Ricky Lock Built, Rebranded and Ameliorated Southside.

Readers may remember a time when the Southside Cardinals were a laughing stock. A time when Southside went over 60 years without a playoff win. But thanks to coach Lock and his staff those days are long gone and the Southside Cardinals along with their “Red Storm” nickname now strike fear into the heart of their opponents.

Southside head coach Ricky Lock has locked out the doubters and he’s been doing it for more than a couple of years now. Lock took over a team and a program left in shambles. Old and new coaches often talk about “changing the culture” around habitually losing teams, but very few are able to achieve it. Teams stuck in mud for generations have an incredibly hard time pulling themselves out of that past. For Southside Head Coach Ricky Lock to get Southside players to buy in he had to sell a vision that no one before him could. A vision that eluded the Southside area since the dawn of the football team’s inception.

              Now just 6 years later he has opened the door to once unthinkable opportunities at Southside High School. Opportunities like major division One Programs visiting the Southside campus with regularity as well as giving young men the opportunity to further their careers through not only athletics but academics as well.

              The turnaround at Southside has been nothing short of remarkable.  The 2019 season may have seen Coach Lock and his staff perhaps do their best coaching job ever. Southside’s roster of 32 football players was down to just 27 by seasons end and was riddled by catastrophic injuries to multiple key players. Southside would go on to finish *#3 in the powerful coastal bend district with an overall record of 7-3. The Cardinals fell short on the road in the playoff opener to Sharyland Pioneer from the Rio Grande Valley. That task would have been difficult for any team as Pioneer narrowly lost in overtime to the Region 4 Champion the Boerne Champion Chargers.  

As a matter of fact of the Cardinals four losses three of them came at the hands of State ranked Calallen, Port Lavaca, and Sharyland Pioneer.  Many people and skeptics believed when Southside was thrown into the brutal coastal bend district, they would not only be beat but humiliated however anyone who’s paid attention to Ricky Lock’s program for long enough knew this wasn’t  going to be the case.

Southside set many records in 2018 including a record 9 wins and the first playoff win in school history over Mercedes as well as program defining wins over the likes of prestigious programs and perennial power houses like Gregory Portland, Alice and Port Lavaca. As a matter of fact Coach Lock’s record against those teams is 5-1.

Southside’s second place finish in 2018 is still a remarkable feat that doesn’t get talked about much because of Southside’s geographic placement. They are too far south for the San Antonio media to cover and too much of an outsider for the coastal bend media to pick up. But with Social Media lighting the flame people are paying attention to what’s going on at Southside.

Lock and his staff have laid the groundwork for winners by improving the culture at Southside. Southside’s quarterback the last four years has been taking snaps since he was a Freshman winning a school record 24 games. Alejandro Escamilla has benefitted from the program’s success by being selected to the San Antonio all-star game. Escamilla has set the bar high for incoming classes as he begins his push to play beyond the high school field. Beyond Escamilla there is also one of the most talented players to ever dawn a Cardinal helmet. That honor goes to Michael Hernandez who was a first team All-State wide receiver and also selected to the Texas Whataburger Super team in 2018. Hernandez was also selected to the 2019 Blue-Gray all-star game played at Jerry’s World in Arlington, Texas. That’s quite the honor for a player that calls Southside home. The brother tandem of Caleb Camarillo and Chris Camarillo also gave the team a sense of family and community.  Chris Camarillo is off to play college ball while Coastal Bend utility player MVP Caleb Camarillo returns for his senior year. Caleb Camarillo scored over 20 td’s last year despite playing at less than 70% for most of the season.

Southside will also be bolstered this upcoming season by 6’6 run and gun, Super Sophomore Quarterback Richie Torres who got some quality time under center last season as well as a road start against powerhouse Calallen that will go a long way towards his maturity and experience as this upcoming seasons starter. Torres will have a chance along with several returning key starters to take Southside to places never before seen for a Southside area team. If Southside is to take the next step Richie Torres will have a lot to do with it. Blessed with size, vision, and great field awareness he has the ability to do it all. He’s a star in the making.  

Southside’s new district includes San Antonio Southwest, SA Southwest Legacy, Rio Grande City, Eagle Pass Winn, Laredo Martin and Laredo Cigarroa. Southside will also square off with Somerset in the annual “Battle of 1604” rivalry game which should be fun as always. Southside also has non district tussles with Eagle Pass, North East EC, and an old foe in Floresville.

  

Bolstered by a strong, united, and talented coaching staff that includes Chuck Vincent (Google the name) Southside sits at the apex of Lock’s genius, a team and a school primed to make even more history this upcoming season. A battle that began six years ago rages into war for the 7^th season with a vision and a mission to put the Southside of San Antonio on the football map. This is EP 7 of a season you won’t want to miss. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the Cardinals play 2020 is the season to do it.