MMA Fighting Leathernecks: The Champs

(This article was written by Roel Rodriguez and was featured in the January 2026 issue of Explore Harlingen Magazine.)

I have previously written that winning a state championship or being part of a state championship winning team is every Texas high school athlete’s dream. At the beginning of the 2025 Texas high school football season, our community had high hopes and expectations for the Harlingen Cardinals and the Harlingen South Hawks football teams to compete in a state championship game. Both football teams had good seasons, advancing to the Texas UIL state football playoffs. However, our beloved Cards and Hawks fell short of making it to a state championship game.

Fortunately, in our community, we have another football program in Harlingen with a rich history and reputation as a perennial powerhouse football team. The Fighting Leathernecks of the Marine Military Academy (MMA) reached the pinnacle of high school football during their most recent season by winning the 2025 Texas Christian Athletic League’s (TCAL’s) State Football Championship. That’s right! Our city is home to the 2025 TCAL State Football Champions.

The History

History has proven that our city is more than capable of producing state champions. We have had state champions in Speech/Drama, Powerlifting, Band, Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corp, and Track & Field but never in football, until now. It appears that MMA is the first football team from Harlingen to win a state football championship.

Since 1965, MMA has maintained a strong presence in Harlingen, consistently integrating military discipline with high-level competition to develop accomplished teams and outstanding individual talent. My recollection of the MMA football teams in the early 1980s consisted of tough teams with talented players that could easily compete and beat any team in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) and most football teams throughout the state in their competition class.

Based on its tradition and history of producing talented high school football players, including some talented enough to play in the National Football League, it doesn’t surprise me that the MMA football team won a state championship. But how was the 2025 team able to be the first MMA football team in their storied history to win a state championship?

New Head Coach

In August 2025, Coach Israel “Izzy” Gracia was hired as the head coach at MMA. Coach Gracia is no stranger to building a football program. He has dedicated his entire life to football. Coach Gracia, who recently retired as the head football coach at Santa Maria High School, has more than 32 years of high school football coaching experience. He has worked at Santa Maria ISD, Los Fresnos ISD, Rio Hondo ISD, Hidalgo ISD, and San Benito ISD. He played football at Los Fresnos High School (Class of 1989) and Texas A&I University (now known as Texas A&M Kingsville).

I asked Coach Gracia how he was able to take over a program in August and win a state championship in November. Coach Gracia quickly gave credit to the staff and their contributions to building the championship culture. He proudly gave credit to his players and their ability to adapt to adversity and overcome the challenges faced throughout the season. Coach Gracia also credited the amazing support from the MMA leadership, students, and fans.

The Challenges

Coach Gracia accepted the head coaching position at MMA knowing that the program inherently posed several challenges. First and foremost, MMA has always been known as an institution of excellence, discipline, and character that, back in the day, always had a formidable athletic program in all sports, and especially in football. From my personal experience, it appeared that MMA players were always much bigger, faster, and stronger and MMA teams were always so tough to play against and hard to beat. The history of MMA football and the desire to get back to the glory days of winning and the expected standard of performance was a challenge for Coach Gracia.

Another challenge for Coach Gracia was the players. Unlike traditional high school programs, MMA enrollment is based on local, national, and global enrollment, which constantly changes every year. There could be an All-State player on the roster one year who doesn’t come back to MMA the following year. Coach Gracia faced a big challenge of not knowing which players would be returning, nor did he have any insight of the new players entering the program. Coach Gracia and his staff needed to rapidly evaluate their players, ensuring they matched the team's culture, system, and team chemistry, while also developing the necessary skills for each position to create a successful team. Additionally, MMA starts football practice two weeks after all other high school programs and played their first football game for the 2025 season after only 10 football practices.

Photo courtesy of Marine Military Academy

Lastly, Coach Gracia had to assemble a new football coaching staff, with only one MMA coach from the 2024 team, Coach John Flores, returning.

The Process

Coach Gracia recognized that establishing a successful program at MMA required assembling an outstanding team of coaches.

Coach Gracia brought in former Santa Maria High School quarterback (QB) Jesse Ortiz as QB coach, added experienced Coach Ruben Cortez as Defensive Coordinator, and completed the 2025 MMA football staff with Coach Castillo, Coach John Flores, and volunteer Coach Mora.

With only 34 players, the MMA coaching staff then focused on helping the team build trust, work together, and gain confidence in their abilities. Coach Gracia mentioned that failure invites change, allowing for more focus to change leading to “buy in.” Coach Gracia believes in and promotes a “team first” mindset and team accomplishments in lieu of individual achievements.

I asked Coach Gracia to describe their season and how they were able to win a state championship. He said that the 2025 MMA football season was one of continual evolution. There were some highs and some lows with several “glimpses of success.” Coach Gracia mentioned the team had great wins, tough losses, and a lot of growth during games when the team experienced adversity. The coaching staff emphasized learning from setbacks and encouraged the team not to give up when games went poorly.

The 2025 MMA team experienced several injuries, forcing some players to play on both sides of the ball on offense and defense. The team had to put “all hands-on deck” to achieve their goals.

Coach Gracia’s approach was for his players to have fun and enjoy playing the game and with each other. He managed difficulty and losses by accepting full responsibility when his team did not play to their potential, always using these situations as opportunities to learn from mistakes.

Coach Gracia remembers the precise moment his team encountered adversity in a regular season game. Rather than losing their composure, the team remained determined, refused to give up, and continued fighting, ultimately securing the win. During that game, Coach Gracia recognized that his team had developed the confidence required to compete successfully against any opponent. This poise significantly contributed to them being successful in the state championship game.

Photo courtesy of Marine Military Academy

The Players

To be a great team you must have great players. Coach Gracia mentioned that he was blessed to coach so many great young men at MMA and mentioned the following players who had an outstanding season.

Dash Varner led the team as their QB. Not only did he have an outstanding statistical season, but he was a great leader and was recognized as the Most Valuable Player of the TCAL State Championship game. With a 104.0 QB rating, Dash completed 52 percent of his passes with 19 touchdown passes. Dash also led the team in rushing yards and averaged 60 yards a game, scoring six (6) rushing touchdowns.

Brandon Smith led the wide receivers with 81.1 yards per game and scored 14 touchdowns overall (11 receiving touchdowns) and was an integral part of the MMA offense.

Colten Clark led the defense as their Linebacker and led the team with an average of 8.1 tackles per game. and Luke Estell led the team with interceptions helping to bolster the MMA defense, which included linebacker, Mason Neeslein.

Photo courtesy of Marine Military Academy

The Game

After a season of changes, growth, and adversity, the Fighting Leathernecks earned a trip to the TCAL State Championship Game. On November 15, 2025, MMA played against the Texas Legacy Football Academy in Buda, Texas and won the game 44–12. Coach Gracia expressed pride in his team’s performance, noting that they began the game with energy, encountered challenges when they fell behind, but ultimately rallied to secure the victory. Coach Gracia commended his players and their strong winning spirit.

The 2025 MMA football team excelled at overcoming: overcoming changes, adversity, past performance, and lack of confidence. Not everyone can say they are a state champion, but the 2025 Fighting Leathernecks of the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas can and we are all so proud of them. Congrats to the MMA players, their fans, the coaches, the students, and to MMA on a job well done! Congrats on making history! Congrats to The Champs!

To learn more about the Marine Military Academy, please visit www.mmm-tx.org. To learn more about the Texas Christian Athletic League, please visit www.teamtcal.org.