BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
PSJA North coach Jorge Peña knows he doesn’t have the players to steamroll to 78 points on a weekly basis. Then again, what Valley team does?
That’s why the Raiders’ two-game losing streak has been a reality check and a learning experience. After cruising past PSJA High 78-26 in Week 1, North has stumbled in losses to Brownsville Veterans (49-31) and Los Fresnos (27-13). But Peña takes the losses in stride. He knew what he signed his team up for.
“I wanted a tough non-district schedule,” he said. “When you play tough teams, you get exposed to some of the things you need to work on that will make you better. When you play a cupcake team, you don’t learn anything about who you are or what you need to improve.”
For the Raiders, a rebooted passing game is in order. In the last two games, senior quarterback George Olivarez has thrown for a combined 113 yards while completing just eight of his 29 attempts. In Olivarez’s defense, he is not a natural QB. He spent last season learning Peña’s spread offense and was still working on his accuracy during summer practices.
“I think George has been a little frustrated,” Peña said. “Some of his throws have been a little overthrown. It’s only by about six inches, but that makes the difference. He’s getting better and we’re working with him to get him to where he wants to be.”
Though Olivarez has struggled through the air, he still leads District 31-6A in rushing yards with 363, including a district-best 7 touchdowns.
“Ideally, I’d like to run the ball 40 percent of the time,” Peña said. “But you can only do what the defense gives you. Everyone says they don’t worry about what opposing defenses do, but that’s not the case. It depends on the matchup.”
The Raiders finish their non-district schedule 7:30 p.m. Friday when they host the Mission Veterans Patriots (2-1) at PSJA ISD Stadium in Pharr. The Patriots have allowed just 180 passing yards on the season.
ON THE BOARD
It took nine quarters, but the Edinburg High Bobcats scored their first points of the season during their Week 3 game against Brownsville Veterans. Though Vets would get the 48-13 win, the Bobcats led in the early going 13-7 and saw good things from newly installed quarterback Troy Galaviz.
“It was only his second start on varsity,” coach Joaquin Escobar said. “He looked a little nervous against (McAllen High), which is understandable given the circumstances. But you could see the change in how he carried himself in the second game.”
Against the Chargers, Galaviz completed 8-of-16 passes for 97 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown pass to Omar Garza. In his two games as a starter, Galaviz has thrown for 126 yards on 13-of-27 passes.
Galaviz replaced Effrain Borrego, who suffered a concussion during a 45-0 Week 1 loss to San Benito. Borrego will return to the starting lineup as a receiver Friday when Edinburg (0-3) plays Mission High (1-2) at 7:30 p.m. at Tom Landry Stadium.
“We just wanted to go with the guy who had more reps,” Escobar said.
BACK IN ACTION
A pair of 31-6A teams did not play last week due to severe weather. PSJA Memorial canceled their home game against McAllen Rowe. Weslaco East did the same for their road trip to Harlingen South.
PSJA Memorial (2-0) will play Edinburg Vela (3-0) at 7 p.m. today at Cats Stadium. Weslaco East (1-1) hosts La Joya High (1-2) at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.
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