San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Huereca seals regional quarterfinal victory
Andre Huereca delivered the dagger with patience, accuracy and confidence.
The ball launched off his right foot and sailed 25 yards before the net on the far post corralled the final goal in Reagan’s 3-1 victory over Smithson Valley in a Class 6A regional quarterfinal Friday night at Pieper High School.
“There’s a feeling you get sometimes when you strike the ball, and it hits the perfect spot on your foot,” said Huereca, a senior forward and captain. “It’s a quick reaction. You don’t really think much of it.”
Huereca, flanked alone on the right side, gathered himself while the ball rebounded his way. He stutter-stepped five yards before launching the ball off a bounce and into the net to make it 3-1 with 15 minutes remaining.
“I had a feeling, ‘Dang, it better go in’ because it hit the spot,” Huereca said. “It had that feeling off the foot.”
The Rattlers (19-3-3) qualified for the Region IV-6A tournament for the 11th time and will make their first appearance there since 2019. The Rattlers are 11-1 all-time in regional quarterfinal matches.
Reagan plays Laredo Alexander (15-10-2) at 5 p.m. Friday at Comalander Stadium. Harlan (23-2) faces Austin Lake Travis (20-3) in the other regional semifinal at 7 p.m. The winners play at 3 p.m. Saturday for a state-tournament berth.
With Huereca’s score, the Rattlers gained some redemption after a rough 3-2 loss against New Braunfels in last year’s opening round.
“That was incredible shot,” Rattlers senior midfielder Jason Sukow said. “Last year, we actually lost on a goal like that against New Braunfels. Andre is our captain and our leader. We got two goals from him, and it’s exactly what we needed.”
Huereca finished with two goals. He knocked in a one-timer six minutes in to put the Rattlers up 1-0.
Sukow made it 2-0 when he converted a penalty kick with 19 minutes remaining in first half after Smithson Valley was whistled for a handball inside the 18-yard box.
Smithson Valley (23-3-1) cut it to 2-1 five minutes before halftime on Brad Dildy’s penalty kick. Xavier Polendo was fouled in the box after playing a nice ball from Jax Adkins.
The Rattlers dictated the run of play for most of the match and scored two goals against a brisk wind in the first half. The Rattlers outshot the Rangers 4-2 in the first half and 11-5 for the match.
“Going into the wind is not an easy thing, but it’s something we like knocking out in the first half and then pushing through it,” Huereca said. “Nothing really changes when we’re going into the wind. The second half was the same, exact thing — same playing style, same technique.”
The Rangers didn’t play as well into the wind. They didn’t get their first shot in the second half until 18 minutes were left. Their second came with 11 minutes left.
“One of the things is to keep the ball out of the air and on the ground,” Sukow said. “We’re a great team and we work great together, so playing in the ground and playing through them is what really what got us through there.”
Huereca is one of a handful of seniors who were freshmen on the Rattlers’ last regional tournament qualifying squad in 2019. Reagan lost to fellow North East ISD foe LEE 5-0 in the 2019 regional final. Reagan lost to Alief Elsik, 1-0, for the state championship in 2018.
“I wasn’t getting much playing time as a freshman, but it was awesome to see the seniors make another run at the state championship,” Huereca said. “We fell short, but it was awesome to see it. Right now, there’s the same motivation for me to get that feeling back and now as a senior to lead the younger guys to get to experience that because it’s pretty awesome.”