By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
No player on Sharyland Pioneer’s roster is expected to enjoy a more defined role this year than Alec Garcia.
As a sophomore, Garcia shuffled between quarterback, running back and wide receiver. On special teams, he was frequently the go-to returner. The constant movement was a result of the Diamondbacks’ evaluation process in their inaugural season.
But with 50 returning lettermen, and a clearer understanding of what it hopes to do offensively, Pioneer is planning to utilize Garcia almost exclusively at receiver, taking advantage of his playmaking abilities in the open field.
“People are going to try to take him away and that’s going to help our offense,” coach Jason Wheeler said. “We could take advantage of defenses’ oversight or defenses that double up on him, and that’ll help us get going.”
Not only is Pioneer banking that kick-starts its offense — which ranked fifth in yards in a seven-team district last year — but it also hopes that reduces his risk for injury, not having to be on the field as often. Even with the constant movement and missing the final game of the regular season, Garcia led the team in two categories — rushing (57 carries, 412 yards, 5 touchdowns) and receiving (21 catches, 202 yards, 2 TDs).
“We want to keep him healthy, because he’s quite the weapon for us,” Wheeler said.
A dynamic scorer, Garcia flourished in his newfound role during the team’s scrimmage against Donna North last week. Garcia caught a 5-yard screen pass and took it up field 50 yards for a score. Later, he hauled in a 50-yard bomb in the end zone.
With Garcia firmly at receiver, other players should fall more comfortably into their roles. Sal Gonzalez and Brandon Casas, the team’s second- and third-leading rushers last season, respectively, expect to get the bulk of the carries now. And starting starting quarterback Alejandro Ramirez, who was replaced at times by Garcia whenever he struggled, should have more time to find his rhythm in the pocket.
FINDING BALANCE
Roma’s biggest uncertainty on offense last year came in its passing-receiving game. With an all-district wideout hurt for the majority of the year, the Gladiators produced 85.5 percent of their offense (2107 of 2,465 yards) on the ground.
In fact, only once did Roma pass for more than 60 yards, when Robert Garza threw for 102 yards on Week 10, with Aldo Ramirez back from injury.
Their new QB-receiver duo, though, have been encouraging early on. On Friday, Andy Marroquin threw for 115 yards and a touchdown — a 55-yard strike that found Damian Villarreal — as Roma beat Laredo Nixon 29-0 in a live, four-quarter scrimmage.
BOOSTING THE RUN GAME
Despite the loss of its dual-threat QB and a couple backs, Edinburg Vela could try to sustain what was the top rushing attack in district a year ago.
With leading rusher Robert Guerra, the SaberCats generated 60 percent of their offense (2,386 of 3,973 yards) on the ground in 2014. Guerra is back for another year, but he loses support due to graduation.
So far, Vela has tried to make up the difference by going using wideouts Michael Arguelles, Johnny Davila and Elijah Reyna as rushers, at times. During their scrimmage against McAllen Rowe last week, all three scored on the ground during the live or controlled sets.
SaberCats coach Michael Salinas didn’t drop any hints as to how their rushing attack might look moving forward, except to say “that’s where their touches were” last week.
“We ran the football well,” Salinas said. “Fortunately all three found the end zone.”