BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

RIO GRANDE CITY — Coming into Friday’s game, the Grulla Gators knew the line of scrimmage would be a battle all night.

“Without a doubt (the line of scrimmage was a key focus),” Grulla coach Abel Gonzalez III said. “It was hard for us to run inside. That was something that they were going to take away from us. We just have to get better, and see how we can beat that type of defense the next time out.”

In the end, the size and strength of Orange Grove (2-2) overwhelmed the Gators (2-2), and the Bulldogs came away with the 36-21 win at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium.

“Orange Grove is a big team,” Gonzalez said. “They gave us some trouble up front. Defensively, they were athletic. They were able to kind of contain us. So we go back to the drawing board and get ready for next week against a tough Rio Hondo team.”

“They weren’t the best defensive line we have faced,” senior center Andrew Lopez said. “But, they were very quick off the ball, and they were really aggressive.”

Grulla sophomore running back Vidal Lopez had five first-half carries and was held to minus 3 yards. Despite the struggles of the traditional ground game, the Gators came out and punched the Bulldogs in the face to start the game.

On the Bulldogs’ opening possession, the Gators’ defense held the Bulldogs in the red zone and forced a turnover on downs.

Senior quarterback Dillen Salinas got the Gators on the board first with a 17-yard scamper into the end zone. The Salinas run capped off a drive that was sparked by a 71-yard end around run by junior receiver Jesse Garza.

“It was a good feeling,” Salinas said. “After getting ourselves into good position on the fourth play of the game, that gave us confidence. We knew we had a good chance to win the game at that point.”

The Gators maintained the advantage throughout much of the first half. Then came the stoppages. First, the lights went out, causing a 20-minute delay.

After the break, the Bulldogs scored to tie the game at 14. On the ensuing kickoff, an awkward kick came to the up man — senior middle linebacker and team captain Joe Ramos. Ramos used his speed to pick up 20 yards on the return, but as he came down, he felt agonizing pain.

“He felt his hip pop a little bit,” Gonzalez said. “It seemed to be out of place a little bit.”

“Joe Ramos, he is a hell of a player,” Lopez said. “It makes a big difference when he is not there, but it just has to be next man up.”

The injury was a severe blow to the Gators, who were already struggling with the size of the Bulldogs offensive line. Many Gators were emotional as they saw one of their captains carted off the field.

“We weren’t really concentrating as well as we should have, because of all the things that happened,” Lopez said.

“It killed our momentum at that point,” Salinas said of the back-to-back stoppages. “Joe getting hurt was a real blow for us.”

In stepped senior Ebenezer Cantu. Last year, Cantu was asked to fill in at running back, and he was a spark plug for the offense in the new role. Again on Friday, Cantu was moved from the secondary to Ramos’ linebacker spot.

“Bennie is one of our vocal leaders in there,” Gonzalez said. “He played hard all night. I am very proud of him.”

“That was really big from Ebenezer Cantu,” Lopez said. “He’s really quick and physical, and we have had him on the team for three years already, so he is pretty good.”

Cantu made several key plays, including a big tackle on third down that pinned the Bulldogs back deep with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game.

“(Ramos) is a real big part of our defense,” Cantu said. “I knew I was going in to play mike for him, so I did what I had to do. I am proud of myself, and hopefully, I can keep it going.”

Cantu’s stop gave the Gators new life, but between all the stoppages and all the scoring, the Grulla offensive line was just too worn down to give the offense room to work. Two desperation heaves from Salinas were picked off in the closing minutes of the game, sealing the Gators’ fate.

Still, the Gators remain confident as ever, focused on their biggest goal for the year: a 16-4A DI championship. With Salinas at the helm, Grulla has reason for optimism. Even in a hard-fought game, Salinas picked up more than 100 yards on the ground and in the air. Salinas was responsible for all three touchdowns Friday, throwing two and running in the opening score.

“We play tough teams to get ready for district,” Salinas said. “This is all just preparation to help us get that district title. It is a lesson learned for us.”

Despite the offensive line’s struggles in the power ground game and a bevy of holding penalties, the group remains self-assured. With seniors Andrew Lopez and Miguel Salazar anchoring the middle of the line, the Gators know they will be able to dominate the line of scrimmage against the teams in their district.

“This line is really good,” Lopez said. “I have a lot of confidence in these guys. I see them working out after school. We work hard every single day.”

The best news of all for the Gators came after the game.

“I just got an update. (Ramos) is back at home,” Gonzalez said. “They were able to pop his hip back in. He’s not at the hospital, which is a good sign. We will see how it goes moving forward.”

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BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

Every time Albert Guerra Jr. steps onto the field for Edinburg Economedes, he can be sure his father is watching.

That isn’t as easy as it sounds, because the senior quarterback’s father, Alberto Guerra Sr., works on the oil rigs in Laredo.

Beto, as the senior is known, works in Laredo for two-week intervals before the sweet, sweet reprieve of coming home to his family for two weeks.

When Beto is in Laredo, he still wants to see his namesake play, because football has been the bond between the two for as long as they can remember.

Beto played tight end for Edinburg North, and he was always there to teach Albert.

“He helped me out a lot,” Albert said. “Every time I came off the field after a game, he would help me understand what I did wrong. And he would tell me how to fix it for the next game.”

Albert’s mom, Brenda Garcia, came up with the perfect solution to unite father and son on Friday nights.

“What she does is, every time we have a game, she records it on Facebook Live,” Albert said. “And that is where my dad watches it.”

Even when Beto is away, Albert can still count on a postgame call to run through all the highs and lows of that week’s game.

Albert struggled with the separation when Beto first started working in Laredo.

“It was tough when he wasn’t there,” Albert said. “Sometimes, like, I needed help, and he was not there.”

During Guerra’s sophomore and junior years, he had to fight for every snap under center, because the Jaguars also had another talented gunslinger in Roger Barrientos.

Still, Guerra’s talent could not be denied, and in 2017 he earned the lion’s share of the snaps at quarterback.

Now, 2018 is Guerra’s year.

“With Albert, the biggest progression is he is able to read the defensive coverages a lot faster,” Economedes coach Gabe Pena said. “As a senior, he has seen the schemes. He has been coached up throughout the offseason. And those two years of experience have given him valuable lessons as far as the pre-snap reads, because, yes, we are a slot-t team, but we also want to throw the ball. We feel confident that by being able to run the ball, it will open up the passing. That’s the biggest thing. We don’t want him to be Superman. We just want him to control the huddle, help us move the chains and pick up those passes when we need them.”

Last year, Guerra completed 84 of 168 passes for 1,315 yards and 10 TDs, but he also had 11 interceptions.

This year, Guerra has thrown slightly less, completing 7 of 17 passes for 71 yards through three games. But, to this point, he has yet to throw a pick — a very positive sign for the Jaguars. Guerra has also been able to run the ball more this year. He has 15 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown.

For Guerra, the biggest adjustment to varsity ball was getting used to running the signature Gabe Pena slot-t offense while also mixing in the spread.

“It did take some time for me to get comfortable with going back and forth between the slot-t and the spread,” Guerra said. “Since my first year at quarterback, I just kind of got used to it. It became like second nature for me.”

Guerra also had to learn how to find his voice in the huddle. He is a very humble kid, and he is not super aggressive away from the football field, so he had to learn how to be a leader.

“I just had to keep growing and learning,” Guerra said. “I had to find my voice and get more comfortable with being a leader. Since it is my senior year, that is something I really want to do for the team.”

Economedes is 2-1 on the young season. The offense has sputtered just a bit to start the year, as the Jaguars worked to order their depth chart with such a young team. Thankfully, the Jaguars’ defense has been lights out to start the year. That unit has allowed only one touchdown this season.

“The defense is nonstop,” Guerra said. “They find the weakness of the offense, and they just attack.”

Guerra knows he can get the offense up to speed by the district season, and he has high hopes for 2018.

“Since it is my last year, I want to do something special,” Guerra said. “We want to make the playoffs and just play good football and have fun on the field.”

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BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

The East Side is still the Strong Side, but that narrative seems to have disappeared outside the program during recent weeks.

“I sort of laugh when I look at the rankings,” East coach Mike Burget said. “I guess if a team goes 3-0, 2-0, they are great, but I guess people don’t look to see who they played.”

East started the season playing Manor and Laredo Alexander, both out-of-Valley teams that qualified for the playoffs last year in competitive districts.

The Wildcats were without their starting QB, senior Antonio Cedeño, for those two games. Cedeño wasn’t the only Wildcat dealing with injuries, either. Still, the defense didn’t allow a touchdown against Alexander, and had the Bulldogs not scored three times on offensive turnovers, the game might have felt a bit different.

The East defense is as good as, if not better than, promised, and that unit is only getting better, Burget said.

Last week, East was scheduled to play Brownsville Hanna, but the game was canceled due to inclement weather. While the loss of snaps for younger players was a blow to the Wildcats, Burget said East is taking a positive outlook on the situation.

“We are banged up a little bit, so we got a week to heal,” Burget said.

While some fans may have sounded the alarms concerning East football, Burget said the team is as confident as ever.

“Our coaching staff is great. I don’t think people remember, a couple years ago, we started district 1-3, and we end up going three deep,” Burget said of the 2016 season.

The Wildcats are looking for the same kind of turnaround this year, and Cedeño may be one of the keys to getting there. He saw his first game action in Week 2 against Alexander. Cedeño completed just 1 of 8 passes for 14 yards and an interception in limited time.

“We threw him in there. I wish I wouldn’t have, if I had to do it all over again,” Burget said. “He only got a couple days practice, and it wasn’t fair to him. But, you know what, he handled himself well. He handles himself like a young man should on the football field. He’s trying to get used to the speed of the game, and I think he will be much improved this week, but we will see.”

While the hope is Cedeño can spark the offense Friday against Harlingen High, just having him under center frees up a lot of things for the Wildcats.

“Anytime you can add some depth and get our starting quarterback back, I think that will jump-start us,” Burget said. “Manny Gomez has a great defense like always, and he likes to send a ton of people. So, we are going to see if he can hang in there and hold up to a great ballclub, like Harlingen. It’s really good to have him back. It takes a little bit of pressure off of Ramsey (Vasquez) and Josh (Gonzalez, junior running back) and all the offensive guys. We will see how he handles it.”

Vasquez, the junior Swiss Army Knife, has filled in admirably for Cedeño, but he’s not a natural quarterback.

Now, with Cedeño back, Vasuqez is freed up to do what he does best.

“He’s starting on defense, I can tell you that,” Burget said.

Vasquez has four tackles and one interception on the season. As a sophomore in 2016, Vasquez made 54 tackles with six interceptions.

“There is no panic here,” Burget said. “We are confident as ever, and I believe we have a great ballclub here.”

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BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

McALLEN — The QB questions at Edinburg Vela may be nearing their conclusion.

On Vela’s first play from scrimmage Friday, sophomore AJ Sotelo launched a perfect pass to senior Daniel Enriquez, who caught it in stride and raced to the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown against McAllen Memorial. The passing touchdown was Sotelo’s first of the year, but not the last of the night.

On the ensuing extra-point attempt, Vela used its bluff formation to test the feasibility of its two-point package. The SaberCats ran the conversion play, but the pass from Sotelo to senior Aziel Garcia was tipped incomplete by a Memorial defender.

That was about the only thing that went wrong for the SaberCats as they handily beat McAllen Memorial 40-21 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“AJ continued to make good decisions — continued to make good throws,” Vela coach John Campbell said. “With Elijah (Trujillo, senior), they are competing on a day-to-day basis during the week. AJ had the nod and basically kept it because he was playing pretty well. He made some good throws. He was getting us in and out of the right plays for the most part. So, I thought AJ had a heck of a ballgame.”

Sotelo finished the game 8 for 16 for 169 yards and three touchdown passes. Trujillo did not enter the game for the SaberCats.

“It felt really good to just come out and play the whole game and get through it all,” Sotelo said. “Our offense drove down the field well, and we did some good things tonight.”

On Saturday afternoon, senior Frankie Zuniga got a text saying he may be starting at outside linebacker against Memorial.

“I am the type of player where like, ‘Coach, put me anywhere. I just want to play,’” Zuniga said. “Coach put me there, and he had the confidence in me to start me this game, with only one week of practice. I played my heart out for him. I just want to say thank you to coach Campbell for putting me in this position, because I really wanted to be out on that field today.”

Zuniga earned the shot to fill in for the injured Justice Rivera, and he came up big for Vela.

“Frankie is one of those guys who can do a little bit of everything,” Campbell said. “He is just a natural football player, the consummate teammate. We needed some depth at outside linebacker this week. He is a good athlete, good player. I think he is going to be one of the guys — I was watching him a lot — he is going to grade out pretty well. He played well at outside linebacker, gets the interception and played a heck of a ballgame.”

Memorial was just starting to gain momentum on a drive just before half when Zuniga came up big.

He was shadowing his receiver, who had run a route toward the right side of the end zone.

“I was playing cover 2 high, and I was reading the QB’s eyes,” Zuniga recalled. “I saw the quarterback getting pressure. He rolled out to the left. And then, I saw a receiver open in the end zone. I hauled my butt off from the complete other side of the field to the other. I timed that ball perfectly, and I got the pick.”

Overall, the Vela defense was stout, holding Memorial junior running back Campbell Speights to 64 yards. Junior quarterback Sean Skaugen was also held in check in the ground game, registering just 59 yards from scrimmage, but Skaugen looked to pass more than expected on Friday. Skaugen attempted a season-high 16 passes, and he completed eight, also a season-high.

“We were ready for Campbell Speights,” Zuniga said. “That guy is a tough dude. He’s freaking fast. I didn’t know how fast he was until I was on the field with him. He might have hurdled me one time, but other than that, I feel like I did a pretty good job containing him. Forcing him back inside to help my dogs get the tackle.”

Coach Campbell agreed.

“I feel pretty good about what we did with Campbell. We ended up getting hit on some things we hadn’t seen,” Campbell said. “All-in-all, we held up very well in terms of containing Campbell. We got hit on some passes that we hadn’t seen them do before. But then Ivan (Mendoza) comes back and responds, and on a similar double move, comes back and gets the interception.”

Mendoza, the sophomore safety, had a huge game. The aforementioned interception came at a crucial moment in the fourth quarter, and it set up Vela’s final touchdown.

“I just stayed patient with my route,” Mendoza said. “He cut in, and I just read the ball and got it.”

Mendoza also got his first kickoff return of the season, and he made it count, running for 27 yards and setting up Vela’s longest drive of the night, which was capped off with a 3-yard touchdown run by senior running back Cristian Flores.

“I really wanted one,” Mendoza said. “They finally kicked one to me, and it felt really good to get the team going.”

Flores finished the game with 14 carries for 84 yards and 2 TDs.

“We knew we weren’t going to get too many possessions and we would have to capitalize when we got the ball,” Flores said. “We did that, and it was big for our offense to get that confidence early.”

Between Mendoza and sophomore Jaime Perez Jr., who has three interceptions on the young season, the Vela secondary looks secure for the next few years.

“Me and ‘Mito’ worked all summer for this,” Mendoza said. “All we did was work, and we always tell each other, ‘Bro, lets work hard. All this will pay off in the end.’ It is already starting to pay off now.”

Sotelo had more time to throw than he has all year. Friday, the offensive line was playing lights out, and Sotelo said he thanked them for it after the game. It’s no coincidence that when Sotelo got time and space to pass, he reached a new level of play.

“This game boosted up his confidence tons,” Flores said. “He got his first touchdown pass, finally. We got some time for him. The pocket was looking good. I think we are going to look good in the future. He played well tonight.”

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BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

WESLACO — Weslaco High coach Michael Salinas used one word to sum up the success of junior quarterback Jacob Cavazos: consistency.

When Salinas first arrived at Weslaco on March 10, 2017, he saw Cavazos as a talented young quarterback.

“We thought he was very athletic and he threw the ball well,” Salinas said. “A year ago, he was young. He was just a sophomore. We knew he had some room for development.”

Cavazos’ consistency earned him playing time on a crowded depth chart with two senior quarterbacks. And his consistency also landed him the starting job this fall.

Cavazos’ road to starting wasn’t easy, but now that he is here, he has the Panthers’ offense clicking. With a stellar defense on the other side, Weslaco has started 2-0.

To the Panthers, 2-0 doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is their game at 7 Thursday night against PSJA North at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.

“We have concentrated on talking to our guys about controlling what we can control and having a 1-0 mentality,” Salinas said. “Making sure that we come out and take it one practice at a time, one quarter at a time and one game at a time.”

The message has been heard.

“Last week was a good week, but now we move on and focus on this week,” senior receiver Devin Dena said. “We have to keep that 1-0 mentality.”

“We worked really hard this past summer,” Cavazos said. “So it is a great feeling to start fast. But it is a long season, so we are going to stick together, take it one game at a time and hopefully we can keep it rolling this week against North. We need to keep that 1-0 mentality.”

Cavazos has suffered two severe injuries during the past two years — a broken collarbone and a torn ACL. Each time, the road back to the football field was long.

“Rehab was a big part of it,” Cavazos said. “I had a good support system. I had a lot of friends and people that were there with me. Rehab was the easy part. I just had to put my mind to it and have people there for me.”

Cavazos’ consistency was yet again on display as he worked harder than ever to recover and make sure he didn’t miss a beat.

Through two weeks, Cavazos has completed 25 of 39 passes, which is good for a 64 completion percentage. He has thrown seven touchdown passes without an interception.

“The biggest improvement was in his understanding of the offense,” Salinas said. “With that, he has gotten a little bit more comfortable. He’s doing a really good job of getting rid of the football in our pass game. And then, he is providing some really good opportunities for us in our quarterback runs.”

Cavazos has carried the ball 27 times for 157 yards and two more touchdowns.

Cavazos said a big part of his development was 7-on-7 over the summer. He worked with every one of his receivers and ran the Panthers’ offense in a semi-controlled environment.

“It helped with getting the timing down with certain receivers,” Cavazos said. “And it helped us learn the offense in total. It helps you understand where the ball needs to go, and where your reads are.”

Cavazos also gives a lot of credit to the two seniors who were ahead of him last year: Marco Leal and Elijah Banda.

“They had a lot of experience,” Cavazos said. “They taught me the ins and outs, reads, and the intelligence required to play quarterback at the varsity level.”

With every game and every pass, Cavazos rises higher and higher on the list of elite quarterbacks in the Valley. In just his junior year, his ceiling is hard to predict.

“Obviously, he has done a good job executing Week 1 and Week 2,” Salinas said. “So, we are just pressing him to continue to get better. He still has some room for improvement. He needs to continue to manage the game and take great care of the football.”

Coming into the year, Cavazos said the team wanted just one thing:

“The team just wants to get better.”

With Cavazos at the helm, the Panthers clearly are.

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BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

When Donna North coach Joe Marichalar set out to scout Grulla, one player looked very familiar.

“They have the clone of Abel (Gonzalez III, Grulla’s coach) at the quarterback position,” Marichalar said. “I was freaking out, like, I know this is a kid Abel is coaching, because he moves like him. He throws like him. He plays the way Abel played.”

Marichalar’s observation was about senior Dillen Salinas. Through two games, Salinas has thrown for 416 yards and 8 touchdowns while running for 72 yards and another score.

Few would recognize that style better than Marichalar. He and Gonzalez were teammates for two years starting in 2000 at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

“I transferred in as a junior from Sul Ross State,” Marichalar said. “He was the quarterback when I got there. I was there with him two years — my junior and senior year.”

Marichalar was an inside linebacker, but the bulk of his playing time with the Javelinas was on special teams. Still, the two Valley coaches often faced off in practice.

They will now face each other in a new way, meeting in a regular season game for the first time since they both became head coaches at 7:30 on Friday night at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium in Rio Grande City.

“Donna North is going to be well-coached,” Gonzalez said. “Coach Marichalar, an old teammate of mine at Kingsville, did a heck of a job at Edcouch. I am glad he got this opportunity at Donna North. He is going to have those kids fighting all four quarters. They play with a lot of energy. We have our hands full. We are going against a bigger school. But at the same time, we feel we are going to get ourselves ready for a four-quarter battle.”

The two weren’t the closest friends, but the bond of the Valley kept them closer than most starting quarterbacks and backup linebackers.

“There were like four or five of us that were from the Valley,” Marichalar said. “We all knew each other and had respect for each other. We hung out here and there, but he was an offensive guy, and I was a defensive guy. We had mutual respect for one another. I supported him, and he supported me. We were all just young kids trying to prove a point and get it done. He had a lot more success than I did. He was a damn good quarterback.”

Gonzalez still has his name in the Kingsville record books, and his back-to-back trips to the NCAA DII playoffs began a four-year streak of appearances for Kingsville. The Javelinas shared the conference championship in 2001, Gonzalez’s junior year, and then won the next three titles outright.

Friday will be the first time the two coaches face in varsity action, but they had one battle in 2013.

Marichalar, the coach at Edcouch-Elsa at the time, was selected as the East coach for the RGV All-Star game that year, and Gonzalez was the West’s coach, representing Grulla.

The game was close, and both teams were loaded with talent, but Marichalar earned the win. Marichalar had several Yellow Jackets on his team, including running back Israel Loredo, tight end Isaac Martinez and linebacker Jacob ‘Bucky’ Barrera.

“We also had some really good kids from the Brownsville area, some Harlingen boys, Los Fresnos boys, San Benito boys and some PI guys,” Marichalar said. “Their team was pretty loaded, too, as you can imagine.”

Now friends and rivals, the two get to face off with pride on the line in the non-district matchup, which should be a fierce battle.

“It will be a good challenge for our team,” Marichalar said. “They have some good kids over there. We have some great kids. A lot of our guys will go both ways, and a lot of their kids will go both ways. It should be a fun match.”

Just as Gonzalez has a player in his image, Marichalar has a linebacker he has shaped in his image — junior Christian Cortina.

“He is our team captain,” Marichalar said after Week 1. “He is the guy who takes charge and is a leader on that sideline. He had 11 or 12 tackles, and he was flying around, all over the field. He was just being a savage out there. We say SMU, ‘Savage-minded unit.’ He kept the morale going, kept the fighting spirit alive within the team.”

And that is all Marichalar asks of his players.

“I just want them to compete at a high level, and take pride in playing tough football for Donna North.”

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BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

Social media had a little fun with former McAllen Rowe star Mayda Garcia’s huge breakout game for Fairfield University.

The match took place Saturday, the same day Rowe vanquished rival McAllen High in four sets in front of a huge crowd. Lots of online congratulations were spread around Rowe Nation.

But for Garcia, who has been plying her trade at Division I Fairfield in Connecticut the last two seasons, Saturday was special. Maybe even more special than a win over a high school rival. The 5-foot-9 junior exploded against Northeastern University with 28 kills while also chipping in a sterling 19 digs to help on defense.

Garcia, a high-flying outside hitter/right side, is not a prototypical DI hitter at her height. But after an introductory year to college volleyball in 2016, during which she totaled just 41 kills for the season, the former all-district and all-Valley selection made major strides during her second season.

In 2017, Garcia helped lead the Stags to their third straight MAAC title with 224 kills – good for second best on the team. Her top performance in 2017 came against Loyola-Chicago when she posted 18 kills and 16 digs. She had several other outstanding games, and the Stags ended the season with a loss to No. 2-ranked Texas in Austin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

This season, after a slow start, Garcia blew up with the monstrous game against Northeastern. Even though the Stags lost (1-8 overall), she has set herself up to be the team’s leader on offense with last year’s kill leader graduated. She’s being fed by first-team all-conference setter Manuela Nicolini. Garcia already has 79 kills and is on pace to easily break last year’s numbers.

Fairfield, located about 50 miles northeast of New York’s Yankee Stadium, has time to improve, break in some younger players and ready itself for conference play.

ROMA’S RAMIREZ SHINES AT McMURRAY

Roma High School product Juan Ramirez has claimed a full-time starting job with the McMurray University football team. Ramirez, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound sophomore, has earned the all-important position of left tackle for the DIII War Hawks. McMurray is located in Abilene.

A 2015-16 All-Area selection for the Gladiators, Ramirez started two games last season for McMurray and this year has started the team’s first two games. In the classroom, the sophomore is in the honors program with a 4.0 GPA, and he’s on the student athletic advisory committee for the War Hawks. McMurry is in the American Southwest Conference with schools such as Texas Lutheran, Mary Hardin-Baylor and East Texas Baptist.

McALLEN MEMORIAL’S MARBURGER COMING UP ACES AT BAYLOR

Taylor Marburger, a former McAllen Memorial volleyball standout, is beginning to find some traction during her second year at Baylor University in Waco. After sitting much of her freshman year at the Big 12 school, the 5-foot-5 defensive specialist/libero has started her sophomore campaign by playing in six of the Bears’ nine matches and in 20 sets total.

Marburger, The Monitor’s All-Area MVP in 2016, has made the most of her time. She has recorded eight service aces (second-best on the team) to go along with 10 digs. Last year, the sophomore 2017-18 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team selection was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll twice. Baylor is 6-3 so far this year and has been ranked in the top 20.

ROWE’S DOUGHERTY PICKS UP COLLEGE HONORS

McAllen Rowe alum Veronica Dougherty was named Centenary College Athlete of the Week for her part in part in the Shreveport, Louisiana school’s victory last week. Dougherty, a 5-foot-6 freshman defender/midfielder for Centenary, helped her team hold an opponent to only two shots on goal as the Ladies (Centenary’s mascot name for its women’s teams) rallied for a win.

DIII Centenary is a small private four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church that participates in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Dougherty and her Ladies’ team are undefeated at 4-0 with wins over such schools as Texas Lutheran and Schreiner. Dougherty, one of four freshman starters, has started all four games and has one goal and one assist.

VALLEY VIEW’S MAGALLAN MAKES SPLASH AT UTRGV

Former Valley View soccer star Damian Magallan Jr. has already made his mark at UTRGV. The 5-foot-5 freshman has scored two goals in just three games for the 3-2 Vaqueros. Magallan scored both of his goals in UTRGV’s second match, against Siena at the Houston Baptist Invitational. UTRGV won the match 4-1.

The 142-pound midfielder’s two goals are tied for second-most on the squad. Only Kyle Edwards has more with three. Magallan’s goals came via just two shots. Magallan also played with the Houston Dynamo U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

Know an RGV athlete doing well at the collegiate level in any sport? Send us a tip at gluca@ themonitor.com.

BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

EDINBURG —Edinburg Vela senior running back Christian Flores got the ball on his first carry at the Vela 45-yard line. He made one or two moves, and he was gone.

That was it. The SaberCats led wire-to-wire, beating Brownsville Hanna 35-20 on Friday in the Monitor’s Game of the Week at Richard R. Flores Stadium.

“We were really fired up for this game, because last year, when we played them in the playoffs, they gave us a fight,” senior receiver Daniel Enriquez said. “We knew that these guys weren’t going to be easy, and we knew that meant we had to strap up and go all four quarters, pounding the rock.”

It wasn’t quite as easy as the first play would indicate, though, and the Golden Eagles refused to die until the refereeing caught up to them.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, with Vela up 21-12, Hanna junior quarterback Victor Campos completed a 32-yard pass to senior receiver Miguel Payan on third-and-12. As Payan was going to the ground, he lost the ball, and senior linebacker Richard Campos recovered it and returned it from the Vela 30 to the Hanna 40. The Golden Eagles were flagged for two penalties on the play, moving the ball to the Hanna 20.

“The ruling they gave me, was that it was a clip on our team,” Hanna coach Mark Guess said. “We are not even the return team in that situation. They are the ones that should have gotten the flag, because they were the ones blocking low, but it is what it is.”

The play was near the SaberCats’ sideline, so Vela coach John Campbell had a good look at Richard Campos’ return.

“There was a block below the waist, which sounds weird on the defending team, but obviously on any kind of return, you can’t go below the waist,” Campbell said. “Then, apparently, there was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty over here on our sideline. Basically, we had a live ball foul and a dead ball foul, and it took them a while to get it sorted out.”

After the play, Hanna senior running back Cesar Mancias was ejected.

“The reason they gave me was that (Mancias) threw a punch,” Guess said. “He didn’t throw a punch. These guys saw some things that they didn’t see, so that’s the way football is.”

To that point in the game, Mancias had carried the ball 18 times for 69 yards and a TD.

Regardless of the calls, the play itself changed the tenor of the game.

“We were really amped when (Richard Campos) came up with it,” Vela sophomore safety Jaime Perez Jr. said. “If they complete that, it would have been huge for their momentum. It would have changed everything.”

The fumble and ejection snafu wasn’t the only questionable call that haunted the Eagles. With just under three minutes left in the third, Vela punted the ball with Mancias deep to return, and it looked as though a touchback would be called as the ball bounced in the end zone and back out onto the field. All of a sudden, one referee came in with a different call, ruling there was a fumble on the play, and Vela had recovered.

“It’s plain and simple. (Mancias) didn’t touch the ball,” Guess said. “Once again, that’s football. Sometimes it bounces your way, and sometimes these guys (referees) see things that they think they saw. And unfortunately, it hurt us, because they get a ball inside the 3. It is what it is.”

Vela scored on the next play, a 3-yard run by Flores for his second TD of the night.

The shame was, the game was shaping up to meet the expectations of a game-of-the-week-caliber matchup, but the calls ended up erasing the tension.

The Flores run that started it all wasn’t quite the harbinger of things to come that the SaberCats hoped it would be.

“That was one of the few in the early game that went exactly as planned,” Campbell said. “It got a little bit tougher after that.”

Vela was hampered by false starts and holding penalties all night.

“(Those types of calls) had a large impact,” Campbell said. “Penalties are momentum killers. They are drive killers. You never, in this position, knock officiating or anything like that. But it definitely seemed as if that became a bigger emphasis in the game.”

Several of those penalties backed sophomore quarterback AJ Sotelo into multiple third-and-15-plus scenarios.

“It does throw off the rhythm a little bit,” Sotelo said. “We have to be a little bit stronger mentally, but we can always fix that.”

Meanwhile, Hanna also struggled to get going. Vela came in looking to stop the run.

“(Mancias) is as good a player as I have ever seen carrying the ball,” Campbell said. “He is very explosive — a tremendous football player. We knew we were going to have to mix our pressures, but the focus was to try to nullify 24 as much as we could.”

Hanna continued to run the ball up the middle out of a one-back formation, which allowed Vela’s defense to clog the running lanes. Hanna continually ended up in third-and-long scenarios, which allowed the Vela secondary to clamp down for one big play each series.

“Stop No. 24, that was the plan,” Perez Jr. said of Mancias. “He is one of their best athletes. That is what we did, and we were able to succeed in putting them in third-and-longs.”

Hanna would have been content to continue the first-half grind of exchanging punts, but right before half, Vela made the Eagles pay for the slow tempo.

Just as time was expiring in the half, Vela, inspired by Thursday night’s NFL game, went to a little bit of trickery. Sotelo rolled to his left and handed the ball to Enriquez, who was coming across on a reverse. Just as Enriquez looked ready to turn the corner, he pulled up and let go of a pretty little pass lofted just over the defense. Senior receiver Aziel Garcia hauled in the pass with one hand and raced for the end zone. Garcia crossed the goal line as time expired, giving the SaberCats a 14-0 lead going into the locker room.

Campbell was back to his QB rotations Friday. He started Sotelo but switched to senior QB Elijah Trujillo after the first quarter. With about three minutes left in the first half, the SaberCats got the ball back, and Sotelo was sent out with the offense again. Sotelo orchestrated the Garcia touchdown drive, and he got the snaps in the second half.

“They are both going to have a chance,” Campbell said. “I think both of them did some good things, but AJ is young, and Elijah is new to this, as well, so we are still not quite making those decisions the way we need to.”

Sotelo was on the field for both first-half SaberCats’ touchdowns, but he had very little to do with either. Then, with about six minutes left in the third quarter, Sotelo found his rhythm. He completed four passes in a row, the first to junior receiver Justin Cantu, then to senior tight end Nico Rodriguez, and finally back-to-back passes to junior receiver Kevin Rojas.

“It felt like it was a little bit of a momentum shift,” Campbell said. “We knew we had to hit some passes. They were loading the box on us. We were struggling a little bit with their defensive front. He hit them in some clutch situations, and it seemed as if we regained some momentum with that.”

“I did (feel like I found my rhythm),” Sotelo said. “My line set up the blocks. They gave me the time that I needed. My receivers ran great routes, and we drove down the field really well.”

Even after all the hoopla surrounding the penalties and ejections, Hanna was not ready to concede. Senior receiver Roman Garay was forced into action at running back, and he provided a spark to get the Eagles into the red zone.

But then, Perez Jr. atoned for earlier mistakes by nabbing his third interception of the season.

“It felt really good,” Perez Jr. said. “Especially after getting burned on that last play, I knew I had to let that go and step up.”

Perez caught the ball at the 1-yard line, and the interception was enough to put the game away for good.

“Everyone was excited,” Enriquez said. “That’s his third interception. Like, he is actually doing better than I did last season. Props to him. Way to stick in and put the game away. This guy is going to be something special for Vela.”

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BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

Donna North was set to receive a punt, but the ball hit the returner’s helmet and bounced right into the hands of the Donna High player headed toward the play.

“You are talking about anything that could go wrong, went wrong,” Donna North coach Joe Marichalar said. “That kind of sums up the game, right there.”

Donna High defeated Donna North 58-6 on Friday at Bennie LaPrade Stadium in Donna, spoiling Marchalar’s coaching debut with the Chiefs.

“We didn’t want to debut like that,” Marichalar said. “It’s big brother versus little brother, and sometimes big brother puts you in your place.”

Marichalar knew this year would be tough, but he is not disgruntled or frustrated with the result.

“The sideline was still in the game, still fighting,” Marichalar said. “That shows me these kids are desperate for change. They want change. They want it so bad.

“So I told the coaching staff, ‘We are going to work twice as hard for these kids, to try to close that gap.’ We want to give them what they deserve, and that is great memories, and a chance to have fun playing this game that we all love.”

The game was 50-0 at halftime. Marichalar said he had never experienced a game like that in his career. In the most unpleasant moments of Friday’s rout, Marichalar saw several of his kids keeping the spirits high on the sideline. One such player was senior middle linebacker Christian Cortina.

“He is our team captain,” Marichalar said. “He is the guy who takes charge and is a leader on that sideline. He had 11 or 12 tackles, and he was flying around, all over the field. He was just being a savage out there. We say SMU, ‘Savage-minded unit.’ He kept the morale going, kept the fighting spirit alive within the team.”

Marichalar said he knew taking this job that work needed to be done. The Chiefs won’t make the program’s first ever trip to the playoffs overnight, but Marichalar is in the process of building a foundation that will allow them to make the playoffs regularly for years to come.

Marichalar said he’s a slightly different coach than most. Unconventional, outside the box, call it what you want, but Marichalar says it works for him.

“I coach football like I am a teacher in the classroom,” he said. “That field is just my big classroom.

“We talk about overcoming adversity, not just on the field or at school, but at home, as well. I tell them about my life story. We make connections. I come from a family of 11 migrant workers, same thing for a lot of my kids. Things like that build that trust in the locker room, where we can say the things we need to say.”

The bond Marichalar builds with his players is crucial, not just for their careers, but for their lives off the field. Marichalar has seen plenty of his kids in agony because of life events. He has learned how to be there for his kids, how to help them face the troubles that life can bring.

“When I became a coach, I used to talk all this stuff to my kids,” he said. “Then I realized, I can’t be a hypocrite to my guys. I have to start living this life, and being a better man.

“I’m as honest as it comes with my kids, and I talk to them like that, because I want them to be better. The culture there is, ‘I have to work. I have to do this or that.’ But, I tell them the best thing you can do is go on and get a college education, graduate. Then you can work, and build mom and dad a brand-new house.”

That is exactly what Marichalar did for his parents. And, every time he tells that story to his players, he can see it in their eyes: the respect, the trust, but most importantly, the willingness on the kids’ parts to open up.

“Now, the conversations around the locker room are SATs, ACTs, let’s do this for that class,” Marichalar said.

So, though his team was down by 58 points in Week 1, Marchalar’s Chiefs had a chance to get on the board at the end. They finally got across the goalline, and through the work of players like Cortina, and the work of Marichalar and his staff, the players were able to celebrate and be happy for each other.

“I’m trying to create that culture where you have no other choice but to get excited about being a better person, being great,” Marichalar said.

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SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

SAN ANTONIO — After Weslaco East senior quarterback Antonio Cedeño was injured during the final week of the preseason, the Wildcats entered a mad dash to get junior Ramsey Vasquez ready to run their offense.

Vasquez is a safety who East coach Mike Burget had been working into the offense as a receiver, running back, and maybe even in a wildcat package. Once disaster struck at the worst time for the Wildcats, Burget knew Vasquez was his best option under center.

“I had to work all week long to get the signals down,” Vasquez said. “My boy Josh (Gonzalez) was helping me with that. I had to learn all the signals, plays, formations, everything. It was a lot.”

Vasquez was ready to step in under center come Saturday’s opener, but Weslaco East suffered a 26-21 loss to Manor at Alamo Stadium.

“We made young mistakes,” Burget said. “We have some key guys back, but we are also young at some big positions. We made some young mistakes. We had one week to get our quarterback ready. Ramsey was our free safety, and we had a week to get him ready. I don’t think people understand how hard that is.”

Cedeño was East’s No. 1 quarterback throughout preseason practice, and Burget said he’s expected to return within a couple of weeks.

Vasquez often ran to the sideline after plays to get the play call and relay it to the huddle.

He also still played some at safety, punted and returned kicks and punts for East on Saturday.

“The trainers keep me fresh,” Vasquez said. “They give me Pedialyte, water, cold towels, more water, and everything.”

Vasquez ran the offense effectively, but the lack of a passing threat allowed Manor to crowd the line and prevent the long runs East is accustomed to. Vasquez attempted one pass on the afternoon — an incompletion with pressure in his face.

“Ramsey makes people bounce off of him. I don’t know how he does it. He’s just a stick,” Burget said. “He’s a good kid. He is going to make big things happen for us this year.

“He will do whatever we ask. He would probably play nose tackle, if we asked him to.”

East showed why it is known as the strong side, rushing for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Vasquez had a game-high 73 yards on the ground and scored all three TDs for East during a physical matchup played in peak Texas heat. Junior Randy Cardoza ran for 35 yards, and Gonzalez, a junior, added 29.

“That little sophomore we got, Gio, I thought he did really well,” Burget said, referring to Giovanni Guerra, who had four carries for 15 yards. “Josh finally got his feet going in the second half. Randy, our fullback, got some good carries.

“Our fans wanted us to pass more. It’s like they haven’t watched 13 years of East football.”

Gonzalez was not interested in highlighting his personal achievements Saturday.

“I was just listening to my coaches,” Gonzalez said. “I just did what they told me to do.

“I trust my O-line, so I follow them and trust my fullbacks,”

Gonzalez was quick to praise others, having a much easier time recognizing his teammates’ skills than his own.

“Randy did a little bit of everything today,” Gonzalez said. “He was in there smashing people. He was running the ball when asked. He did great.”

Gonzalez did much of the same for East, and he stuck with it, even after a rough first half. He was able to get loose a few times in the second half, and he showed the promise the Wildcats know exists.

The strongest side for East on Saturday was defense, but Burget was quick to point out even that group wasn’t perfect.

“I still don’t think we played well on that side,” Burget said. “We played good on that side, don’t get me wrong. They flew around and caused turnovers. But the thing is, sometimes we are misaligned. That is going to kill us. We know that, and we have to work on it. The defense carried us tonight, and they are going to carry us all year.”

Senior linebacker Freddy Cardenas was all over the field Saturday, breaking up screen passes, sacking the quarterback and stuffing the run. Jacob Banda and the rest of the D-line were stout throughout. The defense was asked to play a lot on Saturday, and with each offensive three-and-out, the defense grew a little more fatigued.

Perhaps the biggest gaffe on defense loomed largest at the end of the game.

The game was scoreless through the first six minutes, and East looked capable of holding back an uber-athletic Manor offense. East had Manor at a fourth-and-3 at the East 34-yard line. The Wildcats line jumped, and flags came flying from every referee. The East defense froze, staring at the flags, while Manor quarterback Nate Jackson took his drop and looked to his go-to target, Ernest Musue. Musue also knew the play was still alive and ran his route. Musue was so alone, he could have caught any ball thrown even remotely close to him. He did catch it, and he turned to see the field was wide-open in front of him. In space, no one on East was going to catch Musue. He was gone before half the defense even realized the play was live.

What could have been the stop that sparked East became the play that ignited the Mustangs.

Burget knows scheduling matchups like this is always a risk, but he maintains that it helps the team long term.

“Ramsey came in and led us against a great team,” Burget said. “This is a playoff team. They have two Division I kids over there, that I know of. Maybe three with that big ol’ defensive end. Non-district, I put Manor on the schedule, Laredo Alexander, Hanna and Harlingen. They are all playoff teams. We try to play the best, and we are going to come up short sometimes, but we will be ready for next week. It would be easy to build a schedule to get us to 4-0. But that is not the purpose of being a head football coach.”

Vasquez said he agrees.

“This is great preparation for what lies ahead for us,” Vasquez said. “They were flying to the ball, hitting us. They got us better, and they got us ready for the next few weeks.

“We learned that we keep fighting. We always keep fighting. We were down 26-7, and we came back and scored two in a row.”

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