Taking the Game to Dallas!

8th grader Bryan Longoria getting ready to complete drills at the Dallas football showcase.

Veronica Padilla

8th grader Bryan Longoria getting ready to complete drills at the Dallas football showcase.

Annabelle Anchondo, Editor

For Springlake-Earth, students, teachers, and the community understand the significance in Friday night football. The cheers ringing through the stands, the band playing loud and proud, the laughs and smiles being extended, the smell of homemade chicken strips and fries, and the overall great feeling of being a Wolverine are all of the principles that make the night so significant. While there is something special in being involved in the football night life, for some, there is no greater feeling than being a player on the field during that time.  

The game of football holds a very special place in many SE athletes’ hearts. They take the game very seriously and look forward to putting on their helmet with the SE logo and slipping on a jersey bearing their number. These elements couldn’t be truer for two upcoming high school football players, Bryan Longoria and Victor Juarez, who recently received an opportunity of a lifetime. 

Both 8th graders recently received the possibility to travel to Dallas to dive deeper in their love for football and play with other Texas students who exhibited the same talent and love for the game.

“I had an opportunity to go, and I took it,” Longoria said.

Receiving such an opportunity was very exciting; however, it was quite nerve-wracking at first. 

“I was nervous at first because as the kids started coming onto the field, the majority of them were way bigger kids. I literally thought Bryan was only going to be with kids that were also in junior high,” Veronica Padilla said. “We saw some big boys thinking there is no way they are in junior high. Well, come to find out, most of them were high school kids.” 

However, playing with high schoolers did not stop Bryan and Victor from performing to the best of their abilities.  

“When we got there, it was high school. I was a little nervous, but I did my best,” Longoria said. 

The efforts of both Bryan and Victor were evident on the field, an aspect that made their families proud. Even in moments of hardship, both kept working hard until the end of the showcase.

“As I watched him run the drills, he not once gave up and always gave it his all,” Padilla said.

After the three-hour period, awards were given out to the top performers of the showcase. Bryan Longoria was one individual to receive such a title, which was a delightful surprise.

“I was even more surprised when he made one of the Top Performers,” Padilla said.

In addition to the awards, all of the players were given critiques to help them in the future.

8th graders Bryan Longoria and Victor Juarez participating in Dallas’s football showcase. (Veronica Padilla)

“The coach that was coaching me said that all I need to work on is my feet work, and I need to get faster,” Juarez said. “I’m going to take what I learned in Dallas and use it to my advantage.”

Bryan also plans to take absolute advantage of what he learned as well as help his Springlake-Earth teammates in the upcoming 2023-2024 football season.

“The next time I go back, I will become better,” Longoria said. “I am going to use what I learned and use it to learn start in next year’s football season as well as help other people to get better.” 

The entire Wolverine Nation is very proud of both his and Victor’s accomplishments and opportunity to attend the Dallas showcase. Everyone will be rooting for Bryan later this summer when he attends the American Bowl in July.

“Here’s to a great football season,” B. Longoria said, “and more success to come!”