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EDINBURG – Simon Edwards’ brief athletic career can be summed up in two words:

Patience and perseverance.

Those two things came together last Friday when Edwards spurned off a career-high 207 yards on 15 carries in a 28-24 Cougars victory against undefeated Sharyland in a Class 5A Division II playoff at Cats Stadium.

The win sends Edinburg North to the third round of the playoffs for the first time in school history. The Coguars (9-3) play San Antonio Brandeis (11-1) in a Region IV semifinal at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

"I’ve come a long way," Edwards said. "All those late nights working out and every drop of sweat I put into the sport paid off. It showed on the field."

A high ankle sprain shackled Edwards for a majority of the season. Now fully-healthy, Edwards’ impact in the playoffs has been huge. He rushed for 168 yards on 19 carries against Los Fresnos in the bi-district round.

Cougars coach Roy Garza said two factors have helped Edwards. One, the offensive line, which came into the season with four new starters, is clicking as a cohesive unit and two, quarterback Matthew Munoz’s emergence as true dual-threat (passing and running) quarterback.

"I see a little more bounce in him," Garza said of Edwards. "He’s rejuvenated. We’ve started to focus on the run because we needed to take some of the weight off Matthew’s shoulders. Coming into the playoffs, we knew (our opponents) were going to take away Matthew so we gave (Edwards) more carries. He’s become a bigger part of the picture."

Then there was this admission from Garza.

"It’s probably something that should have been coming," Garza said. "Sometimes we get so caught up in throwing the ball, we lose sight of some things we have."

With Edwards giving the Cougars a reliable rushing threat, stopping Edinburg North’s offense has become more difficult. The Cougars are no slouches. They played 12-0 Harlingen about as well as anyone did this season, and they put a scare into 11-1 PSJA North. All three teams, incidentally, remain alive.

Edwards, only in his third year of organized football, has come a long way – both literally and figuratively. He got into football only after a couple of Edinburg North assistants spotted him playing basketball in the school’s gym a week after he moved from Miami when he was a sophomore.

After playing his sophomore year on the junior varsity’s second team, Edwards thought he might have a chance to make the varsity last season. But listed as the No. 4 running back on the depth chart, he was sent to the junior varsity’s first team, where he was able to get some much-needed carries.

When he was assigned his locker in the junior varsity dressing room last year, it was right next to a sign that read, "You Are The Future." Edwards took the message to heart and used it as motivation.

"It was like it was there for me," Edwards said. "Every day, I’d look up at time at it. I’d dream of running into the end zone."

Before the season, Garza declared Edwards at the team’s go-to back, despite his lack of varsity experience. That was no small assignment because Garza was counting on Edwards to fill a spot vacated by Marco Adriana and his 1,600 rushing yards last season.

Edwards showed that promise in the Cougars’ opening game against Rio Grande City, rushing for 135 yards on 11 carries. But he rolled his right ankle on his first carry the following week against Sharyland. He finished with 24 yards on seven carries against the Rattlers. Edwards was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain.

Edwards didn’t miss a game because of the injury, but he struggled over the next six games with it. He rushed for 307 yards in that time.

Finally on Oct. 30, a healthy Edwards broke loose for 141 yards on 19 carries against PSJA Memorial. He’s been tough to tackles ever since with 538 yards in his last four games, putting him to 1,002 for the season. He has truly become Edinburg North’s go-to back, and he enjoying every second of it.

"From being a nobody to making history with Edinburg North football, I never would have thought it would be possible," Edwards said. "It’s been a blessing"