The San Benito Greyhounds took the field at Bobby Morrow Stadium Monday morning during their first day of two-a-days practice, signaling the start of a new year for the ’Hounds and their diehard fans. (Staff photos by Michael Rodriguez)
By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Special to the NEWS
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Football season is officially in full swing as the Greyhounds began two-a-day football practices on Monday, August 8 at Bobby Morrow Stadium.
“Obviously, we want to be district champions,” said Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Spencer Gantt when asked about this year’s expectations. “We want to line up and beat Harlingen, win the Battle of the Arroyo. Our goals haven’t changed.”
The Greyhounds are coming off a less than favorable season in which they went 4-7, two of those losses coming at the hands of the Harlingen Cardinals.
“These kids are self-motivated. We get after them and motivate them as best we can, but at the same time these guys are self-motivated,” said Gantt on Tuesday. “They love the game. I guarantee you that the kids who are coming back from last year’s squad are a little bit upset about what happened last year. Four and seven is not good enough for them.”
The excitement among the players is undeniable as they hoot and howl and as they ran from one exercise to the next. When asked about the key players on this year’s football team, Gantt said everyone on offense and everyone on defense, and he wasn’t joking.
The ’Hounds appear to be stacked as they return seven starters of defense and four on offense, as well as many who have awaited their chance to shine. Taking over the quarterback position is senior Jacob Puente, and filling in at halfback for Tommy Herrera who recently graduated is Arturo Coronado.
The offensive line consists of right tackle Greg Rodriguez and right guard Pete Lozano, as well as center Jason Farias. Inside receivers are Homer Longoria and L.J. Garcia.
When asked about the key players on defense, Gantt named just about every player on the ‘D’. Among them is defensive end Adrian Zuniga, as well as tackles Josh Huerta and Memo Covarrubias. At linebacker is Rene Chaves as well as outside linebackers Arturo Gonzalez and Enrique Rodriguez. At safety is Josh Alonzo and at corner are Nate Aguirre and Ernie Sandell.
“The good thing about what is happening is that this is our third year here as a staff, and the kids are really starting to reap the benefits of a true program and everything that goes along with that,” Gantt said. “We’re getting faster, we’re getting stronger. We’ve learned the offensive system and the defensive system. That’s just a huge benefit to them. The third year of the program is always a ‘get better year’, and next year is going to be even better. So not only are we excited about this year, but we’re excited about next year.”
“These guys have been together since junior high, and they’ve won at every level, seventh, eighth and ninth grade,” said Gantt of a squad which consists of 27 seniors. “They’re really looking forward to this, and they know that we can do a lot better than what we did last year.”
The ’Hounds first scrimmage will be played against the La Joya Palmview Lobos at Bobby Morrow Stadium on Friday, August 19 at 7 p.m.
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the Aug. 10 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.
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