The Harlingen Cardinals are coming off a season in which they faced a lot of hardship.

A lot of key players battling injuries, particularly on offense, resulted in the team suffering significant low points throughout what began as a promising season. Still, the team still managed to secure a playoff spot over Brownsville Hanna in their five team district.

Now that they're reloading ahead of the 2025 season, the Cardinals are looking to recapture levels of success that led them to three district titles since 2019.

"What happened last year doesn't happen to Harlingen very often. A lot of these kids understand that," Cardinals head coach Manny Gonez said. "There's lessons to be learned, but there's also lessons to be taught."

"To reach our potential, we're just working as hard as we can, just 110% effort," Harlingen senior defensive end Jerry Sanchez added. "If someone has lower energy, we're gonna lend them our energy so everyone is there, like we're all together as one."

The offense will likely once again prominently feature senior running back Noah Huerta. Even amid all the ups and downs of last season, Huerta proved to be a rock for Harlingen to lean on during adverse times. As a junior, he rushed for over 1,200 yards and totaled 13 touchdowns.

Sophomore quarterback Hasaan Woolery could also take on a larger role for the team this fall. As a freshman, he showed electric playmaking ability as a dual threat for the team before suffering a season-ending injury.

"I think we're gonna have a real good rushing season," Huerta said. "But also our receivers, they're really good this year, they've been putting in that work, so we're gonna have a real balanced offense with our passing and rushing."

The Cardinals start the season with a daunting non-district slate. It begins with Weslaco, Harlingen South, and Edinburg Vela in the first three weeks. Those games are necessary for a Cardinals team preparing to enter one of the toughest districts in the RGV, prominently featuring the reigning district champions in Los Fresnos, a Brownsville Veterans team that has been a fixture in the playoffs in recent years, as well as the historic program at San Benito, and a Brownsville Hanna team looking to fight their way into the playoff mix.

"Everyone thinks we're the underdogs after last year, which I'm fine with that," Huerta said. "It motivates us. It pushes us. It makes us work harder and show everyone why we're gonna be good this year."