Hitting the gridiron to open the 2021 season Monday was a big step toward “normalcy” for the Brownsville Hanna and Brownsville Porter football programs.
Neither squad has quite as many student-athletes out as during a pre-pandemic season, but both coaches are confident in their returning talent and happy with the effort being put forth to get ready for two of the toughest districts in the Rio Grande Valley.
“We’re excited about the kids that are out here. Wish our numbers were bigger, but I think everybody’s struggling in the post-COVID era. We’re just going to have to adjust. No excuses, just reload and go,” Porter Cowboys coach Carlos Uresti said.
Hanna’s Mark Guess said his returning varsity Golden Eagles had a strong showing over the summer and are doing well during the opening week of practice. The focus early on is getting more younger kids involved.
“Just getting kids in, really the younger kids because we didn’t have much contact with our middle schoolers last year, unfortunately, because of COVID,” Guess said. “Our varsity guys do a really good job of being here when they’re supposed to, so we really don’t have to harp on those guys. It’s just getting those younger guys and JV guys in so we can be competitive the next few years.”
Summer strength and conditioning and the hour of sport-specific training allowed by the UIL put Hanna a step ahead by the time practice for the season officially kicked off. The Eagles have a few holes to fill, and Guess is pleased with how some up-and-comers are performing after a beneficial offseason.
Hanna has a tough schedule featuring a scrimmage against Sharyland Pioneer and non-district contests against Mercedes, Sharyland High and Corpus Christi Miller to put the Eagles in position to contend for another District 32-6A title.
“Our conditioning level right now is better than it’s been in a lot of previous offseasons,” Guess said. “Even learning-wise, I think the defense is farther ahead than we usually are at this point of the year. Offense takes a little bit more, but at the same time I think because of the summer we were able to have, the offense is a little ahead of where they normally are.
“We have a goal and it’s to win a district championship, like it is every year,” he added. “In my opinion, if you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. We’re playing some really good teams in non-district to get us ready for that tough 32-6A schedule. As long as we come out of that non-district schedule healthy, we think we’re going to be one of those teams to reckon with when we get to the district season.”
The Cowboys have a lot of open positions after graduating all but two offensive starters and returning four on defense, but Uresti isn’t concerned. Porter is taking things in stride and focusing on getting athletes back into football mode.
“The majority of the kids were here (during the summer), but we still have some kids, incoming freshmen, that are needing to get acclimated to high school football,” Uresti said. “The older kids have been here, they know the system, so it’s not that we’re reteaching, it’s just getting back in the routine of things. We’re not rebuilding, we’re reloading.”
Because District 16-5A Division I is a 10-team district, Uresti said the Cowboys don’t “have a lot of wiggle room” to have a slow start. They’ll play just one non-district game before taking on the district slate. Porter is already addressing the importance of being focused and ready to battle.
“In my opinion, it’s the toughest district in the Valley. But we’re comfortable with what we have,” Uresti said. “Every game counts, even the non-district ones, because you want to start on a positive note. We’re preaching to the kids right now, ‘Take it one game at a time.’ As cliché as that sounds, with as young as we are, that’s all we want our kids to concentrate on.”
