Last year, the Flour Bluff football team traveled deep into the playoffs, making school history as the first team to make it to the state semi-finals. This year, the team intends to do it again and maybe even make it further.

“Last year’s team was probably the best team to ever play at Flour Bluff,” said senior Aiden Tovar, “we just have to stick together through the ups and downs.”

The Hornets have started this season with a 3-3 record going into this week’s game against Mercedes. The team has played extremely strong teams, and has put up a good fight in every game thus far. 

“Challenging us really early helps us to get better and see where we need to improve every week, you know, so I think that’s gonna pay big dividends as we start district play here Friday.” said head coach Chris Steinbruck last Friday before the Hornets game against the Edcouch Elsa.

The Hornets have used the non-district games as an opportunity to work on many skills and to build chemistry. This season is sophomore Jayden Paluseo’s first season as the varsity starting quarterback and the opportunity to build trust with his teammates and within himself is invaluable.

“You can’t simulate in-game experiences, so the pre-district games were important so we have that game experience and are ready for our district games,” said Paluseo.

The Hornets have also taken the new season as an opportunity to work on many new skills and to give experience to many new players.

“Having five pre-district games is a big benefit, because, you know in reality, the games are important, but they’re not nearly as important as district play. So it’s given us a little bit more time, especially with the amount of young guys that we have that haven’t had varsity experience, to get them in the right spot and to spend a little bit more time to make sure they’re in the right place to help our team win,” said Steinbruck.

Last Friday the Hornets took on the Edcouch Elsa Yellowjackets at home, which was their first game in district play. The Hornets finished the game 54-14, and are now 3-3 for the season.

“It was a great team win,” said Tovar, “It brought up our confidence, but we know we can do better.”

This Friday the Hornets will travel to Mercedes for their second district game of the season. The Mercedes Tigers are 3-3 so far this season and are coming off a 41-16 win against Pharr Valley View.

“This week’s game is a must-win for us,” said senior Wyatt Elwood, “We have to prepare for anything.”

The Hornets are now six games into the regular season and have no more breaks until the season is over.

“It gets tiring, but we have something to prove, we want to make a longer run than the team last year and we are tired of losing, so that’s one of our biggest motivators.” said senior Dylan Shaw.

The Hornets have two more home games this season and will end district play at Gregory-Portland. Good luck to the Hornets throughout the rest of their season!