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2020 Hermleigh graduates Makia Gonzales (left) and Ryleigh Benitez held the District 13-1A championship trophy. Benitez and Gonzales were the only two seniors on the 2020 Lady Cardinal team. -
2020 Hermleigh graduate Kobe Roemisch spun past a defender during a game last season. Roemisch led the Cardinals to a 20-15 record and a bi-district and area championship his senior season.
Hermleigh’s 2020 senior class will leave a legacy that changed the trajectory of the Hermleigh basketball programs and saw the programs reach heights they hadn’t in a long time.
The 2019 Hermleigh Lady Cardinals achieved sustained excellence. This year’s team, led by seniors Makia Gonzales and Ryleigh Benitez, won the school’s third consecutive district title.
The Lady Cardinals finished as regional qualifiers for the third straight year and came just one game short of punching a ticket to their third state tournament in four years.
“They had a part in all of those years and every year, we got better and better,” head coach Duane Hopper said. “They were a big part of that success. They grew with the program and knowing that each year that we had success, they were a part of it. Hopefully we can continue having success as a program. Whenever you look back, whether it be 10 years or whatever, there is lots of girls you’ll think of, but you’ll think of those girls as well.”
Makia Gonzales has been a constant presence on the court.
In her four-year career as a varsity starter, Gonzales was named the district MVP twice, earned all-region honors three times and made the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-State team twice. As a senior, Gonzales averaged 22 points per game with 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists.
“Her mindset that she wanted to be the best set her apart,” Hopper said. “A lot of times, she was the best on the floor, but that wasn’t going to stop her from competing at a high level. She has that motor and that competitive spirit and I think that makes her different. Her mindset of being more competitive sets her apart.”
Gonzales said she was proud to have been a part of her class’ success.
“No one expected us to do what we did this year. We proved them all wrong,” she said. “We all bonded together. We became more than friends, more like sisters. We became a family.”
Gonzales will continue her basketball career at Hardin-Simmons University, alongside Snyder High School graduate Natalee James.
Hopper believes that Gonzales has the skill and work ethic to succeed at the collegiate level.
“She’ll be awesome,” he said. “When you go to college, it’s the best of the best. She’ll play with players who are just as good and sometimes even better than her, so she’ll get to play with those players. It’ll only make her better.”
The 2019 Cardinal boys’ basketball team reached heights the program had not seen in more than a century.
Led by seniors Kobe Roemisch, Payton Rivera, Blake Hancock and Austin Sandoval, the Cardinals went 20-15 in 2019, good for second place in the district. The Cardinals defeated Lueders-Avoca, 55-43 to claim the bi-district championship and secure the school’s first playoff victory in 113 years.
In his two years at Hermleigh, Roemisch was named the district MVP, the district co-Offensive MVP and twice made the all-region team.