Theresa Najera | Valley Morning StarIn 1989, the Harlingen Cardinals, led by head coach Jesse Longhofer (center), fullback Scott Swinnea (left) and linebacker Manny Gomez, advanced to the fourth round of the state playoffs where they lost to Converse Judson at Boggus Stadium.
By The Numbers: Trail BlazersNineteen years ago, the Cards went where few others hadAugust 8, 2008 - 11:05PM
By ELADIO JAIMEZ | Valley Morning StarThey were tough and they were tenacious. They were a little crazy yet disciplined.
They were strong and mean and little aggressive. At times, even a little selfish.
They came from different backgrounds. Some were rich some were poor. They were white, Hispanic and black.
But at Harlingen High School they became brothers.
They became the 1989 Harlingen Cardinals.
"They played with great enthusiasm and tenacity," said former Harlingen head coach Jesse Longhofer. "They were always very confident in the job they were going to do. They never went into a game thinking they weren't going to win.
You could depend on them," Longhofer continued as he reminisced about that amazing fall in '89. "They missed very few workouts. With a group like that, we were gonna be very hard to beat."
And they were.
This fall will be 19 years since the Longhofer led that group of Cards into the fourth round of the Class 5A state playoffs.
Simply known as "The '89 Cards" today, that team made Valley history becoming the first 5A club from the area to win three playoff games.
Harlingen's journey came to an end at Boggus Stadium with a loss to Converse Judson in the Class 5A state quarterfinals.
But before their date with the Rockets, Harlingen turned heads beating a San Antonio and Austin team in the postseason.
After the Cards beat PSJA (27-14) in bi-district, about 7,000 Harlingen faithful showed up at Javelinas Stadium in Kingsville to watch Harlingen beat San Antonio Marshall and sophomore running back Priest Holmes in an area game.
John Reininger scored on a 49-yard TD pass from Freddy Cavazos and James Duncan later scored on an 11-yard run for the 14-11 win.
It was on to regionals and a date with Austin LBJ on a cold and wet day at Buccaneer Stadium in Corpus.
Harlingen used the elements to its advantage and the defense pitched its fifth shutout of the season as the Cards prevailed 14-0.
Fullback Scott Swinnea provided all the scoring with two one-yard TD runs.
That game Harlingen warmed up inside a gym staying warm and dry up until kickoff.
At halftime, the Cards took a second uniform and changed into dry clothes for the second half.
"This was the best team I coached," Longofer said. "Considering we were the first 5A team to go four-deep I would say we're in the top five all time."
They're still regarded as one of the top teams in Valley history and are mentioned in the same breathe with teams like the 1961 San Benito Greyhounds or the 1981 Port Isabel Tarpons.
The 1989 Harlingen Cardinals hold their own place in Valley football history.
And the road there was one paved through hard work, dedication and a love for the game that many of those players still have today.
The road to glory began in 1988 when quarterback Garth Fennegan led Harlingen to the third round of the postseason.
The Cards lost to Corpus Christi Carroll in a televised game.
But despite the loss, many felt many were proud of that season and figured it'd be tough to beat.
"We didn't think we were going to top the '88 team," said Manny Gomez, starting linebacker and team captain. "When we played against McHi, we knew about 25 percent of the defense. And we played very well. That's when we felt we were that good. After that effort, we felt we could go as far as the '88 team and beyond."
Harlingen's season started with that loss to McAllen (28-23) but Harlingen beat Donna (35-7) the next week.
Week Three that year was cancelled following the Alton bus crash.
Harlingen went on to defeat Alice (48-6) and MMA (41-7) the next two weeks and went on to win 11 straight games before losing to Judson.
BY the time District 32-5A action started, Harlingen's defense was one of the best in the state.
The Cardinals gave up only two points in district games - a safety against San Benito.
Harlingen beat Brownsville Hanna (38-0) and Brownsville Pace (54-0) before winning the Battle of the Arroyo (27-2).
The Cards finished the regular season with wins against Brownsville Porter (48-0) and Weslaco (33-0).
"We used to say we were brothers," said Gomez, now in his second year as head coach of the Cardinals. "We took the games personal. We held each other accountable. We were 11 guys that played hard and got after it. We were borderline psychotic."
Harlingen's defense ranked fourth in the state that year.
Other defensive stars included linemen Adrian Sias, Clayton Cargill. Amaro Lea and Rick Meza.
Michael Uribe, Danny Barrera and John Danner joined Gomez at linebacker.
Ralph De La Rosa, Pat Rutkowski and Eddie Davila made up the secondary.
On offense, Swinnea, Cavazos and Duncan made headlines with one of the top offenses in the state as well.
Duncan rushed for 1,618 yards and 22 touchdowns that season. Swinnea rushed for 619 yards and scored 19 TDs for the Cards. He also led the team in receiving with 30 receptions.
Cavazos passed for 1,392 yards and 10 scores.
But to this day, Longhofer and the rest of the offense will say that the offensive line deserves all the credit.
Delfino Diaz wasn't a big guy but he got after it at center.
At the guards, Bryan Dale and Trey Murray were as tough as they come.
Mark Vasquez and Carlos Gonzalez weren't huge but were very overpowering at the tackle position.
"The guys back then were just tough," Swinnea said. "We didn't have time to sit out with a broken finger or bruised ribs. We came to play every day. It was a lot of fun."
By the Numbers is a periodic series that corresponds the number of days until the start of the 2008 Valley high school football season with a memorable athlete or moment. Today marks 19 days until kickoff.www.rgvsports.com/articles/harlingen_2449___article.html/team_cards.html
