COTULLA, Texas – It hasn’t been easy, but the Cotulla Cowboys are used to handling adversity.
The start of the 2024 football season has had plenty of setbacks from injuries to players catching a stomach bug and even self-imposed suspensions after a scuffle in a Sept. 13 game against Pearsall.
Somehow, the Cowboys are pushing through and have an impressive 3-1 record going into their Friday night district home-opener against Stockdale.
“Family always sticks together, no matter what, and that’s what we preach every day at practice,” Cotulla senior linebacker Eric Aldaco said. “This is brotherhood when it comes to football.”
“I like that we didn’t complain about our setbacks,” Cotulla senior offensive lineman Victor Moreno said. “We didn’t make excuses. We came out, we played our game and that’s really all we need to do to keep this season rolling, you know?”
“Kind of what we’ve preached in the past is, just, ‘Next man up’ mentality, man,” Cotulla head coach Esteban Rodriguez said. “We don’t make excuses. I’m going to give you the best I have. You know, whether it’s a joke, whether it’s, you know, a freshman, we’re not going to make excuses. We’re going to show Friday, you know, and hopefully have those kids prepared to the best of their ability and try to come up with a win.”
The Cowboys will have their hands full against a Stockdale team that enjoys wearing down opponents by running the football.
“We need to come out and play our best game,” Moreno said. “I know that, if we execute the game plan that our coaches have given us, we’ll be able to take care of business.”
“That offense is not designed to be pretty and flashy. You know, it’s three yards, four yards and a cloud of dust,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think we’ve played Stockdale since I was, you know, I’ve been in school. It’s been some time, so we’re definitely looking forward to the matchup.”
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