The Natalia Mustangs hit the practice field Monday morning at 7:00 a.m. for the official start to the 2021 school year. Coming off another playoff appearance, the Stangs have their sights set high once again as they welcome back 11 returning lettermen which include 10 starters overall.
“I was really happy with our first day of work-outs,” Natalia Athletic Director/Head Football Coach Ilyan Martinez said. “Our kids are in great shape and have retained so much information. Right now, they are rolling which allows us to add and get ahead.”
46 athletes were out on day one with a total near 56 expected to be out when it is all said and done. Natalia was able to get about 40 minutes of work-out in Monday morning before the storms rolled into town and much of Medina County which did cool things down.
“We have a good core of guys that are leading us right now and I am excited about what this group can do,” Martinez stated when asked about positives he is seeing.
“Depth is an issue we will have to contend with when looking at our numbers,” Martinez said. “The guys that are here are solid and we know we can win with them; we just don’t have a lot of them.”
According to the Natalia Staff, summer-workouts were great which averaged about 85 student athletes a day for junior high and high school.
“We will face some new challenges graduating a bunch last year, but we are excited about the team we are putting together,” Martinez said. “It will be very important to stay healthy and keep all of our guys ready for the long season which will hopefully include a lengthy run in the playoffs. That is a standard that has been built we hope to continue to build on.”
Workouts will continue this week as the boys in blue prepare for their opening scrimmage on Thursday, August 12th on the road vs the newly re-instated West Campus Cougar Football program. The second scrimmage will be on August 19th at home vs. the Bandera Bulldogs.
The season opener will once again be vs. highly touted Jourdanton on Friday, August 27th at home.
By Eric Smith
Staff Writer