LA VILLA – The Cardinals face an uphill battle to start their season. Four out of their first five games were against schools in bigger classes. They managed to score just 34 points total in an 0-5 start.

“We start out with 17 kids,” said head coach Danny Perez. “Everybody played both ways. We played pretty  well in the first half and then we’d run out of gas in the second half. We’ve gotten some more kids out.”

One of those kids is Zach Gomez, who used to be a starting quarterback at Mercedes High School.

“The support they’ve given me since day one is just incredible,” said Gomez.

Since Gomez has joined the team, the Cardinals are 2-0. They’ve put up 40 points per game in wins over Benavides and Ben Bolt. The senior quarterback has accounted for nine touchdowns; seven on the ground and two passing.

“It gives the whole team confidence,” said Rey Felix who plays quarterback, receiver, and safety. “Now we want to make stops on defense to do good on offense. With Zach, he knows how to control the line and set the tone for the offensive line so they could go good.”

“I’m glad I was able to come over here and bring some excitement to the community and the football players,” said Gomez. “We’ve been playing some smart football.”

The Cardinals’ next game is October 27 against Freer.