Two teams in District 30-6A have trotted out multiple quarterbacks through the first month of the season for a variety of different reasons, excluding injuries. Now, La Joya High, McAllen High and PSJA North will be looking to resolve their respective situations behind center for each of their district openers.
It’s been tough sledding so far La Joya quarterbacks through non-district play. Despite playing within a very run-heavy offense, the Coyotes have struggled to get receivers consistently involved and become more multi-dimensional when moving the football.
Through its first three games, La Joya has seen three different quarterbacks — junior Alan Delgado and seniors Roy Flores, Jr. and Carlos Valero — combine to throw for 18 yards on 2-of-10 passing. The team has yet to complete multiple passes in a single contest.
Valero seems to be the Coyotes’ preferred signal caller, as he’s the only to complete a pass to this point and appear in every game. However, the situation appears to be fluid as they started the preseason locked in a heated quarterback battle.
La Joya will open district play at home against pass-happy PSJA High at 7:30 p.m. Friday, creating urgency for the Coyotes to expand the passing game.
McHi was another squad embroiled in a quarterback battle during the preseason that has carried itself well into the regular season at this point.
The Bulldogs have used senior Robert Amador and sophomore Hunter Curl interchangeably throughout the first month of the season, but don’t appear to favor either over the other. Curl has been used primarily as a dual-threat option, while Amador has been the team’s primary pocket passer.
But both McHi quarterbacks have struggled recently in terms of holding onto the ball and hitting receivers at a consistent clip, particularly in their last game — a 44-14 loss at home to Harlingen South.
Amador completed 4-of-10 passes for 25 yards — all season lows — to go along with three interceptions and 9 yards rushing on two attempts. Curl, meanwhile, threw for a season-low 15 yards on 4-of-17 passing for an interception and a pair of touchdowns to go along with six carries for 4 yards on the ground.
For the first time this season, Curl attempted more passes than Amador but tallied a lower completion percentage and failed to notch double-digit rushing yards.
Amador, on the other hand, has improved his rushing ability. But his yards per attempt has slipped from 14.2 yards in Week 1 to 8.0 through the season’s first four weeks, and his recent inaccuracy has proved costly as its resulted in drive-killing turnovers.
McHi returns to the field against McAllen Rowe at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and it will be interesting to see if Curl’s presence behind center continues to increase or if the Bulldogs will turn more toward Amador as they look for experience entering the district slate.
MEMORIAL DEFENSIVE THRIVING WITH GROWTH OF D-LINE
McAllen Memorial’s defense has improved by leaps and bounds since it surrendered 40 points in nail-biting opening week win over Brownsville Hanna, thanks in large part to the continued growth of its defensive line.
The Mustangs’ d-line has had to adjust on the fly — especially in the interior — after it was forced to begin the season without its two projected starters at defensive tackle, with one succumbing to a preseason injury and the other unexpectedly leaving the program.
Instead, Memorial has received huge contributions from a pair of sophomores who stepped into the void at defensive tackle: Mark Villarreal and Marcos De Ochoa.
Villarreal has registered eight tackles and two quarterback hurries through three games of non-district play, while De Ochoa has recorded 16 tackles and four tackles for loss in the same span.
The duo was particularly effective attacking on the interior in its last game action against Edinburg Vela, when Villarreal and De Ochoa combined for eight tackles for loss. The sophomores’ early season play has opened up opportunities for the rest of the defense too, with the unit tallying season-highs in tackles for loss (16) and sacks (4) in its last appearance against the SaberCats.