BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — On Thursday night in a rivalry game, Edinburg Vela sophomore quarterback AJ Sotelo took over when the team needed it most.
His deep balls lead to 14 first-half points, allowing Vela to run away with the game in the second half. His elusiveness allowed Vela to overcome several key injuries along the offensive line.
Edinburg Vela (9-0, 5-0) rolled past Edinburg High (6-3, 2-3) 24-14 in the District 31-6A matchup on Thursday at Richard R. Flores Stadium.
“It felt good to come out here and beat an inner-city rival,” Sotelo said. “It was a good atmosphere. We came out and did what we needed to do.”
“AJ did really good tonight, just like he does every day in practice,” Enriquez said. “He has come a long way from when he tore his UCL to now. He keeps getting better and better.”
On Vela’s second scoring drive, Sotelo had to make a tough throw across his body for the touchdown. He was rolling to his right, and senior receiver Daniel Enriquez was to his left. As he looked to Enriquez, he saw the Edinburg High pass rush and had to throw off his back foot. The pass still got there with plenty of power, and it was on target to an open Enriquez, who easily turned and raced for the end zone, untouched.
“It was amazing,” Enriquez said of the pass from Sotelo. “He got out of being almost sacked, and making a tremendous throw. It was just amazing.”
“That’s why I train, for things like that — plays that are not normal,” Sotelo said. “Daniel did a good job of seeing me roll out, and getting open.”
Vela’s first touchdown was set up by another Sotelo-to-Enriquez pass. The 41-yard bomb moved the Vela offense to the 5, and on the next play senior running back Christian Flores punched it in.
“I just saw the safety come down,” Sotelo said of the pass prior to the score. “I saw Daniel one-on-one over the top, and that is a matchup he wins almost every time. I took what I got, and we executed it well.”
Flores’ score tied the game, after the Bobcats went up 7-0 on their first possession. A combo for the Bobcats that was extremely potent last year, reunited on the touchdown play. Senior quarterback Matthew Cruz completed a 36-yard touchdown pass to senior Antoine Woodard to put the Bobcats up. Cruz has been dealing with an injury and Woodard has largely played on defense for the Bobcats this year, but in a rivalry game, every play in the playbook is required. EHS’ second score came with the game out of reach, inside of two minutes, on a 1-yard run from senior running back Hearlin Benavides.
In the second half, the Vela offensive line was dealt a big blow when junior tackle Tyler Bailey suffered an injury. Later, junior guard Jorge Hinojosa suffered an injury and was held out the rest of the game, as well.
“Check (Weslaco East) coach Mike Burget’s quotes from a few weeks ago,” Campbell said. “Identical scenario. It makes it frustrating, because it is not football anymore.”
Campbell was referring to East’s game against EHS, where East commented on the play of EHS. Hinojosa was hurt during a skirmish after a play was blown dead. After the game, he said the EHS player was trying to poke his eyes in the pile.
“Tyler is a really important guy on our line,” senior tackle Jayden Borjas said. “I think we have a lot of depth. But losing him was a big deal.”
“Marcus Garcia did a really good job. He was the guy that filled in at left guard,” Borjas said.
Sotelo brought his A-game on Thursday, and despite a weakened offensive line, he found creative ways to buy time for his receivers. The highlight of his creativity came on Vela’s final score. Sotelo, surrounded by EHS rushers, tucked the ball and raced to the line of scrimmage. Just before he crossed the line, he spotted Daniel Enriquez in the end zone.
“I noticed that their secondary was falling back, so I knew the underneath stuff would be open tonight,” Sotelo said. “I just stayed discipline, kept my eyes down field, and again credit to Daniel for getting open when I needed him.”
Things weren’t perfect for Vela on Thursday, and the injuries didn’t help.
In the third quarter, the SaberCats were gifted a first-and-goal situation after an EHS penalty. The offense couldn’t produce any points, and Vela settled for the field goal.
The highlight of the goal line sequence was the play of senior defensive lineman Kobe Gipson. Gipson was called into action to help beef up the blocking, and he made a few strong blocks. Then, on third down, he ran a route and got open in the end zone. The throw from Sotelo sailed just high.
“Kobe gives us a little bit of versatility,” Campbell said. “I wish we could have got that one, he was wide open. We have been working on this package this week, and I am excited to see what more we can do with it. He is a tremendous athlete.”
Senior defensive lineman Sergio Carrizales helped ice the game with a big sack. After the game he credited Vela trainer Jaime Tovar with wrapping his wrist in such a way that he could play through the pain.
Vela’s defense is known for turnovers, and junior linebacker Matthew Brulloths added to that total.
“I saw the quarterback drop back, and I saw it was a screen,” Brulloths said. “I saw the receiver coming my way, so I just jumped for the ball, and I got it and took off running.”
After the pick in the fourth quarter, Brulloths got the highest honor: the Vela turnover chain, and the photo to go with it.
“I was so excited to get it, I have really wanted it. So, after I got it, I did the Conor McGregor walk,” Brulloths said. “(When you pose for the photo) it feels awesome. I felt the energy, the guys were loving it. It was my first interception. It was an awesome experience.”
Now, the SaberCats must lick their wounds, find solutions and prepare for what promises to be a huge matchup next week with Weslaco East.
“We are still undefeated in district, there is one left,” Campbell said. “We’ll wait and see what happens with those two teams tomorrow night. We will enjoy the victory tonight, and then get ready for a big one, next week.”
Sotelo will likely be key in the East matchup, and he built a lot of momentum for that game against EHS.
“He settled in and got us into some good plays,” Campbell said. “He was making the throws. AJ played a real solid game.”
“It is great to see your quarterback throw some bombs,” Borjas said. “We are all really proud of him.”