“We don’t believe in rebuilding years, but I understand the stigma,” Harlingen High senior linebacker Sterling Tomlin said. “We’re ready, though. We’ve done a lot of reloading. We’ve put people in different places and changed things up. We’re ready for whatever God throws our way. We’re just going to keep pushing.”
Offensively, the Cardinals return one of the area’s top backs in Huerta. The junior ball carrier exploded onto the scene after being forced into the starting role following an injury to the team’s starting back, rushing for 942 yards and 18 touchdowns.
He’ll have an experienced front five opening holes for him this season, led by senior Anthony De Leon and junior Steve Lopez.
The biggest question mark for Harlingen High’s offense comes at the quarterback position, with the Cardinals graduating both their top options from a year ago. Senior Jonas Serna and freshman Hasaan Woolery are the likely candidates to take the QB1 role, both seeing action during the team’s scrimmages thus far.
Whoever lines up at quarterback will have a valuable weapon in sure-handed wideout Adam Sanchez. The senior receiver finished second in the district in receiving last year, hauling in 46 catches for 550 yards and three touchdowns.
“Our offense is going to be powerful,” Huerta said. “We feel like it is going to be one of the strongest in the game. Our quarterback, he’s going to ball out. He’s going to be good. You guys might not know who he is yet, but he’s going to show out. Just our whole offense is going to be good.”
The defense brings back its own set of playmakers at every level, beginning with first-team All-Valley linebacker Sterling Tomlin.
The hard-nosed linebacker enters Year 3 as a starter on the Cardinals’ defense and has established himself as one of the best at his position in the area, racking up 219 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions through 25 games.
Defensive end Jacob Ortiz (62 total tackles, 20 TFL, two sacks) adds a disruptive force in the trenches for the Cardinals, and the return of safety Julisses Garza (27 total tackles, two interceptions in four games played) from injury adds a ball-hawking weapon in the secondary.
“I don’t want to say too much, but there has been some changes,” Tomlin said. “We’ve been practicing a lot and there has been a lot of consistency. We’ve had that consistency in our practicing, our plays and what we’re trying to do. To achieve our goals, we’re trying to stick to what we’ve been taught by our coaches. The defense is going to be stout. The offense is going to be stout. I say it every year, our offense is a sleeper. People don’t realize that. Often, we even lead the Valley in a lot of statistics, but people don’t see it because we’re known for our defense, but we’re going to be just as good on the offensive side of the ball.”
Harlingen High is set to open the regular season at home against a familiar foe in former district rival Weslaco High on Aug. 30 at Boggus Stadium, their first of three games at their home stadium to start the year.
The 32nd Bird Bowl against Harlingen South is set to follow the week after, with RGV powerhouse Edinburg Vela coming to town in Week 3. They’ll close out non-district play with games against Laredo United South, Mission Veterans and Cuero.
District play opens and closes with a bang for the Cardinals, who take on last year’s 5A DI state semifinalist Brownsville Veterans on Oct. 10 to kick off 32-6A play and finish the year at home with the Battle of Arroyo against San Benito on Nov. 8.
