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The Bridge City Cardinals have not made the postseason since 2019. New head coach Josh Smalley hopes that streak will come to an end this fall.

Smalley took the job, coming from Orangefield, where he led the team to the playoffs 10 times in 12 seasons. Prior to his arrival in Orangefield, the Bobcats had a 10-year playoff drought. 

Last year, the Cardinals finished 3-7 (1-5 in district). Smalley said his team is hungry to improve.

“The effort from the kids has been fantastic,” Smalley said. “There are some similarities to what they have done in the past. There are some differences in terms of terminology. It is taking a little bit of time to catch up on that. The defense is different.”

Smalley said the kids buying in has helped smooth the transition. 

“We really started in January,” he said. “The kids got to know the staff throughout the spring. They have been around to know what the expectations are. They are hungry to win and they want to be successful. They are doing what we are asking them to do. Now it is just about the coaching staff putting them in the right spot to get the gameplan going.”

While he was able to perform a quick turnaround in Orangefield, Smalley said he has learned patience and understanding over his time coaching. 

“You just understand that the process is going to take a little time,” he said. “You have to understand to have some grace. You have to understand what kids are going through. But also, we were a program at Orangefield that made it to the playoffs and won a district title and won a playoff game. We know what it takes to establish a winning culture and win some games.”

Senior quarterback Hutch Bearden said the team has taken to the new staff.

“Smalley is a great guy and a good leader,” Bearden said. “He got us in the weight room and did a lot of good things. I think we have a lot of good things coming this year.”

Bearden said his only goal for the year is to win.

“it would be big if we made it to the playoffs,” Bearden said.

Bridge City has not won a playoff game since 2016 when the team made it to the regional round. 

Implementing a new system can be difficult for a new staff, but Smalley said having vocal leaders has helped eased the transition. 

“We have guys like Luke Williams that plays safety,” Smalley said. “We have guys like Abraham (Mungy) Munguia that plays receiver for us. We have Hutch Bearden at quarterback. We have Austin Bellanger at receiver. We have some offensive linemen like Daniel Rodriguiz and Tad Knapp. We have Jagger Carlin at safety. There are some guys that this will be their third year starting on varsity here. They know what Friday night lights are about and they have done a good job stepping up and leading the kids.”

Munguia said the team has progressed well in the offseason.

“We have been working really hard,” he said. “We got straight to work. We feel pretty confident going into this season. I think it will be a pretty good year. I feel like we can make the playoffs. That is something we are really focused on. We want to win district, too. That would be a big deal here.”

Smalley said he is interested to see what sophomore outside linebacker Bryce Breeden brings to the team. Breeden started 10 games for the Cardinals as a freshman last season.

The head coach said he is also anxious to see how some coaches’ kids perform, who transferred over when their dads were added to the staff. 

The Cardinals will start the season against Buna at home Aug. 30. Bridge City will close out the non-district schedule on the road against Kirbyville Sept. 13 and at home against Orangefield Sept. 13. District play will kick off Aug. 27 against Lumberton on the road.