BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
It is easy to see PSJA High junior quarterback Trey Guajardo’s 962 passing yards through three games and think of PSJA as just a passing team.
That would be a fatal error.
The Bears have 429 rushing yards on the year. Against Brownsville Rivera on Thursday, sophomore JR Vasquez rushed for 130 yards.
“We have two good backs, JR Vasquez and Christian (Rivera),” PSJA coach Lupe Rodriguez said. “JR is a sophomore. He was a freshman last year, so he is still trying to figure it out as far as the transition from freshman level to varsity level. I knew one of those had it in them. This week, it just happened to be JR, but they are both very capable of putting up those type of numbers.”
While Rodriguez has been known for his passing attacks, his offenses have always had a healthy balance.
“Everywhere we have been, we have had backs that have gotten close to 1,000 yards each year,” Rodriguez said. “Normally, our QB is right around there, as well. So, it is there for our offense to run the football. We just let the pass set up the run.”
To Rodriguez’s point, Guajardo may only have 67 rushing yards, but he has 3 rushing touchdowns already.
The key for the Bears running game is knowing the situation and exploiting the opponent when it overextends to prevent the pass.
“We have sometimes a four- or five-man box,” Rodriguez said. “That allows us to run the ball. Some people play a Cover 2 behind it and try to drop seven or eight into coverage. We have it in our system, to where if we need to run the ball, we will run it. As a coaching staff, we do see those things, and we do adjust.”
The Bears get a bye this week before opening District 31-6A play with PSJA Southwest.
“I told our guys PSJA High is the big brother. The other schools are kind of like the little brothers,” Rodriguez said. “We have to take that role back. In the past, it used to be PSJA North, and we have emphasized that we want to be the big dogs in the city. It is a long time coming for PSJA High to step up. … I knew it was going to be big for us to start off strong. Especially for these kids that have been a part of not-so-successful seasons.
“I have faced (PSJA Southwest coach Michael Evans) before, when I was at Veterans in the playoffs. I know he is a defensive-minded guy. I know he always has his teams ready. I told our guys we have to start off fast against this team and not take them lightly.”