The Edinburg North Cougars are heading into the 2026 season with something to prove after finishing 1-9 in Head Coach Rigo Morales' first year.

Four of those losses came down to one score. This year, the team is focused on closing out those close games.

With a full offseason under Morales, the Cougars have worked on the details that hurt them last season and say they've seen real progress.

"We talk about one thing. Our primary goal is December football. Every day we worked towards that," Head Coach Rigo Morales said.

Returning starter Jorge Trevino is back at quarterback after throwing for 2,021 yards and 18 touchdowns last season.

"We feel really good about where he's at with the schematics of things he's grabbed the offense real well so the sky is the limit for him," Morales said. "He feels real comfortable right now in terms of his reads and progression. Our o line we feel really good about our o line and right now it's just about getting in rhythm and staying on track with what we want to do offensively."

The players say the work they've put in this offseason has made a difference.

"I feel like we're looking great. We've put all this work and it's helped us so much. The amount of progress we've made since last year is tremendous," Senior Right Tackle Anthony Guzman said.

The team is also playing with a chip on their shoulder.

"We're under the radar for sure. Nobody talks about us. We're never talked about so we're going to show them this year what we got and I promise that we'll prove everybody wrong," Senior Linebacker Sean Salinas said.

The Cougars open the season Thursday at home against Sharyland Pioneer. Week 2 they face MCHI, followed by Mercedes and Alice.

District play begins in the second half of the season against La Joya. Week 8 is against Edinburg, Week 9 takes them on the road to Weslaco, Week 10 against Economedes and they close the season against Vela.