GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
Although Weslaco East enters Friday’s matchup against PSJA Memorial coming off its first loss of the season, Wolverines coach Gus Cavazos has no less respect for the Wildcats.
“Coming into the season, I thought they would be one of the top teams in the Valley, and I still think they are,” Cavazos said. “It’s going to be a tough game, obviously, for anybody who runs like that.”
The matchup between Weslaco East and PSJA Memorial at 7:30 tonight at Bobby Lackey Stadium will feature District 31-6A’s two leading rushers: PSJA Memorial’s Jonathan Treviño and Weslaco East’s Lupe Moron. The Wolverines will look to move to 2-0 in district, while the Wildcats will look to avoid 0-2 on the heels of last week’s double-overtime loss to Edinburg North.
East’s Week 4 loss came in heartbreaking fashion: Edinburg North opted to go for 2 rather than kick an extra point to send the game to a third overtime. The Wildcats believed they had stopped running back Tito Salazar short, but the referees felt differently, awarding the Cougars the win.
Regardless, East isn’t dwelling on the past.
“We put that game away,” Weslaco East coach Mike Burget said. “If we don’t, we’re going to be 0-2.”
To avoid that fate, Burget wants simply to get back to East football: running the ball and playing solid defense.
Looking across the field, Burget sees a team that aims to do many of the same things. One of the Wildcats’ biggest challenges will be stopping workhorse back Treviño, who ranks second in the district with 644 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
“We’re going to try to hit him as many times as we can,” Burget said. “Any time you have a good back, you’re going to want to get as many people as you can to the football. Try to wrap up and do a little bit better than we did tackling last week.”
The Wolverines defense will also have its hands full in the running game up against Moron, who leads the district with 896 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
“He’s one of those kids that can play anywhere, and he does a great job,” Cavazos said. “He’s very impressive. It’s going to be a chore to try to slow him down.”
If Memorial has any advantage, it’s that they faced a similarly physical, downhill rushing attack last week against Edinburg Economedes. The Wolverines held the Jaguars to 214 rushing yards in a 34-14 win.
“Coming off a tough team like that, it can only help us,” Cavazos said. “Even though offensively they’re not the same, they both like to run. They’re both power football. Hopefully that will help us prepare for this week.”
Whether Memorial can have the same success against East remains to be seen.
“We’re more of a speed-oriented defense, and they’re more of a smash-mouth football offense,” Cavazos said. “Sometimes the smash-mouth wins. Sometimes the speed wins. We’ll have to wait and see what happens on Friday.”