3afan
09-03-2008, 05:08 AM
Mexican team goes a long way to find quality opponent
02:23 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 3, 2008
LINK (http://www.hsgametime.com/dfw/sharedcontent/dws/content/topstories/stories/090308dnspohsmonterrey.3e373b8.html)
By GABRIEL CABARROUY / The Dallas Morning News
gcabarrouy@dallasnews.com
Fernando Gonzalez attended a Texas home football game in 2005 – the season the Longhorns won the national title – as a gift for his 15th birthday.
He has been a hardcore UT fan since he was 11. And although he is from Mexico, a country better known for soccer, he has played football just like his dad since he was 5.
"I'm just more passionate about football than soccer," Gonzalez said.
The 5-8, 200-pound senior fullback plays for Monterrey Tech's high school team, which plays Allen at 7 p.m. Thursday at Eagle Stadium. Monterrey Tech has a road trip to Allen on its schedule next season, too.
Gonzalez and his teammates will make a 600-mile bus trip Wednesday. They will return home after the game so they can be back for school Friday morning.
But Gonzalez said he is excited about competing against Allen, the No. 6 team in the state rankings.
"We never had an opportunity like this before," Gonzalez said. "It's the first time we've played a team of such a level."
Monterrey Tech has a college team and a high school team. The college team has won four straight national championships. The high school has won three straight, losing just twice against Mexican teams in that time.
The high school team has a tradition of playing U.S. high school teams, having played 25 such games. The Borregos Salvajes, translated as "wild sheep," lost three games to Jesuit from 2001 to '03.
But Tech coach Roberto Rodriguez said his team has improved since he took over in 2005. Since then, it is 10-1 against U.S. schools, losing only to El Paso El Dorado in 2006. Last week, Tech beat Laredo Johnson, a 4A team, 19-14.
The school aggressively recruits players not just in Monterrey but from all over Mexico.
Allen coach Tom Westerberg said he heard about Monterrey from a Brownsville athletic director. Allen needed to fill a void left on the schedule after February's realignment.
"We don't take anybody lightly," Westerberg said. "It doesn't matter who we play."
Rodriguez said he hopes this will be the first of more games against top teams in Texas.
"I'm not going to say we can beat those teams," Rodriguez said. "But it's going to help my boys grow. How else can you get better if you don't play against the best?"
MONTERREY TECH
Enrollment: 25,114
Tuition: $5,500 per semester. Partial football scholarships are offered.
Location: Monterrey is the capital of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon and is about 150 miles south of the U.S. border. Its population is 3.8 million.
In the NFL: Three players from the college team are on practice squads: Manuel Padilla (Broncos), Eduardo Castaneda (Cardinals) and Ramiro Pruneda (49ers).
02:23 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 3, 2008
LINK (http://www.hsgametime.com/dfw/sharedcontent/dws/content/topstories/stories/090308dnspohsmonterrey.3e373b8.html)
By GABRIEL CABARROUY / The Dallas Morning News
gcabarrouy@dallasnews.com
Fernando Gonzalez attended a Texas home football game in 2005 – the season the Longhorns won the national title – as a gift for his 15th birthday.
He has been a hardcore UT fan since he was 11. And although he is from Mexico, a country better known for soccer, he has played football just like his dad since he was 5.
"I'm just more passionate about football than soccer," Gonzalez said.
The 5-8, 200-pound senior fullback plays for Monterrey Tech's high school team, which plays Allen at 7 p.m. Thursday at Eagle Stadium. Monterrey Tech has a road trip to Allen on its schedule next season, too.
Gonzalez and his teammates will make a 600-mile bus trip Wednesday. They will return home after the game so they can be back for school Friday morning.
But Gonzalez said he is excited about competing against Allen, the No. 6 team in the state rankings.
"We never had an opportunity like this before," Gonzalez said. "It's the first time we've played a team of such a level."
Monterrey Tech has a college team and a high school team. The college team has won four straight national championships. The high school has won three straight, losing just twice against Mexican teams in that time.
The high school team has a tradition of playing U.S. high school teams, having played 25 such games. The Borregos Salvajes, translated as "wild sheep," lost three games to Jesuit from 2001 to '03.
But Tech coach Roberto Rodriguez said his team has improved since he took over in 2005. Since then, it is 10-1 against U.S. schools, losing only to El Paso El Dorado in 2006. Last week, Tech beat Laredo Johnson, a 4A team, 19-14.
The school aggressively recruits players not just in Monterrey but from all over Mexico.
Allen coach Tom Westerberg said he heard about Monterrey from a Brownsville athletic director. Allen needed to fill a void left on the schedule after February's realignment.
"We don't take anybody lightly," Westerberg said. "It doesn't matter who we play."
Rodriguez said he hopes this will be the first of more games against top teams in Texas.
"I'm not going to say we can beat those teams," Rodriguez said. "But it's going to help my boys grow. How else can you get better if you don't play against the best?"
MONTERREY TECH
Enrollment: 25,114
Tuition: $5,500 per semester. Partial football scholarships are offered.
Location: Monterrey is the capital of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon and is about 150 miles south of the U.S. border. Its population is 3.8 million.
In the NFL: Three players from the college team are on practice squads: Manuel Padilla (Broncos), Eduardo Castaneda (Cardinals) and Ramiro Pruneda (49ers).