Author: Jon LaFollette

by Jon LaFollette

District 31-6A Football Notebook: PSJA North look to reboot passing game

BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER

PSJA North coach Jorge Peña knows he doesn’t have the players to steamroll to 78 points on a weekly basis. Then again, what Valley team does?

That’s why the Raiders’ two-game losing streak has been a reality check and a learning experience. After cruising past PSJA High 78-26 in Week 1, North has stumbled in losses to Brownsville Veterans (49-31) and Los Fresnos (27-13). But Peña takes the losses in stride. He knew what he signed his team up for.

“I wanted a tough non-district schedule,” he said. “When you play tough teams, you get exposed to some of the things you need to work on that will make you better. When you play a cupcake team, you don’t learn anything about who you are or what you need to improve.”

For the Raiders, a rebooted passing game is in order. In the last two games, senior quarterback George Olivarez has thrown for a combined 113 yards while completing just eight of his 29 attempts. In Olivarez’s defense, he is not a natural QB. He spent last season learning Peña’s spread offense and was still working on his accuracy during summer practices.

“I think George has been a little frustrated,” Peña said. “Some of his throws have been a little overthrown. It’s only by about six inches, but that makes the difference. He’s getting better and we’re working with him to get him to where he wants to be.”

Though Olivarez has struggled through the air, he still leads District 31-6A in rushing yards with 363, including a district-best 7 touchdowns.

“Ideally, I’d like to run the ball 40 percent of the time,” Peña said. “But you can only do what the defense gives you. Everyone says they don’t worry about what opposing defenses do, but that’s not the case. It depends on the matchup.”

The Raiders finish their non-district schedule 7:30 p.m. Friday when they host the Mission Veterans Patriots (2-1) at PSJA ISD Stadium in Pharr. The Patriots have allowed just 180 passing yards on the season.

ON THE BOARD
It took nine quarters, but the Edinburg High Bobcats scored their first points of the season during their Week 3 game against Brownsville Veterans. Though Vets would get the 48-13 win, the Bobcats led in the early going 13-7 and saw good things from newly installed quarterback Troy Galaviz.

“It was only his second start on varsity,” coach Joaquin Escobar said. “He looked a little nervous against (McAllen High), which is understandable given the circumstances. But you could see the change in how he carried himself in the second game.”

Against the Chargers, Galaviz completed 8-of-16 passes for 97 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown pass to Omar Garza. In his two games as a starter, Galaviz has thrown for 126 yards on 13-of-27 passes.

Galaviz replaced Effrain Borrego, who suffered a concussion during a 45-0 Week 1 loss to San Benito. Borrego will return to the starting lineup as a receiver Friday when Edinburg (0-3) plays Mission High (1-2) at 7:30 p.m. at Tom Landry Stadium.

“We just wanted to go with the guy who had more reps,” Escobar said.

BACK IN ACTION
A pair of 31-6A teams did not play last week due to severe weather. PSJA Memorial canceled their home game against McAllen Rowe. Weslaco East did the same for their road trip to Harlingen South.

PSJA Memorial (2-0) will play Edinburg Vela (3-0) at 7 p.m. today at Cats Stadium. Weslaco East (1-1) hosts La Joya High (1-2) at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.

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by Jon LaFollette

Harlingen High, Weslaco High face off in The Monitor’s Game of the Week

RGVSPORTS.COM

Another chapter in the longstanding rivalry between Harlingen High and Weslaco High will play out in The Monitor’s Game of the Week at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.

For the Cardinals, this is their second appearance in the Game of the Week in as many contests. In Week 3, they dispatched McAllen High 46-21 to get their first win of the season (1-1). In Corpus Christi, the Panthers (2-1) suffered their first loss of the year to C.C. King, 37-28.

According to Texas High School Football History, the Harlingen-Weslaco rivalry began in 1922, wherein the Cardinals blanked the Panthers 22-0. Harlingen leads the series with a mark of 51-24-4. After a five-year span where they did not face one another, the Cardinals and Panthers met twice in 2014, splitting the matchups in a pair of games decided by a field goal or less. In the first game, Harlingen won 30-29 on a late touchdown. The Panthers, however, would taste redemption with a 3-0 victory in the bi-district round.

The Cardinals have looked like a top-tier Valley team so far this year. Though they lost their season-opening game to San Antonio Reagan 42-21, Harlingen led at halftime, scoring all of their points in the second quarter. Against McHi, the Cardinals amassed 457 yards of offense, the bulk of which came from quarterback Jesse Castro, who threw for 270 yards, ran for 51 and scored four touchdowns. Leo Tienda leads Harlingen in rushing yards with 274.

Weslaco High’s offensive attack has been the customary ground-and-pound style preferred by 11-year coach Tony Villarreal. In three games, the Panthers have run the ball for 938 yards while throwing for just 86. Though Weslaco employs a wheelhouse of backs, senior Brian Guerra leads the team with 319 yards, including a 100-yard game against King.

Just as the Panthers’ one-sided offensive approach is no surprise, neither is their strong defensive showing in the early part of the season. MLB Jordan Nichols has made big plays, including a fumble recovery which turned into a touchdown. Weslaco’s ‘D’ is also led in part by lineman Anthony Garza, and defensive back Diego Rodriguez.

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by Jon LaFollette

Edcouch-Elsa beats Edinburg North in sloppy, forgettable game

BY JON R. LaFOLLETE | STAFF WRITER

EDINBURG — By definition, it was a football game. Points were scored, collisions were had, “YMCA” was blared over the PA at halftime.

But Friday’s contest between Edcouch-Elsa and Edinburg North at Cats Stadium resembled something closer to a Jackson Pollack painting: abstract pieces which seldom connected or made sense when viewed as a whole. Credit mother nature’s steady downpour for making things muddier.

“It was pretty ugly out there,” E-E running back Tey Valdez said. “It was slippery. Guys were sliding around a lot.”

Regardless, a win is a win and Yellowjackets coach Joe Marichalar will take his team’s 35-12 victory come hell or high water.

“When you have weather like this, you just hope that the kids play,” Marichalar said. “It all comes back to fundamentals. You have to hand the ball off well, make sure you’ve got two hands on it. Little stuff like that is what’s going to help you win ball games like tonight.”

The little stuff was hard to come by throughout the night for both teams. By the time E-E ran the clock out to improve their record to 2-1, the ‘Jackets and Cougars combined for nine turnovers compared to seven touchdowns.

“I told the guys, ‘Let’s go out and find our identity,” Marichalar said. “‘No matter what the conditions are, let’s go out there and put on a good show.’”

E-E did just that from the get-go, demonstrating their newly-installed aerial attack when quarterback Marco Aguinaga found Valdez as lonesome as a forsaken prom date behind the Cougars defense, going 77 yards in 10 seconds to take a 7-0 lead.

After a 3-and-out from Edinburg North, Edcouch scored once more, going 63 yards in five plays with Valdez taking it in from eight yards out on a sweep. 14-0 Jackets with 8:23 left in the first quarter.

“There was hardly any rain in the first part of the game,” Marichalar said. “So we wanted to take advantage of that as much as we could.”

On Edcouch’s ensuing drive, however, Aguinaga left the game with an injury to his left hand and would not return. From there, the ‘Jackets offense struggled to muster consistency. In four possessions spanning the rest of the first half, backup quarterback Moises Gomez threw a pair of interceptions, and the team punted twice. E-E’s only second-quarter score came when senior cornerback Noe Rodriguez intercepted North QB Cristian Espinoza, returning it 50 yards to put his team up 21-6.

“We had seen that play a lot on film,” Rodriguez said. “I just recognized it quick and reacted.”

But as Aguinaga iced his ailing appendage on the soggy sidelines, Valdez was a ray of sunshine. In the second half, he was the driving force for the ‘Jackets, running for more than 70 yards, and throwing a 27-yard touchdown to Adrian Rodriguez to ice the game with 8:45 left in the final quarter.

“Our offensive line did really well tonight,” Valdez said. “I give all the credit to them. We just picked up things we learned from last week, and just came as a team.”

ACCEPTING BLAME

The Cougars (1-2) were flat for much of the night. Quarterback Cristian Espinoza finished 7-of-28 for 95 yards and three interceptions. North’s ground attack was nonexistent and their defense couldn’t get stops on a routine basis. Coach Rene Saenz put the blame on himself.

“As a coach, it’s my job to get these kids ready,” he said. “And obviously I didn’t do my job. I didnt’ do what I was supposed to do. We’re looking for consistency. Last year was an up-and-down year for us. We can’t keep playing like that to get to where we want to be.

INJURIES
Aside from Aguinaga, North’s Balde Hinojosa left the game with a right leg injury during the fourth quarter. Hinojosa was assisted off the field and did not put any weight on the leg. E-E receiver Andrew Segura missed the game with a left shoulder injury.

UP NEXT

The Yellowjackets have a bye next week before the start of District 32-5A competition. The Cougars travel to McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 19 to play the McAllen Memorial Mustangs (2-0). Saenz is sardonic, if accurate, when stating his team’s goals if they wish to win.

“We have to stop the run, right? That’s what everyone says they have to do.”

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by Jon LaFollette

#RGVweek3 District 31-6A Notebook: Weslaco East looking ahead after loss to San Benito

BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER

Weslaco East was uncharacteristically out of sync during last week’s 47-23 loss at San Benito. The Wildcats committed turnovers, and their defense struggled to get stops in short-yardage situations. But coach Mike Burget has no use for dwelling on the past.

“We can’t go back in time and change what happened,” Burget said. “We can only move forward and do our best to prepare and get ready to go up against a good, well coached Harlingen South team.”

East (1-1) is wrestling with injuries — Burget said six starters who did not see the field last week are working their way back before the beginning of district competition. Absent players coupled with heavy roster turnover means the Wildcats are still searching for the proper starting unit.

“We’re just trying to find out the kids who will step up and make plays,” Burget said. “We’re looking for the ones that will play with good technique and make good blocks, get tackles or create lanes for our running back or quarterbacks. We’re just trying to find an overall 11 that will click together.”

Two pieces that have already clicked are Emilio Tamez and Ciro Rojas. Tamez, a senior, has gained 309 yards on the ground, the best among District 31-6A backs, along with four touchdowns. Rojas, who splits time between quarterback, running back and defensive back, has demonstrated his versatility as well, collecting touchdowns on the ground, as a receiver and on a 95-yard kickoff return.

“Those guys are seniors,” Burget said of Tamez and Rojas. “They know what it means to be a part of Weslaco East football. I’m not worried about them. I’m counting on them to continue doing good things for us throughout the season.”

FAMILIAR FOE
PSJA Memorial coach Mike Uribe will face off against one of his former teams Friday at PSJA Stadium when the Wolverines take on McAllen Rowe. Uribe was the Warriors defensive coordinator last season following a nine-year stint as head coach at Mercedes.

Though Uribe is familiar with the Warriors’ roster and their coaching staff, he says they’re not quite the same team from a year ago.

“They’ve made some changes this year, especially on defense,” Uribe said. “The aggressiveness is there and they’re playing with a lot of maturity. The football IQ for them is a lot higher, and I say that meaning they’re making plays that they weren’t making a year ago.”

Rowe (1-1) is coming off a 26-20 double overtime win against Mercedes. On the year, the Warriors allow 350 yards per game — second worst among District 30-6A teams. The Wolverines (2-0) have given up an average of 197 yards per game in contests against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and PSJA High.

But while Memorial’s defense has held firm in the early part of the season, their offense has been the key to their success. Senior quarterback Mike Gonzalez has gained 368 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air, completing 70 percent of his attempts. Gonzalez’s preferred target has been Jay Bocanegra, who has benefited from his transition into a slot receiver. He leads the Valley in receiving yards with 212 on 21 receptions.

LOOKING TO SCORE
As they ready for Saturday’s game at against Brownsville Veterans Memorial, the Edinburg High Bobcats find themselves in undesirable territory. Through two weeks, they are the only Valley team to not score a point. The Bobcats (0-2) have been outscored 73-0 in games against San Benito and McAllen High.