GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
With starting quarterback John Cadena sidelined due to a hip injury, La Joya High coach George Espinoza discovered some of what junior Tito Delgado is capable of during last week’s 37-7 loss to Edinburg Vela.
Delgado ran 12 times for 61 yards and completed all three pass attempts for 30 yards, stating his case to be a piece of the offense not just next year, but during the 2015 district season.
“Tito did show us he’s not afraid to tuck the ball and run,” Espinoza said. “He got some great yardage.”
But Delgado’s game also had downsides, namely three lost fumbles.
Sophomore quarterback Irving Garcia split time with Delgado during the loss and had a difficult day, completing 5-of-15 passes for 23 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“Both of them showed they were poised compared to the first two scrimmages and the first two ball games,” Espinoza said. “I guess they had a little bit of experience in them.”
Espinoza expects that Cadena will be back by the district season. After suffering the injury against Donna North on Sept. 3, Cadena is questionable for tonight’s game against Weslaco East.
“If we needed to, we could play him,” Espinoza said. “I’ll go ahead and wait to make a decision. We’ll probably suit him out, and if we need to, we’ll stick him in. But what we’re looking at is district play.”
TWO-WAY PLAYER
For Mission High coach Mario Peña, the biggest challenge with senior Juan Salazar is figuring out when to rest him.
Through three games, Salazar has been both the Eagles’ leading rusher at running back and one of the team’s two leaders in tackles at linebacker.
“Juan, he has experience,” Peña said. “Plus, he has good vision. That’s what makes Juan a good running back. We’ve seen him where he can find the opening and really get the offense going.”
Offensively, Salazar has run 29 times for a team-leading 183 yards. At 185 pounds, Salazar is the bruising back in a tandem with the quicker Robert Martinez, who weights in at about 140 pounds. Martinez has 36 rushes for 174 yards and two scores so far this season.
The running game has been Mission’s strength in 2015 behind an experienced offensive line. Given the Eagles’ switch to an up-tempo attack, Peña has opted to rotate four players at running back, giving Salazar time for a much-needed breather.
“When we rest him,” Peña said, “we’ll rest him on offense.”
BACKFIELD STRENGTH
As different players have rotated carries through the non-district season, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln coach Tommy Garcia is finding he has more options at running back than he originally anticipated.
With sophomore starter Adonis Barillas limited by a high-ankle sprain, Livan Pequeño and Carlos Gonzalez have both proven themselves worthy of continued playing time.
While Barillas is the smaller, quicker back, Pequeño offers power. His biggest challenge so far has been staying low and leveraging his size, Garcia said.
Pequeño entered the season listed as a tight end, but Garcia knew from the start that one of Juarez-Lincoln’s goals would be to get him the ball in space. Pequeño scored a 76-yard touchdown last week against Mission Veterans after reaching the end zone from 15 yards out during Week 2.
“He’s surprised us a little bit,” Garcia said. “We’ve been able to put him more in the backfield than we expected.”
Pequeño joins Gonzalez to give the Huskies depth at running back. Although Gonzalez has been a constant presence at the position, Garcia was caught off-guard by the extent of his early production. Last week, Gonzalez had eight carries for 43 yards.
“He’s not very big, but he’s a tough runner,” Garcia said. “Carlos was actually one of the positive signs that we saw in the game. … He was a pleasant surprise.”