By RAUL GARCIA JR | The Mercedes Enterprise

The Mercedes Tigers make their return to the gridiron this season with explosive capabilities on both sides of the ball.

And  if all goes according to plan, the Tigers will be the District 16 -5A Division II Champions and Head Coach Roger Adame will have become the team’s all time leader in overall career wins as head coach of the Tiger’s football program.

To do so, the Tigers will have to capitalize on the field with its pass first options and powerful ground and pound running game in order for the dream season to end the way they want.

The Tigers will have to wait a little longer to test their skills. Friday’s scrimmage against La Joya Juarez Lincoln has been canceled. 

Juarez-Lincoln canceled its season last year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. In their 2019-20 campaign the Huskies finished (2-8), (1-6) in District 30-6A.

The Tigers ended its 2020-21 campaign (6-2),  (3-1) and reached the second round of the Texas State Playoffs while capturing a Bi-District Championship along the way.

The Tigers are the leading favorite and were picked by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Guide to finish first in the division.

Coach Roger Adame said expectations are always high in Mercedes, but success will boil down to execution on the field.

“We are really excited about where we are at,” Adame said. “We had a really good summer and felt we got a lot of good work in. And we have a lot of experience in key positions and that’s important.”

Since taking over as head coach in the 2014-15 season Adame has racked up an impressive 50-26 record and has yet to be defeated by longtime rivals Edcouch-Elsa over the past seven season. 

Former Mercedes Football Coach  Casas holds the record with 59 wins.

“We hope that we get nine to tie and 10 to win it,” Adame said. “We have a team to do it this year.”