MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
Each week, Mission Veterans Memorial coach David Gilpin reminds his players about the importance of executing. It’s worth reiterating especially after a 44-8 loss to Odessa Permian in Week 2.
The Patriots were inside the 30-yard line five times and failed to score. There were also missed tackles aside from Mission Vets (1-1) losing the turnover battle, all of which leads Gilpin to find new ways to drive home the same point.
“I know that execution is an overused term,” Gilpin said. “I know people take it as a general term. But the way we break that term down this week is, it’s not a general term. We had to put some pressure on the ball, tackle when the ball’s shown — all those things. Those are the types of things that we talked about. We did that (in Week 2) but we didn’t do that with enough consistency.”
Because of the process involved in successfully executing a throwing play, Gilpin likes to use the receiver as an example. From the moment the wideout lines up, Gilpin said, that player has to understand his assignment in order to run his route correctly, following through on the catch, doing what he can to avoid fumbling the ball and positioning himself well enough to find the end zone.
It’s part of an overarching theme of finishing drives, as well as making the right plays on defense.
“Those are the two things that I’ve chosen to reinforce (in practice this week),” Gilpin said. “Those are the things that we talk about all the time. Those are the things we can’t do against a good football team.”
WELL-ROUNDED
Sharyland High has utilized three quarterbacks in its first two games. When one QB is not under center, the remaining are usually on the field playing another position. It stems from coach Ron Adame’s “crossover period,” a 5-minute segment he dedicates to having players play on the opposite side of the ball.
It goes with his philosophy of “putting our best players on the field.” For now, it also helps in evaluating players with only two non-district games remaining.
“We’re using these games to gauge what certain people could do, giving them game reps,” Adame said. “You never know who’s going to be in the game. We’re of the attitude that if you’re a good enough athlete to play quarterback in our spread offense, then you’re a good enough athlete to play another position.”
Quarterback Lance Madden has seen time at cornerback, while backup Cesar Chapa has also played outside linebacker.
SHORING UP ERRORS
Through two games, Edinburg Vela has showed improvement in cleaning up some of the mistakes on coach Michael Salinas’ to-do list.
In a 56-21 win over Brownsville Pace, the SaberCats failed to take better care of the ball, fumbling it on two occasions and missing on other opportunities.
“The key for us is to have an overall team effort,” Salinas said. “In order to get that done, we have to take care of the football and not allow them to have any extra possessions.”
Vela (2-0) did that in Week 2, committing only one turnover and blowing out Harlingen South 42-17. The focus now in Week 3 — penalties.
“We need to clear that up,” said Salinas, whose team committed nine infractions for 42 yards. “We need to play cleaner.”