DONNA — The senior class at Donna North hasn’t seen the varsity football program record a victory since they were in eighth grade.
The Chiefs are in the midst of a 30-game losing streak, which is tied for the third-longest active streak in the state, according to Texas High School Football History.
But the tide began to turn at Donna North last season under then first-year head coach Juan Cuevas. The Chiefs rolled out a competitive group with two games of scoring 20-plus points and one game with 30-plus.
“We felt we made some very positive steps forward,” he said. “We showed improvement, which we wanted. We feel like we were more competitive, but still there’s a lot of work to do.”
The program’s last win was against Brownsville Porter on Oct. 13, 2017. The driving force behind this year’s team is the motivation to end the winless skid.
“They understand and they’re hungry for that win. It shows in the way they’re working out on the field and in the weight room,” Cuevas said. “We harp on them everyday that if they take care of the little things, the fundamentals, and believe in each other as a team, the wins will come. But we have to build that foundation which we feel like we did last year, and it’s continuing this year.”
The Chiefs return seven starters led by quarterback Robert Gomez. He totaled 765 yards and 12 passing touchdowns as Donna North’s offense made a leap forward.
“You have to step up to the plate. Whenever everyone is down, you have to pick everyone up. You’re the leader of the team, and ‘how you go is how they go,’ is what Coach Cuevas says,” Gomez said.
Returning starters Isaiah Loya and Ricky Martinez will anchor the offensive line.
Senior Joel Murillo will see time at tight end and defensive end this season. He said he’s ready to earn respect for the Donna North football program.
“We hear a lot of bad talk on Donna North, whether it’s on the internet, in-person, but we don’t let it get to us,” Murillo said. “We don’t argue, we don’t do none of that. We just embrace it and work harder.”
Donna North opens the season with a rivalry game against Donna High on Aug. 27 at Bennie LaPrade Stadium in Donna. The Chiefs will play two more non-district games — against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln on Sept. 3 in Donna and against La Feria on Sept. 10 in La Feria — before beginning District 32-6A action on Sept. 23 against Weslaco in Donna.
The No. 1 goal for this year’s group is getting in the win column and ending the skid.
“I think of what Floyd Mayweather Jr. says: ‘Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.’ If you don’t have that mentality that you’re not going to win, it’s never going to happen,” Gomez said.
