MIKE GONZALEZ | STAFF WRITER
MERCEDES – Roger Adame had to wait an hour and a half to make his head coaching debut.
And after Mercedes’ 28-0 setback to state power Calallen, Adame will have to wait another week for his team to pick up its first win, let alone first points of 2014. The Wildcats’ size and power hammered the Tigers all night with ball control offense and a stingy defense that came through with five sacks, two turnovers and only 98 yards allowed.
An inexperienced offensive line got a good test from a big and strong Calallen (1-0 overall) defensive front. Two players have experience, one was a true starter while the rest will learn and grow. Some missed assignments and some fundamental mistakes are correctable, but Adame knows it doesn’t matter how talented the skilled positions are, the men up front make the ship go.
“Our O-line is where we go,” he said. “We’ll go back and watch the film and see if we can fix that.”
Mercedes opened the night with its best drive. The Tigers used 12 plays and managed to get to the Calallen 5-yard line, but two negative plays and two incompletions led to a turnover on downs. The Tigers (0-1) defense got a turnover on the Wildcats’ first possession, but the offense couldn’t do much after that.
As for Calallen, the squad came away with yet another win against a Valley foe, but may have lost quarterback Nathan Rabe for a period of time. Rabe suffered a knee injury late in the first half and didn’t return. He was on crutches after the game and coach Phil Danaher said the team is down to its third-string quarterback after his original starter was lost for the season during a scrimmage. Before his injury, Rabe was effective. He threw a 17-yard TD pass to John Gaddis to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead. He ended the night 3 of 4 for 59 yards, with a touchdown and interception. Forrest Crisp finished the last two quarters, and whether Danaher will stick with him going forward is uncertain.
“We’ll work on trying to get another quarterback,” said Danaher, who now has 401 career wins. “Our No. 3 quarterback did a good job. …Well, it’s a victory, but it wasn’t the prettiest.”
Calallen took a 14-0 lead on a 2-yard plunge by fullback Reece Barrett, while Elijah Hawkins and Brandon Broughton added scores in the second half.
The Tigers’ running game was silent all night while QB Rene Presas had some moments, but had to earn his 119 yards passing. He also tossed two interceptions. With a red-hot McAllen Rowe and former head coach Michael Uribe, now defensive coordinator for the Warriors, up next, it’s not time to push the panic button, but some quick adjustments are in order.
“We need to understand every game is a battle,” Adame said. “Nothing is given. We’ve got to respond.”