Defending champs Robertson back for more
Cardinals have many of same players as last season as community weathered wildfire
After one of the most unusual offseasons in program history due to the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, the defending state champs in Class 3A football aren’t exactly reinventing the wheel when mapping out the 2022 season.
Robertson returns most of its starting offensive line and a good portion of a defense that was second to none in winning the school’s fourth state championship last year. What’s more, it retains that blue-collar work ethic that has made the Cardinals the gold standard for 3Aprep football.
It translates into another year of huge expectations for a team that, on paper, appears primed and ready for another deep postseason run.
“No, no big changes or anything like that because we just do what we always do,” said Leroy Gonzalez, head coach of the Robertson Cardinals. “We just worked hard over the summer and we’re ready to do this.”
The Cardinals did more than work hard over the summer. A handful of players and coaches went about the business of rebuilding their lives after the devastating impact of the wildfire that forced hundreds of people in the Las Vegas area to evacuate.
Some, Gonzalez said, returned to charred ruins. Those who didn’t have had to deal with the floods after summer rains washed out the burn scars that used to be their homes.
“You know, nothing about it has been easy,” Gonzalez said. “These people around here have been through a lot.”
As for the team itself, learning to push forward after departed senior Mathew Gonzales practically carried the Cards to last year’s championship has been the name of the game during preseason camp. An all-state quarterback and defensive back, he’s the latest in what has been a long line of star players to line up under center for Robertson the last two decades.
Turns out, finding his replacement was only a matter of inches. Last year’s starting center is this year’s starting QB as senior Ace Gonzalez assumes his third position in as many years with Robertson’s offense. He was a starting tight end as a sophomore before shifting to the middle of the line as a junior.
The coach’s son, he took every change in stride.
“He never complained to me, not once,” Leroy Gonzalez said. “He may have said something to his mom, but not me. That’s just the way he is. He puts his head down and goes to work doing whatever the team needs from him.”
Also the team’s leading tackler at linebacker, Ace Gonzalez has the arm strength and mobility to stretch the Cardinals’ playbook with a more vertical passing attack. While the elder Gonzalez stopped well short of saying fans might expect a more versatile passing scheme with deep shots downfield, he did say that airing it out will be more of a viable option if the situation calls for it.
The running game will again feature Jesse James Gonzalez, a sophomore who burst onto the scene as a freshman by supplying big numbers for a ground-based offense. Taking Ace Gonzalez’s spot at center will be D’Mario Gallegos, the starting right tackle on last year’s team. His spot at tackle will be filled by Judah Gutierrez, a spot starter on the line last year.
“You can’t do what we do without an experienced line and we basically have all those guys back,” Leroy Gonzalez said.