SAN ANTONIO — Before the Harlingen Cardinals’ game against Austin Westlake, an Alamodome press box official wandered over to a gathering of reporters and declared he’d heard that Big Red’s terrorizing defensive end Mingo Rincon “was a stud.”

He and the thousands of others in attendance at the Alamo City landmark Friday undoubtedly did not leave disappointed.

KINGSVILLE — In foot-ball, it’s usually the offen-sive unit that shines. It’s the offensive skill players who make headlines and get all the attention. It’s usually the offense that makes the difference.

But against San Antonio Southwest on Friday, it was the defense that made the difference for the Harlingen Cardinals in their area-round win.

After running wild against Rio Grande City in the bi-district round last week, Southwest’s offense was virtually shut down by the Cardinals Big D.

HARLINGEN — It looked like a family reunion after Bird Bowl XVII on the field at Boggus Stadium.

Parents and friends made their way to the field following Harlingen's 66-7 drubbing of Harlingen South on Friday.

Freddy Mercury's voice resonated over the PA system as Queen's We are the champions blared for all to hear.
Cliché? Yes.

But so were the Cards. After all, all they did was win.

Ten times this season to be exact.

Joey Caceres and the Edinburg Bobcats can now move on.

Only a couple of years removed from a 0-10 season, the Bobcats clinched their first postseason berth on Friday with a 50-7 win against Harlingen South.

It's the first playoff appearance for Caceres as the Bobcats head coach. As an assistant under the late Robert Vela, Caceres was a regular in the postseason party.

Caceres said getting in as the head coach feels wonderful.

HARLINGEN — Ruben Castaneda is learning a lot from just watching.

In his first year on the Harlingen Cardinals varsity squad, Castaneda steps into a defensive unit with a lot of veterans.

"He's been a pleasant surprise," Rincon said of his linemate. "He's really come along. It's like he's been on varsity for three years."

As part of one of the most talented defensive lines in the Valley, Castaneda cant' help but just enjoy his time as a Harlingen Cardinal football player.

HARLINGEN - Manny Gomez is no different than any other high school football coach in the Valley.

As he prepares his Harlingen Cardinals for a third round playoff game against Austin Westlake, Gomez said this is the exact situation he expected to be in since he took over as Cards head coach last year.

"Ideally, as a coach from the Valley, this is where you want to be," Gomez said. "It's the third round and we have an opportunity to take Valley football to the next step.