BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Jacob Rosales is back.
The quarterback was among teammates at Sharyland Pioneer football practice for the first time Monday since withdrawing from school late in the spring.
“It’s a great feeling,” Rosales said Wednesday. “I’ve waited the entire summer just to start putting the pads back on. It feels like nothing ever happened. Everyone’s treating me the way they normally do.”
Rosales’ return to Pioneer ends a near three-month arc of activity for the senior and his family. He left Sharyland Pioneer in May and enrolled at Edinburg Vela before the end of the 2017-18 school year. Then, the District 31-6A executive committee in July and the UIL’s state executive committee last week denied his ability to participate in varsity athletics at Vela.
“This is the place where I grew up,” Rosales said. “Since I was 5 years old, this is where I’ve been. It’s somewhere that I’m comfortable being. I took it (the transfer denials) as a sign that I need to go back.”
A sticking point in both committees’ decision to deny Rosales’ move to Edinburg Vela was that they believed the transfer was made for athletic purposes.
When asked if he agreed with both committees’ assertion that the move was made for athletic reasons, Rosales said it was a “family decision” and not athletically motivated.
And as to whether he wanted to leave Sharyland Pioneer in the first place, Rosales declined to comment.
Rosales is another weapon in a Pioneer offense with plenty of options. While Rosales was away, sophomore Eddie Marburger spent much of the summer learning how to be a starting varsity quarterback.
“Jacob’s going to make Eddie better,” Lee said. “We’ve got two really good quarterbacks, and we’re excited about that, but Eddie’s our quarterback. He’s been preparing himself for the last three months. He’s not new to what we’re doing here with our system. You’ll see him line up in our scrimmage at Mission Vets, and you’ll see him get after it when we start the year against Harlingen High School.”
The Diamondbacks’ scrimmage against the Patriots, which starts at 7 tonight on the Mission Veterans campus, will be Marburger’s first varsity action since the team’s 61-38 loss to Mercedes in the bi-district round of the 2017 playoffs.
“I’m excited,” Marburger said. “I can’t wait to get to the season. Words can’t explain how I feel right now. It’s everything I’ve dreamed about. It’s all going to happen with the teammates I love. It’s going to be an awesome season.”
Lee said he is unsure if he will operate a two-quarterback system with Marburger and Rosales.
“That’s something we are going to have to sit down as a staff and decide what we’re going to do,” Lee said. “We’re glad to get him (Jacob) back, and that gives us opportunities. When you have a caliber of kid like Jacob, he’s going to be able to help us not just at quarterback, but anywhere on the field. That’s what we’re excited about. Since he’s come back, his attitude has been about doing what’s best for the team.
“We’re going to move forward. We talked about it as a team, and I told the team that that was the last time we were going to talk about it for the rest of the school year.”
NEW RULES
Each new season seems to bring a new set of rules that head coaches, staffs and players are expected to adhere to.
Last October, the UIL’s legislative council passed a rule requiring every high school and middle school football coach in the state to go through a certification tutorial on tackling. The tutorial for coaches is aimed at teaching players a safe and effective way of tackling.
One of the other big changes coming to Texas high school football deals with certain fair catches during a kickoff. If the team receiving a kickoff calls a fair catch and catches the ball behind the 25-yard line, the receiving team’s offense will start its drive on the 25-yard line.
Lee was a punt and kickoff returner during his playing days.
“I think this rule was put in to alleviate the amount of kickoff returns that were taking place,” Lee said. “In football, that’s one of the most dangerous times to get blindside shots during a game. Especially with the teams that might try to pooch (a kick) or try and hurt you. Now you can call a fair catch and start at the 25. I think it’s a good thing.”
Lee suggested teams with good returners, like Pioneer senior Diego Perez, probably won’t fair catch the ball inside the 25.
“He (Perez) won’t fair catch it unless we’re facing an unbelievable kicker that does not give us an opportunity for a big return,” Lee said. “We want him to return the ball, if they’re going to kick to him.”
YOUNG SECONDARY
The Diamondbacks defense lost eight of its 11 starters last year, with many of the departures coming from the secondary.
The crop of new faces in the secondary is familiar in one way or another. Senior safety Aaron Cuevas, the starting center on the Diamondbacks basketball team, is back on the field for the first time after playing football during his freshman season.
“I wanted to give football another chance,” Cuevas said. “Since I’ve played varsity basketball, I haven’t really felt much of difference. I’m trying to get used to playing the sport again.”
Cuevas previously went out for the track team, as well, but he wasn’t able to participate this spring due to chronic ankle injuries.
“I had a stress fracture, too, before the school year last year, but I haven’t had any injuries since basketball season,” Cuevas said.
Among the Diamondbacks’ biggest losses from last year is safety Tyler Bulthuis, who finished third on the team in tackles (68) and led the Valley with eight interceptions in 11 games. As one Bulthuis departed Pioneer, Ryan Bulthuis is making the jump to varsity football as a sophomore.
“It’s been fun, but it has been challenging sometimes,” Ryan Bulthuis said. “The game has sped up so much, and now I’m trying to get the hang of it. I’ve never been so challenged before in my life, and I like it. That’s why I love the game of football. You go up, and it gets more challenging and challenging. It makes you a tougher person.”
Lee said he is working with three sophomores and two juniors at the cornerback positions.
“We’ll be young. There’s no doubt about it,” Lee said. “But there’s talent. They’re just young. Any time you’re asking kids that played freshman football last year to jump to varsity, it’s a different level. Spring ball was good for us in that regard, and so was 7-on-7 for them to get that experience. We’re excited to see what’s going to develop out there.”
SHARYLAND PIONEER’S KEYS TO THE SEASON
The addition of Jacob Rosales to the roster gives the Diamondbacks the best one-two punch under center, depending on how they plan to use one or both at the quarterback position, in the Valley. Pioneer also has a healthy mix of experience and youth at wide receiver — a position to keep an eye on this season.
2017 record: 6-5
Returning starters (O/D): 3/3
COACH’S TENURE
Coach: Tommy Lee
Year at school: 1st
Record: 0-0