Not only did the Eagles end the drought, the floodgates opened at the Amistad Dam.
“The kids played well,” said Gonzalez. “They answered the call. They knew it was the district championship and they really stepped up and played hard.”
When asked about their opponent this Friday, the McAllen High Bulldogs, Coach weighed in.
“Their record doesn’t indicate it, but they’re a good football team,” said Gonzalez. “They’ve got a couple of good running backs, their quarterback is a sophomore, but he’s pretty good. Their receiver is very talented, very fast. That’s one guy we have to stop if we want to beat them.”
The team is looking forward to playing in front of a full house at home.
“Especially playing here at home in front of their families, and they don’t have to travel five hours,” said Gonzalez. “It takes a toll on the body, so yes it’s going to be an advantage.”
When asked what the Eagles need to do on both sides of the ball to come out with the victory, Gonzalez said there were two keys to victory.
“We’ve got to hang on to the ball. Limit turnovers. We’ve got to stop their receiver. They use him in different ways, they line him up at receiver and at running back, he’s just a very good athlete,” said Gonzalez.
“We’ve got to make sure we tackle. Offensively, like I said we need to take care of the ball. We need to make sure we continue to execute like we have all season. Keep moving the ball down field, be patient with our drives.”
Coach Gonzalez said his charges are completely ready for the game this Friday.
“We’ve got a lot of weapons. That’s the good thing about our team this year. We’ve got a lot of guys where you can’t key on one guy,”
said Gonzalez. “We’ve got good receivers a great running back, our quarterback is very good. So as a defensive coordinator it’s hard to key on one guy.”
Coach Gonzalez also took some time to help me shed some light on the unsung heroes of this season, the Land Shark ‘D’.
“That’s right, our defense is called the Land Sharks,” said Gonzalez. “Some names up front are Moy Rocha, Sebastian Hernandez, David Santos, Mario Torres, that’s our front four. Our linebackers Haran Rodriguez, David Kypuros, Mando Monsivais and Roger Ulloa. In our secondary we have Ryan Chisum, Nico Moyeda, Josh Monsivais and Raul Lechler. They’ve done a great job. They’ve worked hard all year. It’s a lot of fun at practice. It’s just fun to be around them.”
Coach Gonzalez was also asked about this historic accomplishment of both Eagle Pass teams in the state playoffs for the first time in unison.
“It’s a great time to be an Eagle Passan. It’s a great time to be from Eagle Pass. You’ve got both teams in the playoffs. If you’re a football fan, this is the best time of the year right now,” said Gonzalez. “We’re excited to be in there and we’re excited for CC Winn. They’re no strangers to it.”
Then it was time to ask the Burnt Orange and White’s football coach to invite the community to the big game on Friday night,
“I’d like to invite all our fans to come out to the stadium, be loud, be proud,” said Gonzalez. “Be excited about what’s going on because we will put on a good show.”