DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
MERCEDES — Rene Presas has only been playing quarterback for five years.
Before that, he was a baseball star, more comfortable on the diamond than the gridiron. He was a laser-throwing pitcher, and odds were he would end up on the RGVSports.com All-Valley baseball team than the football team.
“I was always ahead of everybody in baseball,” Presas said. “If we were in majors, I was playing with the older guys. My dad would always want me playing with the best. So every day we would train and train and train. We’d throw all over the diamond, as hard as I can and as fast as I can.”
Presas still throws hard and fast today, but instead of a baseball it’s a football. It’s that talent that has earned him the 2014 All-Valley Offensive Player of the Year.
Presas had a standout season this senior campaign for Mercedes, leading the Tigers to a District 32-5A championship while completing 61.4 percent of his passes for 2,448 yards and 22 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. He led the Valley in passing yards and touchdowns. He also ran for 169 yards and seven more touchdowns.
Presas switched from baseball to football his freshman year, because throwing a baseball was throwing off his accuracy in football. He wanted to commit himself to playing quarterback. In elementary and up until the eighth grade, he was primarily a defensive tackle and fullback.
He would still be taking advantage of his size — Presas stands 6-foot-1, 225 pounds — but at the game’s most important position.
In eighth grade, Presas started playing quarterback full-time. There, he caught coach Roger Adame Jr.’s attention.
“I knew Rene since he was in elementary school,” Adame said. “Coming through there, everyone knew he could throw the ball. He had a very strong arm. As a young kid, he could throw 40, 50 yards, easy.”
Adame was Mercedes’ defensive coordinator Presas’ first three years of high school before becoming head coach in February. Long before he built his offense around Presas, Adame was busy scheming against him during practices.
“Even in spring ball, in team scrimmages, it was tough,” Adame said. “You knew you’d better have some great coverage. He’d hit all the windows, and in zones he’d find all the windows. You try and send pressure too, and he can shake off sacks and still continue plays. And then you have whatever-and-short, and he can run over you for first downs. It’s hard to prepare. You can’t simulate what Rene does.”
Presas had a fine year his junior season, thrown into the starting quarterback role on the second day of August practices following the tragic car accident to then-quarterback Isaiah Garza. But he developed quickly, leading the Tigers to the playoffs and claiming All-Valley Newcomer of the Year.
But this season, Presas was let loose. Adame is a risk-taker, and that meant letting Presas free.
Presas was given the green light to change plays at the line of scrimmage, which he often did as his knowledge of reading defenses grew. He could throw bombs at any opportunity to loosen the defense. He wasn’t chided for interceptions or poor throws. Adame, who isn’t a fan of punting and loves going for it on fourth downs, knew his signal-caller would make up for any mistake.
More often than not, Presas did. With that, Adame said, the young man’s faith in himself went off the charts.
“The biggest thing is the confidence factor,” Adame said. “Last year, he was coming into a situation on the fly. Plays weren’t developed for him and his style of play. Then he gets confidence, we work our offense around him, and he becomes a leader.”
Adame’s no-holds-barred nature and a confidence that bordered on swagger opened the game for Presas.
“It comes down to believing,” Presas said. “‘Believe’ is a very strong word, and I use that for my own self.
“I don’t care what anybody says. Whatever I’m going to do is what I’m going to do, and it’s going to get done.”
RENE PRESAS
MERCEDES HIGH, SENIOR, QUARTERBACK
6’1”, 225 POUNDS
61.4% PASSING
2,448 PASSING YARDS
22 TOUCHDOWNS-8 INTERCEPTIONS
169 RUSHING YARDS
7 RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS