By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Through the first two games of the season, Edinburg Vela had turned to Robert Guerra to shoulder a significant load of the offense, scoring 12 of the team’s 13 touchdowns.
With the senior running back sitting out Friday, however, the SaberCats found other scoring options with sophomore Christian Flores and free safety Nick Enriquez, as they sparked a 35-10 victory over Brownsville Veterans Memorial at Richard Flores Stadium.
Flores inherited the bulk of the carries with Guerra, the District 31-5A MVP in 2015, out for what coach Michael Salinas described as “a game decision.” Flores ran 25 times for 175 yards, including a 9-yard run that tied the game at 7. Edinburg Vela never trailed again.
And Enriquez cashed in a fumble for a 55-yard score, as the SaberCats handed Brownsville Veterans (2-1) its first loss of the season.
“Just really proud of our kids and their effort, and how they responded in the second half,” Salinas said. “We had some guys out this week and our philosophy is next man up. It’s something we talk about and believe in. It’s a tribute to them and their preparation for being able to execute when their number is called.”
After graduating their first four-year class, the SaberCats faced some uncertainties with their skill players heading into this season. They graduated their starting quarterback and receiving corps, and were left without much experience at running back. But Guerra has kept the team competitive, nonetheless.
Heading into Week 3, Guerra led District 31-6A in rushing yards (530 total, 9.5 per carry) and touchdowns (12). He was also second in receiving yards (96). In the season opener, he tallied nine TDs — a single-game Valley record, and third all-time in state high school history. For that, he was named Dave Campbell’s Mr. Texas Football Player of the Week.
Without him, though, the SaberCats turned to quarterback Nate Garcia, who rushed for 109 yards and threw for 102. He connected on two scoring strikes to Marcos Santos, who scored the team’s only other TD outside of Guerra. Garcia found Santos on an 11-yard TD for a 21-10 lead before halftime, and then another in the third quarter for a 28-10 advantage.
“(Guerra’s) a big factor in our offense, of courses, but we just had to overcome that,” Garcia said. “Our backup, Christian Flores, really stepped up. He was running hard. He was protecting the ball. He was finding the holes in the defense and really hitting them.”
Flores also drew praise from Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu, who called the sophomore “an exceptional player” with “tremendous speed.” Between Flores, Garcia and Sam Valenzuela (nine carries, 67 yards), the SaberCats totaled 343 yards on the ground and 455 overall.
STAYING STRONG
Outside of their inaugural season when they went 0-10, the SaberCats have only lost consecutive games once. That happened Oct. 25 and Nov. 7 in 2013, when Vela dropped games against Edinburg North and Sharyland High to close out the year.
Since then, the SaberCats have won 21 of 23 regular season games, including 16 straight before losing to Edcouch-Elsa 34-30 in Week 2.
“I think any time you get beat it’s a humbling experience,” Salinas said. “We went and lost a good football game against a very good football team. We needed to bounce back and look ourselves in the mirror and prepare the way we needed to prepare. It was a reality check for a lot of our guys, and just happy with their preparation this week. They were able to put a good product on the field.”
By winning Friday, Vela avoided what could have been their second straight losing streak since 2013. The SaberCats have a bye next week before opening district Sept. 23 against Edinburg North.
BRINGING THE ‘D’
The SaberCats entered the week yielding the most yards (672.5) of any team in 31-6A. But Salinas said he was impressed with how his team responded Friday, recovering three turnovers, including interceptions by Santos and Saul Dominguez in the second half and a fumble for a score.
Brownsville Veterans last scored on a 27-yard field goal with 10:39 remaining in the second quarter.
“We challenged them at halftime to go out and hold these guys out of the end zone,” Salinas said. “We know they don’t get points for yards, so really happy for their performance in the second half, holding Brownsville Vets to no scores.”
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