DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
Incremental progress is the best way to describe Donna North’s first two weeks of its inaugural season.
“We’ve shown improvement from game one to game two,” Chiefs coach Tommy Sauceda said. “Now we just have to learn to play four quarters.”
North fell to La Feria 35-13 in Week 1 before losing 33-16 to La Joya High last week.
“We were in the game (against La Joya High), leading at halftime, and we have to learn to finish,” Sauceda said.
Sauceda said his offensive line has gotten better, and sophomore quarterback Manny Ramirez has gotten better acquainted with the varsity game.
Ramirez has completed 18 of 41 passes (43.9 percent) for 266 yards and two touchdowns to two interceptions.
“He’s gotten better, no doubt,” Sauceda said. “He still needs to recognize defenses better and not force passes. But you can see him getting more comfortable back there.”
E-E’S PRIVILEGE
Entering this season, Edcouch-Elsa coach Joe Marichalar planned to have his four captains wear patches on their jerseys. It’s something that hasn’t been done before in the program.
But following his team’s Week 1 loss to McAllen Rowe, Marichalar had the patches removed. Ray Dinnall-Guerra, Chon Hernandez, Lino Sanchez and Gabriel Rodriguez are still captains, but they will have to earn back the right to wear the patches.
“It’s just me being hard on them and expecting the very best,” Marichalar said. “They know they have to earn it. They have to work for it. They understand, and I was pleased with how they responded last week and how they fought.”
By today, Marichalar will decide whether they will get to wear the patches for this week’s game against Edinburg North.
It’s been a rough go so far for the 0-2 Yellowjackets. Defensively, Marichalar said his team is starting to react more instead of thinking, a sign of comfort within the system. Offensively, sophomore quarterback Marco Aguinaga has significant promise, but is still growing into his high-pressured role.
The Yellowjackets are focusing on fundamentals and situational football this week. Marichalar wants a better job in the kicking game (E-E had a punt blocked for a touchdown last week and muffed a kickoff return as well) that will emphasize finishing blocks.
“It’s about concentrating on doing the little things correctly,” Marichalar said. “It’s the third game. These things should be cleaned up, but this is a young team and it takes time.”
A STEP FORWARD
PSJA High had 64 rushing yards in Week 1. It had 210 in Week 2.
When the Bears run the ball well, they win, as attested by their Week 1 defeat and Week 2 win.
“It came down to execution. We had a good week of practice,” PSJA High coach Steve Marroquin said. “We stressed on doing the little things right. We cut down on turnovers, mental mistakes, penalties … we shored up a lot.”
And they can still get better. Junior quarterback Andrew Castaneda has barely made a handful of varsity starts in his young career. While he struggled again last week against PSJA Memorial, with two more interceptions to bring his season total to eight, Marroquin chalks it up to growing pains.
“He’s still growing into the position,” Marroquin said. “I thought he managed the game well. There were mistakes he’ll learn from, but he’ll only get better by going through those. He played well and put us in position to score and I’m excited for him.”
Marroquin likes the way his defense has played collectively, particularly with many new kids on that side and a new co-defensive coordinator tandem. He has also been impressed with his offensive line of Andres Martinez, Abraham Noyola, Ernie Cortez, Alex Rodriguez and Jose Galaviz, the latter three new to varsity football.
“These are tough games. That’s why we schedule them,” Marroquin said. “I think everybody’s got concerns, even if you’re winning right now. There are always little things to clean up. It’s more about accountability and understanding what’s going on, and I think we’re doing a better job.”