TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — Orlando Fuentes made a 32-yard field as time expired and Roy Pedraza rushed for 301 yards and four touchdowns to lift Weslaco East to a dramatically surprising 31-28 upset Class 6A bi-district win over Edinburg Vela on Friday night at Richard Flores Stadium.
The come-from-behind win puts the Wildcats, who entered the game with a 6-4 overall record and a fourth-place finish in District 32-6A, in an area round rematch with Del Rio next Saturday at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio.
Weslaco East used a punishing defense that clipped Vela’s high-flying wings and made the contest a ball-control running game. The Wildcats had several long drives (running 66 offensive plays total) that ate up the clock — keeping Vela’s offense on the bench — and yardage. Weslaco East’s signature rushing game grinded out 415 yards on ground.
“They (Vela) are a heck of a football team. Nothing against Vela, they are one of the best-coached teams I’ve ever seen,” said Weslaco East coach Michael Burget, who added that District 32-6A’s grueling schedule helped the Wildcats get ready for the postseason. “I am so proud that they kept up the tradition. I am so happy right now. Our kids deserved this. Our coaches deserved this. Our school deserves this. We are a small 6A, but we have a lot of fight going.”
Down 21-14 to start the fourth quarter, Pedraza and the Wildcats went work. The tailback broke a tackle and popped loose around the right side for a 47-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 21 with 10:09 left.
After forcing the SaberCats to punt on the ensuing drive, the Weslaco East offense took over with 9:05 left and ran the ball 12-straight times, converting a third down and fourth down on Richard LeFevre quarterback sneaks, capped by a Pedraza touchdown run from three yards out at the 3:03 mark. Pedraza carried the ball eight of the 12 plays.
Still, Vela had some fight left and put together its best drive of the night, led by quarterback Nathan Garcia’s passing and Robert Guerra (31 rushes,179 yards, 3 TDs) running. The SaberCats zoomed down the field and Guerra hit paydirt with 35 seconds left to tie that game at 31.
But that ended up being more than enough time for Weslaco East, which didn’t panic and stuck to its running game. The Wildcats broke off JC Vargas for runs of 16 and 24 yards, respectively, after they returned the kickoff to East’s 39. Down to the Vela 21 yard line with eight seconds left, the Wildcats committed a procedure penalty before Pedraza got the yardage back on the next play.
Next, Fuentes came in with four seconds left on second down and kicked the 32-yard field goal right between the goal posts. East players flooded the field as the buzzer sounded.
“Coaches have always told us not to give up, and that’s exactly what we did today,” Pedraza said. “We didn’t take the lead until the fourth quarter and we just never gave up. I love that about this team.”
For its part, Vela ends a tumultuous season at 9-2. The SaberCats entered the game averaging nearly 500 yards of offense per game, but Friday night could not get on track from the onset. Vela went backwards on first drive and could never launch its passing attack. It had less than 100 yards passing after having 1,837 on the season.
Coach Michael Salinas said the SaberCats simply didn’t play good enough to win the game.
“You get in the playoffs, you are going to have to play championship football and tonight we fell a little short. We knew it was going be a battle,” Salinas said. “The fourth quarter was back and forth a little bit. I was proud of our kids for responding, but we didn’t finish.
“In the playoffs, you have to play from start to finish.”