LAREDO — Edinburg Vela had a plan for Eagle Pass: Create winnable matchups at the wideouts and have all-district quarterback Anthony Sotelo zip passes for long gains and touchdowns.
And it worked, until it didn’t, but that was no problem for Vela.
During a second half show of force, the SaberCats simply turned to their big uglies — running backs and a stout defense — to smash the Eagle Pass Eagles for a 45-14 victory Friday in a Class 6A area-round matchup.
“We had two first-half, red-zone turnovers, otherwise the lead would have been a little bit more comfortable,” Edinburg Vela head coach John Campbell said about being up 24-14. “I had a few things to tweak on defense, had to make some in the protection scheme, and the kids made the adjustments and went out and executed.”
Indeed, they did. After intermission, sophomore running back Pablo Rivera rushed for nearly 100 yards and Sotelo hit receivers Justin Vega and Kevin Rioja with absolute dimes to clip the Eagles’ and put the game out of reach.
By the time Sotelo (340 yards passing, 3 TDs) connected with Vega on the first play of the fourth quarter , the SaberCats led Eagle Pass 45-14 and the game was all but over. The SaberCats scored on three of their first five second-half possessions, and more importantly, they did it with ball control, on the ground and with outstanding defensive play.
At one point during the third quarter, Vela ran six straight times as part of a clock-chomping, six-minute drive. Not a typical SaberCats big-play offense, but that was fine with 6-foot-6, 280-pound left tackle Ronnie Garza.
“It feels like the coaches kind of put their trust in us. They are expecting us to perform,” Garza said. “It’s just exciting when they call a running play because we get our chance to shine. It feels great to see them (backs) break the linebackers and to see them score.”
The backs did their part and so did Sotelo with another outstanding performance. The defense also stopped four consecutive Eagle Pass drives during the second half and surrendered just 10 yards of offense during the third quarter.
The group even notched its first blocked punt of the year during the first half to set up a score and give Vela an early lead.
Also during the first quarter, Rivera ran for a touchdown to put Vela on the board first. Justin Vega added a field goal and Rojas had his first TD reception from Sotelo. Jhonier Marin also had short run for a score.
Vela missed the chance to add two more scores when it turned on two second-quarter possessions. Both were deep in Eagles territory — one on an interception off a tipped ball and the other on a fumble.