EDINBURG — The 100-degree heat didn’t stop Nathan Garcia or his teammates from practicing recently at Edinburg Economedes.
There was just a slight breeze in the air as he threw spiral passes to his receivers.
“We have really high hopes we are going to make the playoffs this year,” Garcia said.
Garcia and his teammates have a burning drive to win more games going into the season.
He takes over as the team’s signal caller under center and will be leading a spread attack.
Garcia is a 5-foot-10-inch shifty quarterback looking to pass first, then take off if there is an opening in the line.
“Nathan will have to be our catalyst out there on offense,” Economedes head coach Gabe Peña said. “That is where it begins.”
Last year, the Jags posted a 4-6 record and went 1-5 in district.
Economedes is projected by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine as the No. 5- ranked team in District 31-6A, which puts them one spot short of making the playoffs.
Their first test will be right where they started last year with a scrimmage against PSJA Southwest at 7 p.m., Aug. 30 at PSJA Stadium. The Jaguars won last year’s game 7-0.
“We are going to need a lot of luck and stay injury free,” Peña said. “The goals are to improve every day and be better today than we were yesterday.”
If the team can improve every day it could be in the mix of reaching the playoffs, Peña said.
Peña said part of the plan on winning and scoring is by moving the ball faster offensively and creating turnovers on defense.
He said it’s going to take an all-out team effort to be successful on the football field this year.
The team has 25 returning lettermen coming into the 2019 campaign. The team has four returning starters on offense and five on defense.
Other players to watch are PJ Soto at running back. He complied 374 yards rushing and four touchdowns last year. At receiver, Victor Salinas is a 6-foot sophomore and will be a big target down field for Garcia.
“We are going to go hard every play,” Economedes senior linebacker Brandon Reyna said. “And we are going to have a better season this year.”