Eagle Pass Eagles 2018 High School Football Preview

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EAGLES FOOTBALL GRIDIRON NEWS

Eagle Pass Eagles 2018

High School Football Preview

Eagles inaugurate 99th gridiron season

By: Conrado Perez, Jr. – Eagle Pass Sports Central

“Your best and only source for local sports news in Eagle Pass”

The much anticipated opening kickoff to the 2018 Texas High Scholl football season is around the horizon. The defending District 29-6A co-champion, bi-district champion and area finalist Eagle Pass Eagles mentored by head football coach Tom Gonzalez have commenced the traditional preparations for the upcoming season with their sights focused on winning the District 29-6A championship where they will compete against the likes of the Del Rio Rams, Laredo Alexander Bulldogs, Laredo LBJ Wolves, Laredo United Longhorns, Laredo United South Panthers and district newcomer Laredo Nixon Mustangs.

The Eagle Pass Eagles will give their Loyal Legion of followers a preview of coming attractions with two controlled pre-season scrimmages the first of which will see the Eagles venture to Somerset, Texas on Saturday, August 18, 2018 to tangle with the Somerset Bulldogs with kickoff time scheduled for 7:00 PM. In their second scrimmage the Eagles will host the Laredo Martin Tigers on Thursday, August 23, 2018 at the Eagle Pass ISD Student Activity Center Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium with kickoff time scheduled for 7:00 PM.

The mighty Eagle Pass Eagles’ varsity football team officially kickoff their 2018 gridiron campaign on Friday, August 31, 2018 with a road trip to Uvalde, Texas to square off against the perennially tough Uvalde Coyotes in a 7:30 PM season opening non-district encounter at the famed Honey Bowl. On Friday, September 7, 2018 the Eagles will venture to San Antonio, Texas to tangle with their former district foe and fellow District 29-6A co-champion Southwest Dragons who have been to Class 5A this season in a 7:30 PM non-district matchup.

The Eagles will then tangle against the C.C. Winn Mavericks on Friday, September 14, 2018 in their annual rivalry game with kickoff time schedule for 7:30 PM at the Eagle Pass ISD Student Activity Center Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Eagles will then conclude their non-district portion of their schedule on Friday, September 21, 2018 when they host the McCollum Cowboys in their first home game of the season with kickoff time schedule for 7:30 PM with this game being designated as Parent’s night.

The Eagles will then kickoff their respective quest for the District 29-6A title on Friday, September 28, 2018 with a road trip to Laredo, Texas to battle against the preseason district favorite Laredo United Longhorns in a 7:30 PM district opening matchup at the United ISD Student Activity Center. The Eagles return home on Friday, October 5, 2018 to entertain the Laredo LBJ Wolves in a 7:30 PM district encounter. Friday, October 12, 2018 will see the Eagles journey back to Laredo, Texas to tangle with the Laredo Nixon Mustangs in a 7:30 PM district gridiron game at the historic Shirley Field. Friday, October 19, 2019 will have the Eagles hosting the Laredo United South Panthers with kick off time scheduled for 7:30 PM. Thursday, October 25, 2018 will see the Eagles make their final regular and district road when they venture to Laredo, Texas to tangle with the Laredo Alexander Bulldogs in a 7:00 PM district contest. The Eagles have an open date on Friday, November 2, 2018 but will return to the gridiron on Friday, November to host their longtime foe the Del Rio Rams in a 7:30 PM district finale that has been designated as the Eagle Pass High School’s Homecoming game.

The Eagles will return the services of 7 offensive and 8 defensive starters from a district co-champion, bi-district champion and area finalist squad that finished with a 9-3 season record. Spear heading the Eagles offense under the guidance of offensive coordinator Javier Cardenas will be spearheaded by their talented and quite athletic quarterback Richie Luna who last year became only the second ever quarterback to pass for over 2000 yards in a single season in the program’s 99 year history and tossed a total of 18 TD passes. The Eagles will also feature a pair of stellar sure handed wide receivers in Rey Rey Mendoza who hauled in 7 TD passes for nearly 500 yards and the reliable David Lopez. Ricky De Los Santos is predicted to take over the all important running back duties for the Eagles but will be challenged by the highly talented and quite elusive sophomore Lazaro Villarreal who possesses excellent field vision when toting the pigskin and Saul Perales as well for the staring job.

The Eagles famed hard hitting and very fast defense under the leadership of experienced defensive coordinator Roger Olivas are expected to be the top defensive and stingiest unit in District 29-6A and South Texas as well as one of the premier defensive units in the entire Region IV that will be led by their standout hard hitting linebacker David Kypuros who recorded over 100 tackles with 8 QB Sacks and had 2 interceptions as well as fellow bone shattering linebacker Roger Ulloa and Jacob Salinas. The dominating standout Moises Rocha is the bonafide leader of the defensive line who wrecks havoc upon the opponent’s offensive line and gives you 110% effort on every single play and is very tough to handle one on one. David Santos also returns to bolster the defensive line.\with help from Andres Conde. The Eagles will also showcase a very swift hard hitting and very talented experienced crew in the secondary that provide great run support and excellent pass coverage with the likes of Joshua Monsivais, Raul Lechler, the swift and talented Ryan Chisum, the multi-sport and athletic Eric Heredia along with Kristian Barcena who can cover any and all of the district’s top receivers.

The pre-season prognosticators have picked the Laredo United Longhorns as the favorite to win the District 29-6A crown with the Laredo Alexander Bulldogs finishing second in the district race followed by the Eagle Pass Eagles coming in the third with the Laredo United South Panthers placing fourth newcomer Laredo Nixon Mustangs are pegged to finish fifth but could very well be the dark horse in the district race the Del Rio Rams finishing sixth and the Laredo LBJ Wolves winding up in seventh place. However as all current and former coaches know all games are always won on the gridiron turf and certainly not at the abundant Saturday morning Coffee Shop Quarterback Clubs. Nevertheless the mighty Eagle Pass Eagles will never back down from any and all challenges will be more than ready for the upcoming season. Eagle Pass Sports Central invites the entire community of Eagle Pass, Texas as well as the surrounding area to come out and support the mighty Eagle Pass Eagles throughout the entire 2018 season. See you at the stadium and GO EAGLES!