DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
As Donna High’s offensive line goes, so does its offense. That goes for all teams, sure, but more so for the Redskins, who base their entire gameplan on running the ball.
So it’s far from a coincidence that Donna got back on the winning track last week at Brownsville Pace just as its offensive line is starting to come together. Blocking angles were better. Communication was better. Execution was better.
The result was a second straight 250-yard rushing game, but on eight fewer carries. And it was because of the front six.
Since the district-opening loss to PSJA Southwest, coach Ramiro Leal has stayed with a line of sophomore JJ Vallejo, senior Bernie Salas, senior Brandon Cardenas, junior Jonathan Grimaldo, senior Troy Bilman, and senior tight end Kristian Montemayor. Barring anything drastic, that’s who Leal will stick with, opposed to the first couple of games when he was mixing and matching to find the right group.
“It’s like anything else, they now know what to expect of the partner next to them,” Leal said. “They start playing in unison if they know who’s going to be there with them. Everything goes from there. It’s no secret — the heart of our offense is the offensive line. When they’re on, we’re on.”
PICKING UP THE SLACK
Edcouch-Elsa sophomore quarterback Marco Aguinaga left last week’s game against Brownsville Porter during the second quarter after getting his ankle stepped on.
No bother.
The Yellowjackets still rolled to a 38-7 win. Three players scored touchdowns, two with two apiece. Aguinaga is fine and expected to be back this week against Donna North, but guys like Ricky Moreno and Christian Valdez were able to show what they can do in bigger roles.
Moreno had 99 yards on four carries. Valdez had 75 yards on eight carries, with a touchdown. Valdez, a talented defensive back, also played some quarterback, completing 2 of 3 passes for 18 yards.
“It gives the guys opportunities to showcase their talent, like Ricky,” E-E coach Joe Marichalar said. “He’s probably our fastest kid and he needed a breakout game. Whatever the defense was giving us, we attacked it, and they were giving us the run.”
E-E had a season-high 346 rushing yards, averaging 8.2 yards per carry.
Aguinaga is one of the rare Yellowjackets this season that has been removed completely from a game because of injury. Aside from senior offensive lineman Oscar Andrade, who tore his ACL in spring ball, E-E has yet to have a player declared out for the season because of injury.
Marichalar credits Liz Molina, the lone athletic trainer for the junior high to varsity levels.
“She gets our kids ready,” Marichalar said. “She’s a tough cookie. Kids know the difference between being in pain and being injured.
“Lucky for us, we have a great trainer who has kept us upright.”
MANNY’S BACK
Donna North’s offense should be getting back to normal this week when sophomore quarterback Manny Ramirez returns from injury.
Ramirez hurt his wrist in the Chiefs’ district opener against Brownsville Pace two weeks ago. Last week against Mercedes, North managed 25 yards of total offense as Ramirez’s absence was painfully obvious.
“Manny would’ve helped us open the game,” North coach Tommy Sauceda said. “We went up against a good Mercedes team that we had to play as perfect as possible. Once they keyed in that we wanted to run, Manny could have given us passing that we needed.”
In three games, Ramirez has completed 20 of 51 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. The Chiefs host Edcouch-Elsa on Thursday.