NATHANIEL MATA AND SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
Eight RGV football players across 6A were selected to the AP All-State teams for the work they did on the field in 2017.
McAllen Memorial and Edinburg Vela tied for the most honorees with three apiece.
The Mustangs finished the season 9-3 and this year the defense matched the potent offense. Nathan Sanchez was named Second-Team All-State linebacker thanks to his impressive stat line of 92 solo tackles, four sacks, eight pass breakups, three fumble recoveries and five forced fumbles.
“It was a good season altogether, we all gelled as a defense for the first time in a long time,” Sanchez said. “At lot of it had to do with the coaches putting a lot of trust in us and our seniors; we really took it upon ourselves to be leaders this year. With the help of Kelechi (Nwachuku) and Frank (Opazo) we just put the team on our backs.”
Recent UTSA signee Kelechi Nwachuku was an All-State Honorable Mention at defensive back. The defense accounted for 23 turnovers and finished 2nd in 30-6A, one of only two squad that allowed less than 300 yards per game.
Memorial had a strong offense again in 2017 and as expected the running game was where the Mustangs did most of their damage.
Right guard Aaron Ramirez tallied 54 pancake blocks, allowed no sacks and helped the Mustangs average a gaudy 327.9 rushing yards per game. McAllen Memorial rushed for 3,279 yards, more 1,300 more than the second place team.
Ramirez pointed toward the chemistry of his offensive line as to what makes his four years with the Mustangs so special.
“We’re all just one big family pretty much,” Ramirez said. “To be able to work together and play with each other on Friday nights is something that we’ll be talking about for the rest of our lives. It will be awesome, just the memories, telling hopefully my children in the future, I got to play an important position and be out there and block for one of the best and do all that throughout my years of high school.”
The three Vela players were senior kicker Austin Garza, junior offensive lineman Jayden Borjas and junior safety Daniel Enriquez. Garza was named to the First Team, while Borjas and Enriquez were named to the Honorable Mention teams.
For Enriquez, being named to the All-State team is just another memory he gets to share with his brother Nick Enriquez, a senior safety who earned an All-State nod after the 2016 season.
“It feels great,” Daniel Enriquez said. “With me and my brother, he got it last year, and now I got it this year. It’s great to be able to share this with him.”
Borjas did a lot of blocking this year, and the person who was the most grateful for that was senior quarterback Nathan Garcia.
“He made a big impact this year,” Garcia said. “He was a leader and physically he was dominant. He played hard and he helped me out a lot, protecting my blind spot.”
Garza has been a reliable kicker for the last few years at Vela, but this year he showed he could deliver under pressure.
“That’s what’s up, someone from down here in the Valley getting recognized for what they do,” Garcia said. “it’s a big accomplishment for him and we are all very happy for him.”
Perhaps no moment was bigger than Garza’s late-game heroics in the bi-district round against Brownsville Hanna. With his team trailing, Garza hit a school-record 54-yard field goal with 24 seconds left that would win the game for the SaberCats.
“That’s a tremendous recognition and if anybody was deserving of it, it was Austin,” Vela coach John Campbell said. “I think we saw that in that first round game. But, he had that type of a season all year long. That is what he will be remembered for.”
Garza has lots of talent and a big leg, which could help him nail down a future at the next level.
“Getting a kicking scholarship is a difficult task,” Campbell prefaced. “But being recognized for All-State and having a 54-yard field goal in a clutch situation on video, having the percentages he has, I really think that someone, somewhere will give him a look.”
The Vela players know that earning three spots means they had a dominant year. The SaberCats are tied for the top spot with three players, but the awards do more to show how prepared the entire team was for the season.
“This means that we obviously put in the hard work,” Daniel Enriquez said. “All of our players followed the program and did what we need to do. Everything we got, we deserve it, because we went out there and fought for it.”
La Joya was known for their outstanding defense in 2016. Through the regular season, the Coyotes only allowed 226 yards per game and including their playoff game against San Antonio Southwest only allowed 17 points per contest.
A key to that stingy defense was defensive end Daniel Villarreal who was named an All-State Honorable Mention. The senior made a position shift on the line entering the season but knew the decision was best for his team. He made 16 tackles for a loss, forced two fumbles and recovered a fumble in the Coyotes first playoff season since 2014.
“Last year I was a nose tackle and my coaches told me they were going to change my position,” Villarreal said. “The coaches thought I was pretty quick and they wanted to use my quickness at defensive end. I stepped up for the job, I didn’t really think I was going to do that great but I turned out to be wrong.”
Jacob Banda a Weslaco East defensive linemen had that same Honorable Mention selection.
Weslaco East defensive coordinator Rene Guzman said that a defensive line coaches camp in San Angelo and some newly installed in-ground sleds went a long way in getting the Wildcats sacks way up. Banda had nine of the Wildcats 28 sacks in 2017.
Guzman said reviewing film was a joy once his defensive line started to make detailed changes to get better.
“Banda … when we watch him (on film) it brings a tear to my eye the way he plays the technique,” Guzman said. “When you see a kid that takes the time and effort to do it over and over. When it gets done it’s just … ‘wow’”