By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
SAN ANTONIO — Going up against the No. 1 team in the state, Edcouch-Elsa had a small margin for error.
So when they fumbled the ball fives Friday and struggled to establish any semblance of consistency on offense, the Yellowjackets’ chances of making it a competitive game slowly disintegrated.
They yielded 137 passing yards in the air, and ran into a host of problems trying to contain Cedar Park’s rushing attack, as the ’Jackets endured a 42-0 loss in the Class 5A regional quarterfinals at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio.
“They’re a good team,” E-E quarterback Marco Aguinaga said. “They’re No. 1 for a reason. I think we had a lot of mistakes. We killed ourselves with mistakes. It could’ve been a better game, but it went how it went.”
Aguinaga was one of the bright spots for the Yellowjackets, playing in his second game back from injury. A week after leading E-E to a 21-14 surprise win over Somerset, Aguinaga had 33 yards on eight carries, while Tey Valdez ran four times for 45 yards.
The rushing totals led an amoebic offense Friday that struggled to get going with botched snaps, off-target passes and players slipping prematurely as a result of rain.
“There were some hiccups here and there, but it is what it is,” E-E coach Joe Marichalar said. “Sometimes it happens. We just have to be prepared for those situations.”
That the Yellowjackets (8-5) made it this far into the playoffs was a surprise, given the series of setbacks it absorbed throughout the course of the season. They won six of seven games to start the year before going on a three-game skid to close out district.
With Valdez back against Roma, E-E won its first-round matchup. And with Aguinaga back in the lineup against Somerset, the Yellowjackets pulled the upset. On Friday they had their issues trying to slow Cedar Park’s Jack Grimm, who had seven carries for 64 yards and one touchdown.
The scoring load was distributed evenly for the Vipers (13-0), with five different players putting points on the board. Garrett Yero, who had touchdowns of 21 and 5 yards to give his team a 28-0 lead before halftime, finished with four carries and 30 yards.
E-E kept things close through one quarter, trailing 7-0. Even though they yielded a 52-yard touchdown pass on the opening snap of the game, the Yellowjackets forced two three-and-outs that quarter.
“Just knowing we could come out and compete and go toe-to-toe with them was an amazing experience,” senior defensive lineman Julio Contreras said.
The Yellowjackets went on to give up 21 points during the second quarter as Cedar Park handed them their first shutout loss of the year.
“I told them that they have nothing to be ashamed of,” Marichalar said. “We’re the only team standing in our district, and that’s something to be proud of. The score, they don’t want it to be like that, but we faced a very good team.
“Things didn’t go our way, but getting to the third round, that’s something to be proud of, and I’m proud of them.”