BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
ELSA — The routine will be the same for Edcouch-Elsa running back Jorge Gomez. He’ll put on his pads, his No. 35 jersey, spikes and helmet and run out onto the Benny Layton Sr. Memorial Stadium turf to thunderous cheers. But when the final seconds tick to zero against Brownsville Porter on Friday night, that will be curtains on the career of one of the best running backs in school history.
“I’ve always wanted to be a Jacket since I was young,” Gomez said. “My dad played linebacker here, and my older brother played fullback and linebacker.”
Gomez’s varsity career began in the 2016 season opener at Los Fresnos, when he officially ran the ball four times for 9 yards. Since then, Gomez has run for 2,330 yards and 25 touchdowns, with 1,402 of those yards and 13 touchdowns coming in nine games this season.
“I didn’t think this would happen, but it shows what hard work can do,” Gomez said.
In E-E coach Joe Marichalar’s mind, Gomez is one of a kind.
“It’s been a pleasant journey for me to see Jorge grow up,” Marichalar said. “Even if he’s got injuries or he’s tired, Jorge would put all of that aside to try and help his team. He basically tried to put the team on his shoulders. When we got put in tough situations, he was the guy that said, ‘I’ll get the first down,’ or ‘I’ll get the touchdown.’ You could read his eyes and see that he was going to try to do everything in his power to get it done. To me, that’s a football player.”
While Gomez’s 1,402 rushing yards are good for the third-highest total in the Valley, Gomez and his offensive coordinator, Gene Garza, wanted to set a new mark during his senior year.
“We wanted to try and get him the single-season rushing record in Edcouch-Elsa history,” Garza said. “Last year, we got the passing record and the receiving records. We told Jorge, ‘This is your time.’”
The top rushing mark in a single season belongs to Fred Loredo, a former E-E tailback who ran for 2,000 yards during the 2004 season.
“He’s at 1,400 yards, but he can still be the second-leading rusher. Right now, he’s fourth all-time and is 62 yards from second place,” Garza said. “We’ll try and shoot for that on Friday.”
Garza will miss the Jorge Gomez who would stop by his classroom during school hours.
“Believe it or not, Jorge will come by my geometry class three or four times a day,” Garza said. “He’d swing by and we’d talk. He’s been doing that since he was a sophomore. He’s a good kid.”
More than anything, Marichalar saw Gomez’s fierce determination as an endearing quality.
“I use the phrase ‘fierce determination’ a lot with our kids, because that’s what Jacket football is all about: being a determined individual,” Marichalar said. “The task can be tough, but we’re not supposed to show that. You’re supposed to go in there and say, ‘Anything is possible.’ Jorge demonstrates that.”
Gomez may be seen as a quiet kid, but E-E junior quarterback Albert Trevino knows there are other sides to him.
“Jorge has a great personality,” Trevino said. “He’s a funny guy. Some of the things he says are hilarious. He knows when he has to play it professionally, but when it comes to joking around when we know we can, he’ll joke around here and there.”
Edcouch-Elsa (4-5, 2-4) will meet Brownsville Porter in its season finale at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Benny Layton Sr. Memorial Stadium in Elsa. The game will be Gomez’s last, because the Yellow Jackets missed out on the playoffs for the first time since the 2009 season.
Gomez can’t reach 2,000 rushing yards, but he is determined to break his career-high of 217 rushing yards in a game, which he set against Donna North earlier this season.
“I’m going to try and get as many yards as I can,” Gomez said. “250 would be good.”