Dazzling passing attacks are on full display Friday nights in the RGV, with teams like Mercedes and PSJA High deploying spread offenses capable of lighting up the scoreboard on any given night.
Both teams, however, are no longer playing this week. In fact, only three Valley teams out of 34 playoff qualifiers remain.
The McAllen Memorial Mustangs, PSJA North Raiders and Edinburg Vela SaberCats are the Valley’s final three, each taking the field this afternoon for their respective regional semifinal contest.
The similarities between the final three don’t end with each advancing to the third round, all three implementing dominant rushing attacks capable of controlling and taking over a game.
Each team’s smashmouth style of football has paid dividends during the postseason, wearing down opponents en route to wins.
“Seeing the way teams fatigue as the quarters go on, that’s a big thing,” McAllen Memorial running back Marcos De La Cruz said. “The first couple of series, they come hard. After that, we just continue to ground and pound. It’s hard to take us for four quarters.”
For McAllen Memorial head coach Moses Patterson, controlling the clock and letting their O-line control the game with their play in the trenches is a recipe for success.
“That’s the style of offense we want to use,” Patterson said. “We want to run the ball. We want to milk the clock as much as we can and keep our defense off the field. We want to give them a chance to rest and recover.
“The more time we have offensively on the field, it takes away from the other team’s offense to score. With things like that, the better off we’re going to be.”
Each team left standing is filled with playmakers in their backfields capable of taking over a game in their own way.
MIGHTY MUSTANGS
A trio of runners is carrying the torch for the Mustangs’ historically dominant ground game this year, racking up a combined 3,317 yards and 44 touchdowns on the ground through 12 games.
Junior fullback Max Alaniz-Choy has emerged as the team’s top back this season, tallying a team-high 1,277 yards and 17 touchdowns on 163 carries. Senior running back Ethan Castillo described Alaniz-Choy as the “bowling ball of the group,” using a combination of power and speed to slash his way through defenses.
“He’s hard to bring down. He’s the tough one of the group,” Castillo said. “Once he gets loose though, he still has the burners to break one for a touchdown if he needs to. I feel like he’s our main guy who we can turn to when we need one or two yards down the middle.”
Castillo, who ranks No. 2 on the team in rushing yards with 1,040, adds another physical presence in the Mustangs’ backfield, using a bruising, downhill style to run through defenders.
“He’s a power running back,” De La Cruz said. “He runs through holes and hits them full steam ahead. When he sees contact, he doesn’t shy away from it.”
Meanwhile, De La Cruz, a receiver turned running back midway through the year, provides a change of pace in the backfield, possessing speed capable of turning any carry into a big play.
“What you see from Max and I this season is a slower, but yet tough and quick style of running every time,” Castillo said. “Marcos brings speed every play whether he’s blocking or running the ball. That change of pace is hard to go against when you’re used to going against Max and I, who are tougher runners.”
Led by a dominating offensive line and a talented backfield, the Mustangs have reeled off 11 straight wins, rushing for more than 200 yards in all but one of those contests.
During their second-round playoff game against San Antonio Lanier last Friday, the Mustangs trio combined for 370 yards and five touchdowns to lead their team to the third round for the first time 2011.
They’ll look to continue to run through the competition Friday, taking on the Corpus Christi Veterans Eagles in a Region IV-5A DI regional semifinal matchup at 3 p.m. at Buccaneer Stadium in Corpus Christi.
RUMBLING RAIDERS
The Raiders field a three-headed monster of their own in the backfield, amassing 3,647 yards on the ground through 12 games this season.
Senior running back Isaac Gonzalez, who eclipsed the 4,000-career yard mark earlier this season, is the workhorse for the Raiders, carrying the ball 197 times for 1,633 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Meanwhile, jack-of-all-trades athlete Jack Lugo has been a spark plug in the backfield, averaging 12.5 yards per carry while scoring 18 touchdowns. Lugo eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with a 190-yard, two touchdown performance Friday.
Sophomore Jason Montez is next in line for the Raiders, tallying 930 yards and nine touchdowns during his first varsity season, including a four-touchdown performance during the Raiders 56-28 rout of Eagle Pass on Friday.
During the playoffs, the Raiders have taken their rushing attack to new heights, rushing for 1,153 yards and 15 touchdowns through their first two contests, while passing for only 95.
“These guys feed off of each other,” PSJA North head coach Marcus Kaufmann said. “They come in here and talk about, ‘Did you see my block?’ Not did you see my carry, did you see my run. ‘I got that block. I got that pancake. I flipped that guy over.” That’s the talk when we get into the locker room after every ball game. Right now, as the season has progressed, they’ve gotten more and more aggressive and gotten their heads in the right places and getting on the right sides of guys, and they really feed off each other.”
The Raiders’ trio eyes a repeat performance as they take on Austin Westlake at 4 p.m. today in a Region IV-6A DII semifinal contest at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
SUPER SABERCATS
The Edinburg Vela SaberCats tend to deploy a balanced spread offense attack. This year, however, the SaberCats have leaned on their ground game more than years past.
The SaberCats running game outgained their passing game 1,998-1,550 during the regular season, rushing for at least 100 yards in nine out of 10 contests.
Senior running back Ted Galvan spearheaded the SaberCats’ ground game during the regular season, carrying the ball 100 times for 820 yards and eight touchdowns.
During the postseason, however, senior PJ Rivera has shouldered the load, racking up 442 yards and four touchdowns through two contests.
The do-it-all athlete delivered a highlight performance during the SaberCats’ 27-24 victory over San Antonio Taft on Friday, recording a school record 386 yards on 44 carries, while finding the end zone three times.
“Part of what we did with PJ was we knew when we got to this moment, that he was going to have to be the workhorse,” Edinburg Vela head coach John Campbell said. “He was rested and fresh during the season and we did some things we thought would make him a better player as far as catching the football and coming out of the backfield, but when it gets to this time of the year, we’re going to give it to PJ.”
The SaberCats hope to continue their rushing success today, facing off against Austin Vandergrift in the Region IV-6A DII semifinals at 4 p.m. at Cabaniss Stadium in Corpus Christi.
