DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
PHARR — When he was an offensive line coach at PSJA High in the early 1990s, Jesus Reyes was introduced to the Wing-T offense under Joe Sanchez, then the Bears’ offensive coordinator and now the athletic director at Mission ISD.
“That’s when I realized, ‘Hey, this isn’t a bad offense for the Valley,’” Reyes recalled.
Fittingly, Reyes brought the offense with him when he became coach at PSJA Southwest three years ago. Since then, the Javelinas have struggled, but not because of the offense.
In an era of spread offenses and dual-threat quarterbacks, Southwest is an anomaly because of the Wing-T, a run-heavy system dependent upon deception and multiple ballcarriers. The offense’s central playmaker is the fullback, a position few teams use these days.
Southwest averaged 235.5 rushing yards its inaugural year and 248.1 last season. Of its 537 total points heading into this season, only 36 came via the pass.
In Saturday’s season opener against Valley View, the Javs had 213 rushing yards and five rushing TDs in a 42-0 win. It’s an offense Reyes uses almost by necessity, since the program does not have the numbers or type of athletes most other schools do. It gives the Javelinas the best chance to win. At its best, the Wing-T dictates tempo and possession.
The one constant for the Javs has been a quick offensive line, and that again is the case this season in left guard Angel Valdez, left tackle Chris Sarinana, center Shawn Gonzalez, right tackle David Rodriguez, right guard Orlando Treviño and tight end Luis Gutierrez, the lone senior.
Stop them, and you stop the Javelinas’ offense. But good luck.
“It comes down to us,” Gonzalez said. “It comes down to us protecting our running backs, and it comes down to us establishing drives. We have to be mobile and we have to be as fast as anybody else. We have to be aggressive.
“If we don’t do those things, we aren’t successful as an offense.”
For the Wing-T, linemen have to be mobile and athletic. Brute strength is a nice plus, but not entirely necessary. The basis of the offensive line’s duties is traps, a basic block taken at an angle instead of at an opponent.
“We’re going to trap in every direction,” Reyes said. “If you’re a lineman, you like this offense. You’re not just stationary. You’re pulling right or left. Even the tight end is trapping inside.
“Times have changed. Linemen nowadays are zone-reading. We’re still old school. We pull and trap.”
Reyes takes his offensive line personally, stemming from his days coaching that position group with the Bears.
“I think any time we have visitors, they’ll find me with the linemen,” Reyes said. “I feel more comfortable working with linemen than I do even in my own home.”
Southwest has boasted a stable of talented running backs throughout its short tenure, but it has proven that the backs are a product of the system, not vice versa. The Javelinas once again have quality backs this season in fullback Jesus Acosta, who lit up Valley View for 161 yards and three TDs, and running back Hector Ortega, and three-year starting quarterback Carlos Portales is back for his senior season.
“I think we have better backs. We didn’t have great backs last year,” Gonzalez said. “This year, we have running backs who have speed and quickness; we have guys who are athletes.”
But the main difference between this year’s Javs and in years past, Portales said, comes at the offensive line.
“What they have is more heart and more determination,” Portales said. “We see each other as a brotherhood, and that makes us stronger.
“Those guys look bigger. They look faster. These are guys who have a bright future.”
Southwest will be fine offensively. Its defense where the Javelinas need to step up to avoid another low-win campaign; Southwest is 3-17 heading into this season. Going by Reyes’ praises about the linebackers, the defense could indeed take a big step forward this season.
But this is still a team driven by its offense, which in turn is ignited by its line.
“Football is blocking and tackling. That’s it,” Reyes said. “And we know we have to be better blockers than other teams are tacklers.”