DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
ELSA — Edcouch-Elsa seniors Alex Garza, Gabriel Rodriguez and Ray Dinnall-Guerra have played football together since they were 9 years old.
They were on the same youth team. The same junior high team. The same freshman team. And now they’re headliners of a dominant Yellowjacket defensive line.
Nobody knew what to expect from an E-E defense that graduated a slew of stalwarts that included All-State linebackers Robert Treviño and Bucky Barrera, and defensive back Bryan Valle. But Garza, Rodriguez and Dinnall-Guerra heeded coach Joe Marichalar’s call this summer to step up.
If Edcouch-Elsa, inexperienced and essentially in a reloading phase, was to stack up in a packed District 32-5A, it would have to be because of them.
A defense returning just those three seniors stands third in a defensive-oriented district, allowing just 19.3 points on 256.8 yards per game.
“We knew we wouldn’t have the defense like we had last year,” said Rodriguez, a 5-foot-10, 254-pound defensive tackle. “Now we’re the leaders. Since summer, Coach said it was on us. It was up to us to get this team to play together.”
STEADY FLASH
Rodriguez is the rock of the defensive front.
Most of the attention falls upon the 6-foot-2, 270-pound Dinnall-Guerra or the 6-1, 220-pound Garza, but it’s Rodriguez that constantly draws double teams, opening lanes for his other two line mates to do their thing.
Rodriguez takes his role as a leader to heart.
“The guys from last year taught us how to lead,” said Rodriguez, who averages 7.7 total tackles and has 6.0 sacks. “Guys like Robert Treviño. Guys like Bucky Barrera. They would get after us. They would hold us accountable. It made us grow up.”
Rodriguez refers to Edcouch-Elsa defense as one might reflect upon a life-changing experience. He holds a big-picture perspective.
“It’s a way of life,” Rodriguez said. “Playing defense at Edcouch-Elsa teaches you to be leaders, not followers. You’ve got to control what you love, which is defense and football.”
Garza is the speedster, quick on his feet and quicker making reads. In a year, he has transformed from a timid player to one who doesn’t think, just acts.
He does a little bit of everything, tallying 8.3 total tackles per game to go with 9.0 sacks, one interception and one fumble caused.
“I just have more experience,” said Garza, who skipped JV after playing freshman ball before joining varsity his sophomore year. “Last year, I was a first-year starter. I didn’t really know anything. Now everything’s routine. I see things happening before they do.”
When Garza talks about the Edcouch-Elsa defensive front, he speaks about a brotherhood. He gloats about a camaraderie birthed years ago, finally reaching its peak now.
“We’ve had a lot of time to get to know each other,” Garza said. “We’ve always been on the same team. It puts emphasis on big games, like when we’re faced with adversity … naturally, we just have each other’s backs.
“It’s all we’ve known.”
TACKLE OF ATTENTION
Dinnall-Guerra is the face of the Edcouch-Elsa defense. He’s big, he’s aggressive. He’s boastful, proud and ambitious.
He is the target of every opponent’s offensive line. Stop No. 68. For good reason, too.
Dinnall-Guerra averages 9.3 total tackles and has 11 sacks and 30 hurries.
“Since I was a freshman, all I had in my head was playing Division I college ball,” said Dinnall-Guerra, who has drawn interest from UTSA and Sam Houston State. “I had people tell me to worry about D-II or D-III. I didn’t like the sound of that.
“I’m trying to make my dream a reality.”
This summer, defensive line coach Martin Marichalar said, Dinnall-Guerra became a leader. He did not miss a workout.
That’s different from years past when he would come and go as he pleased.
“He always had the physical attributes,” E-E coach Joe Marichalar said. “We knew he’d be something special. But a lot of credit goes to his defensive line coach, who is very structured, very firm. Ray needed that in his football career.
“He followed it, and he blossomed into the guy we want him to be.”
Dinnall-Guerra, however, has faced his share of critics. His style of play is punishing, and he will let opponents know it.
There was a particular hit during the Mercedes game two weeks ago in which Dinnall-Guerra slammed a linebacker to the ground so hard, the linebacker’s helmet flew off and he injured his jaw, requiring stitches.
It drew the ire of the Mercedes crowd, which saw it as a dirty play. But Mercedes coach Roger Adame Jr. looked at the film days after and saw a clean hit.
“You see a big kid like that, and his style of play … he’s very aggressive in nature,” Marichalar said. “We don’t promote nasty play. We promote aggressive, hard-nosed football, and that’s the way he plays. When he goes, it’s a damn monster coming at you.”
COMING THROUGH
Marichalar wanted to see his defensive line grow up, and grow up quickly. He knew the season largely rested upon their shoulders.
And what he thought he had all along has simply come to light as truth.
“When I talked to these guys in the summer about this being their team, about how they need to lead, they said they were ready,” Marichalar said. “They said, ‘Coach, we’ll get the job done.’
“And they have. They’ve done it all season.”