DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
ELSA — After Wednesday’s late afternoon practice, Edcouch-Elsa coach Joe Marichalar gathered his team and talked about redemption.
Redemption for last week’s loss at Los Fresnos. Redemption for a defense that appeared lost in the process.
Marichalar told his team he couldn’t care less that the Yellowjackets are hosting Edinburg Vela on Friday in The Monitor’s Game of the Week. The only question he wants answered, he said, is “Who are we?”
He might as well have been talking directly to the defense.
There are many reasons why the Yellowjackets, traditionally a defensive powerhouse in the Valley, gave up 50 points on 454 total yards to the Falcons. No. 1 was poor tackling. No. 2 was poor special teams play that put the defense in compromising field position and led to two touchdowns.
In the Yellowjackets’ 4-3 read-and-react defensive scheme, those losses are vital. Now it’s upon everybody else to find a way to get back on track.
“We’re going to take it like grown men and figure things out,” Marichalar said. “It is what it is, and we’re going to have to come together and get the job done.”
Last week, senior safeties Nathaniel Rodriguez (13 total tackles, two pass break-ups) and Rene Ayala (13 total tackles, 1 interception) made up for some of the lost production as run-stoppers. Senior linebackers Pedro Reyes (10 total tackles) and Joel Cardoza (12 total tackles) also did some damage. But outside of end Eddie Gomez (11 total tackles), no one else on the line had that strong of a game.
“We lost huge parts of our D-line,” Gomez said. “Their speed was excellent. They were quick and always on the ball. It’s a tough adjustment without them. We’re not as fast, but we’re still strong and we have to play to our strength. It’s not the same, but we’re confident we’ll get back to the Edcouch-Elsa defense of old.”
The Yellowjackets have confidence in backups like Adryan Hernandez and Richard Martinez, among others. But they have to grow up quickly. Hernandez and Martinez are being asked to play above their standards, and to do so against quality programs like Los Fresnos, Edinburg Vela and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln next week before district play starts.
“It starts in practice,” Ayala said. “With Seth and Elias gone, we have to step it up, and that begins in practice. We have to go harder and faster. They were our rocks. They were the guys who would stuff that run. Now that they’re gone, it’s on all of us.”
Marichalar said he will not adjust anything schematically just yet. The Yellowjackets lost one-on-one battles last week. They have to fight harder to win those moving forward.
They have to wrap up and contain better. They have to do a lot more than just show up and expect to win, Marichalar said.
“It might not happen right away, but it will come,” Marichalar said. “It puts more pressure on everybody else. Safeties have to be there for run support. The expectations for our linebackers have always been high, and they’ve got to meet that right now. Everybody will have a sense of urgency to do their job better.”
As if the situation wasn’t precarious enough, Robert Guerra comes to town Friday.
The Vela senior running back accounted for a Valley-record nine touchdowns and 429 total yards last week. Marichalar and players said Guerra is similar in power and speed to Los Fresnos quarterback Mark Mata, who torched E-E for six total touchdowns Friday.
The Yellowjackets are defiantly confident that last week’s defense isn’t representative of what they are. Gomez admitted Guerra is a good running back, but also noted that “he can be stopped, and that’s going to be our job this week.”
“This is just another game. We all have jobs to do,” Rodriguez said. “I trust that whoever is out there will get the job done. Everyone’s excited and ready to prove everyone wrong for this game, especially this defense.”