The Devine Warhorses start their 2019 season with a 7:00 pm kickoff Friday in San Antonio at Edgewood Veterans Stadium against the Kennedy Rockets. Devine blasted the Rockets 41-24 a year ago in the season opener at Warhorse Stadium. (Please note kickoff is now 7 pm due to a schedule change.)
Although Kennedy is coming off a 1-9 campaign, Warhorse Head Coach Paul Gomez is not overlooking the challenges that a team like the Rockets present.
“We’ve got our scrimmages completed and now we are pumped to get the real games going. Kennedy will be bigger in numbers than we will be, of course. They have a good squad and Coach Benavides and his staff do a great job getting their team ready to play.
Offensively, they are big up front. Their quarterback is elusive and throws the ball well when he needs to. He has some big receiving targets who can come up with big catches. Their running back is a big kid that runs hard. We will have to gang tackle him to bring him down.
They base out of the ‘I’ formation but are spread out quite a bit as well. It will be a good test for us and for Defensive Coordinator George Villa’s groups. Coach Villa has a good game plan and it is up to us to execute it perfectly.
Defensively, they are big and athletic. They have some big tackles that can move in their 3-4 defense. Their linebackers do a good job of getting to the football and their secondary does well with their coverage schemes.
The players as well as the coaches are excited for the journey we are embarking on together. We hit the ground running this past Monday preparing for Kennedy. Wednesday and Thursday are about putting on the final touches on what we want to do in order to have a successful Friday night.
We always tell the kids it is all about us. ‘Us’ is the only thing that we can control. How hard we practice and the focus we put in during the four days of preparation is what we can control. So, we just need to worry about us and improve as a team and the rest will take care of itself.”
By Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer
Ready for blast-off: Warhorses open at SA Kennedy Friday night
