GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
Weslaco East ran for 403 yards and threw for 0 in Week 1, but San Benito coach Dan Gomez said he’ll be ready for anything when the teams meet at 7:30 Thursday at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.
Given the state of East’s roster, maybe that’s the right approach. East quarterback Darren Rivas was banged up last week, part of the reason he went 0-for-5 passing in the team’s 41-28 win against Brownsville Rivera. Wideout JR Villarreal was also battling injury and was used only sparingly on offense. This week, both are back to 100 percent.
“Now that our quarterback is healthy, I feel a little bit better,” Weslaco East coach Mike Burget said. “We’re going to lean on him a little bit more this game.”
Even as East tweaked its formations to keep Rivas protected, the Wildcats had no shortage of offense. Lupe Moron led the way with 260 yards and four touchdowns on only 16 carries.
But once playoff time rolls around and teams start putting 10 defenders in the box, East will need to prove it can do more than just pound the football.
“Once you start playing in the playoffs, you have to be versatile,” East offensive coordinator Jesse Trevino said. “You have to be able to run and pass.”
East made strides to develop that portion of its offense during the summer, and the coaches saw improvement during the 7-on-7 season. But Trevino said that missed practice time last week had a negative impact on Rivas, and that increased reps this week have helped him get his timing back. That improvement may also allow East to run more of the no-huddle, up-tempo attack they were looking at coming into the year. Burget said they had to slow things down in Week 1 on account of Rivas’ injury.
“We’re playing a great team this week, and he’s going to have to be on,” Burget said.
Although East and San Benito have faced each other the past two seasons, with the Wildcats winning the two most recent matchups, much has changed at San Benito under first-year coach Dan Gomez. Gomez said he and his staff have been doing things their way, paying little mind to what had been done before.
So far, so good, as San Benito opened the season with a 53-7 win against Edinburg last week. East’s biggest challenge will be containing Gabriel Vasquez, who ran for 154 yards and four touchdowns on only eight carries.
“I don’t think you can ever stop a back like that, but we’re going to try to contain him the best we can,” Burget said. “I don’t know how you slow a team like that. … I don’t know what it’s going to take. We’re going to line up, we’re going to play East football, and we’ll see if that’s good enough that night.”