BY GREG SELBER

EDINBURG – He knows what the uninitiated out there are saying as the latest football season approaches, but he’s been at this business too long to listen too hard.

As Jesus Lozano heads into his fifth season at the helm of the Rattlers, he brings a playoff-tested unit from Class 5A down to the 4s. Some folks have said that since Rio Grande City made the postseason out of a pesky 30-5A in 2009, it should be a cinch to garner the same accolades in 32-4A.

Maybe, but Lozano will tell you that things aren’t ever as easy as they sound.

“We do feel good about what we can accomplish this season,” began the veteran coach here Friday night prior to a scrimmage with Edinburg North. “But we aren’t taking anything for granted either. We know that 32-4A is a great district with a lot of really good teams, you know? So while we like our chances, we understand, and we try to tell the kids that every day, that you have to show up and play hard, or you’re going to get beat!”

In his first four seasons, Lozano has taken the Snakes to the dance twice. The Rio Hondo native has been at the school since the mid-1980s, more than long enough to see that sometimes what seems likely is less than that. It doesn’t mean he’s counting his team out, far from it. He just knows football, that’s all.

“This district has tons of tradition, take Edcouch for example,” he explained. “They were down last year but you know they are itching to get back on top, and maybe they will. Every team we play is going to have a chance at success, that is just the way it is. We will just work hard every day, doesn’t really matter whether it’s 5A or 4A. If we do that, we’ll be there when it’s all said and done.”

Winning at Rio has always been a pretty difficult endeavor, for various reasons, but Lozano has had his share of it so far. With the 2010 edition of Rattler Pride making its way into the fight, the cagy coach would rather the media types spend their ink and voice on anyone but Rio.

“We don’t want a lot of publicity, although it’s nice to get some recognition,” he admitted. “But we prefer to be an afterthought right now, so that we can get settled in, do our jobs, and then take it out onto the field Friday nights.”

One thing that seems tailor-made for Rio in its new league is power football. While 30-5A was a wild, high-scoring passing affair, the Valley’s 4A groups generally line up and come at you, Old School Style. With the patented Slot-T attack intact thanks to fine backs and hard-working offensive linemen, the Rattlers should be right at home grinding out their drives against the Easts and Edcouches on a weekly basis. Rio has got speed to burn, especially lanky halfback Orly Oviedo, and one of the area’s best power runners in Darryl Lopez, a 205-pound senior who can run over or around you, with tremendous strength to go with deceptive speed and tricky pins in the open field.

Joe Perez and Jason Guerra, 260-pounders who are stars in the weight room (particularly Guerra) headline a veteran trench club whose members have loads of starting experience. Heady senior Danny Becerra has waited his turn and is set to make the line calls at center. But Lozano thinks that while his offense will produce once again (despite a knee injury to quarterback Angel Alaffa in the scrimmage; not sure how bad it is yet), the Rio D might surprise some observers in the fall to come.

“We have got some real players on defense, and I think we should have one of the better units since I became head coach,” he said. “We have always had some weapons on offense, and this time we have several on the other side, too.”

Ends Marcos Lujano and Steven Reyes are tough customers for that squad, while 230-pounder Ryan Garcia started as a sophomore up front and appears to be a promising run-stopper.

“We have got kids all up and down that defense who are strong and have been on the field as youngsters,” Lozano commented. “And for once, I think we will have some depth. I guess that’s one area where going down to 4A will help us. We have more numbers, from varsity to JV to freshmen, than we’ve ever had, which means that we can develop some kids to be ready down the road, maybe this year.”

The last time Rio was in 4A the rewards were vast, as the program made the playoffs four times in a row starting in 1982. The Rattlers and Pace were the stars of the old 16-4A, with the Starr County Boys taking a school-record nine wins in 1984, including a playoff win against Beeville. That season, Rio scored 326 points, allowed just 100, and almost knocked off New Braunfels in Round Two before losing 27-20.

Now they’re back in the 4A neighborhood, and while Lozano is too smart to just pencil in his team to the Second Season, even a conservative thinker has to have the Rattlers right there in the hunt.

“We did a lot of good work in the summer, and in two-a-days, so we feel good about that,” he said. “Like I say, we don’t think about whether it’s 5A or 4A, we just show up to practice every day and do our best. With that said, sure we think that we could be one of the better teams in the district.

“But it doesn’t mean anything once we hit the field. It never does. We have high expectations about this season, that is definite. Now it’s time to play, and we’ll be ready.”