By Ramiro Paez

Special to 956sports.com

RIO HONDO – Injuries. Significant injuries. Season on the brink. District championship. Bi-district championship.

Let’s just say the road to the postseason wasn’t a smooth one for Rio Hondo coach Rocky James and his Bobcats. In fact, the trip down memory lane is one James would rather leave in the past.

Instead, all James wants to do at this point is “look forward” as his Bobcats prepare to take on Sweeny in an area-round matchup on Saturday at 6 pm in Sinton.

“The adversity was crazy,” James said of the 2011 season. “But the kids stepped up. The younger kids stepped up. The injury bug was really the main thing that caused all the adversity. We’ve done a really good job of keeping everyone focused.”

That they have.

Of the 10 Valley teams remaining in the playoffs, it’s fair to say no team faced a more difficult road than the one Rio Hondo did. Yes, the 8-3 Bobcats, whose record speaks little of the uphill battle they climbed.

On top of injuries, which almost cost them their spot in the postseason, the Bobcats’ playoff fate rested on a Week 10 date with Port Isabel. Ironically, it also meant a chance at an outright District 32-3A title.

Rio Hondo took matters into its own hands, defeating the Tarpons 35-21. If they had lost, the Bobcats would have been eliminated due to Grulla’s win over Zapata, just another reason that makes James a little uneasy thinking about.

“If we can’t beat Port Isabel, we’re not going to be in the playoffs,” said James, who’s led the Bobcats to three district titles in four years at Rio Hondo. “I told the kids I had a feeling Grulla was going to win. I had felt all along to get in, we were going to have to win. That’s what we had preached all week to the kids. We really don’t deserve to be in if we can’t beat Port Isabel.

“So the kids came out and played inspired football. They knew our backs were against the wall.”

It wasn’t the only time they were.

Losing quarterback Juan Puga to injury with three games remaining almost proved to be detrimental. It added to the onslaught of injuries that hindered Rio Hondo throughout much of the season.

At one point during the non-district season, the Bobcats were without nine starters in a 34-13 loss to Edcouch-Elsa and 11 starters in a 28-21 setback to Sinton. Puga’s injury, however, came at the worst time for the Bobcats, who suffered as a result after a 21-6 surprising loss to Zapata in Week 8.

So what was Rio Hondo’s saving grace?

Only the Valley’s No. 1 defense.

“Coming into the season, I took a lot of pride in (the defense) because I felt we were going to have a great team this year with all the experience,” senior defensive end E.J. Castaneda said. “We’ve been playing together since we were sophomores and it’s given everyone confidence. We just went and tried to carry our team. Everyone is saying that we did.”

Because everyone knows it’s true, even James.

Needing a win to stay alive in Week 9, the defense sparked the Bobcats’ comeback bid against Grulla. Down 13-0 in the second half, defensive back Jorge Bermudez returned an interception for touchdown that got Rio Hondo going. It later added a second TD after the defense held the Gators on a fake punt, which was enough for the season-saving 14-13 victory.

“It was rough this year,” Bermudez said. “It was hard. (Against Grulla), our defense stepped up. We just came out big in that game. We played the full four quarters.”

They’ll get four more quarters Saturday, when the Bobcats make their first area-round appearance since 2008 – a three-deep playoff year and James’ first season at the helm. He hopes for another similar run and Rio Hondo could realistically go on one.

After all, what has stopped them so far?

“Hopefully, we’re not done playing football,” James said. “This town loves playing football, so we would like to prolong it as long as we can.”

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