(Courtesy photo/Hector Avila)
By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
Among the highlights the San Benito Greyhounds achieved last year were qualifying for the postseason once again and winning the annual Battle of the Arroyo against Harlingen for the first time in five years.
However, finishing with a losing record was a low point that many within the program admit came as a surprise.
The ‘Hounds, under Head Coach and SBCISD Athletic Director Dan Gomez, who is starting his 12th season, are not used to finishing a full schedule of games with only two wins. Losing nine games in a year still hurts, and some senior players said they want no part of repeating that history.
“I was on varsity as a sophomore, and we had a stacked team, I remember, but to have the season we had last year, we took a major step backward,” offensive lineman Alexander Munoz said. “Being part of the senior class, we’d like to finish at that level we had or better it.”
Winning non-district games won’t come easily as they’re once again facing tough playoff-caliber opponents such as Austin Westlake at home (14-2 record, Class 6A Division I state finalist), Carthage in Bay City (15-0 record, Class 4A Division II state champion), PSJA North in Pharr (10-2 record, Class 5A Division II area finalist), and Weslaco at home (8-4 record, Class 6A Division I area finalist, with the latter having beaten them in an away bi-district game).
A major positive was the experience junior quarterback Albert Gonzalez gained initially as a backup and then as a starter, late in the season due to Tyler Ruiz’s injury. Ruiz no longer attends San Benito High School.
Gonzalez played under center in six games, earning more than 300 yards passing and 22 carries as a rusher.
Gonzalez has earned the right to be the primary signal-caller unless injuries like San Benito suffered so much of in 2024 hamper him and the rest of the team.
“Injuries are the reasons several of our players were moved up to varsity sooner. For me, it came in the second week leading up to playing Westlake,” offensive lineman Juan Abrego said. “It was an eye-opener going up from playing in junior varsity.”
Unlike last year, in 2023 when these seniors were sophomores, the ‘Hounds finished 10-2, and went two rounds into the Class 6A Division I playoffs.
This season, their District 32-6A schedule will begin on Oct. 10, when they travel to Brownsville to take on the Hanna Eagles.
However, at press time, there is no concrete site announced for where it will be, whether at Veterans Memorial High School or Brownsville ISD Sports Park. Major renovations are underway at Sams Stadium, which would have been a second location for home games for the new University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros’ university football program.
One thing is certain, however: the ‘Hounds’ home games will be at Bobby Morrow Stadium, which will also receive an updated scoreboard and track construction work, specifically during the week of away games.
Home games during district play this season include Los Fresnos (10-2 record, Division I area finalist) and Harlingen (5-6 record, Division II bi-district finalist), both of which are expected to contend for a title.
According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine, with input from the SBHS coaching staff, among the players to watch on offense besides Abrego, Gonzalez, and Munoz are running backs Carter Green and Tommy Ramirez; athlete Kian Jones; and linemen Luis Balli and Cesar Grimaldo.
Both juniors, Green and Ramirez, saw considerable playing time as the season went on due to injuries to the starters.
Ramirez, in eight games, gained over 300 yards of total offense and scored twice. Green also played eight games, rushing for 250 yards, but he is still seeking his first touchdown in a ‘Hounds’ uniform.
Defensively, coaches identified linemen Victor Rodriguez (75 tackles, 5 for loss) and Eddie Cuevas (37 tackles) as players to watch, along with backs Michael Escobedo, Henry Quiroz (33 tackles), Rolando Cortez, and Luke Gonzalez. Jones also had 35 tackles.
“We’re very excited about this season because of the high number of underclassmen who stepped up and played on varsity; now they’re returning,” Escobedo said. “We were a very young team a year ago, and getting that experience, I think, will make us better. We look to surprise a lot of teams because of the hard work we’ve put in during the off-season.”
In its two scrimmages this month, San Benito faced the Carroll Tigers in Corpus Christi and then the Laredo Alexander Bulldogs in Rio Grande City.
The ‘Hounds looked impressive on offense and defense against Carroll, but the second scrimmage was halted early due to bad weather.
San Benito has posted a 31-22 record over the last five seasons.
1 comment
Been saying this for years.. SB needs a new head coach. But I guess everyone is fine with losing the entire season as long as they win BOTA. I wonder who Gomez is connected to in San Benito for them to continuously keep him on after losing so much.