HARLINGEN — The Harlingen Cardinals hosted the Sharyland Rattlers on Friday evening at Boggus Stadium in their final dress rehearsal of the preseason.
And, for the most part, Harlingen head coach Manny Gomez was pleased with what he saw with his team.
“In games like this we came out injury free and that is a good thing,” said Gomez. “There were some execution issues, but the kids made up for it with effort and I’m excited to go and watch the film so we can correct some things.”
Harlingen will now set its sights on Week 1 of the regular season as they host Sharyland Pioneer next Friday night.
Galvan to Reyna: Quarterback Jaime Galvan dazzled the Cardinal faithful with his feet and arm on Friday.
Galvan, who is a junior, made plays with his feet all evening long and displayed the ability to keep the play alive on a number of occasions.
His top target, Joe Reyna, also displayed his speed and sure hands. Reyna hauled in a pass over the middle and outran the secondary for a score right before the half.
“Both Joe and Jaime are great competitors,” Gomez said. “That is the thing about them, they’re great competitors and athletes, and they are the guys you want to have around. They’re leading the way for the younger guys.”
Scanlan leads THE Cards’ D: The Cardinal defense looked sharp and physical against a potent Rattler offense.
Brian Scanlan was all over the field Friday night as he recovered a fumble and took it back for a score, going sideline to sideline.
Tristian Garcia also had a strong scrimmage and with the regular season on the horizon, the Cards’ defense is beginning to bear fruit.
“This was our last dress rehearsal and now we will get ready for the regular season, but we will take it one day at a time,” said Gomez. “Cardinal football is going to be tough-minded and what we saw tonight, that is football. Sharyland did great, my hat’s off to them; they did a good job on slowing us down a bit, but that is why we play tough teams like Sharyland. I’m just happy with the way the kids and coaching staff performed.”
