By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Porter was one of the top rushing teams in District 32-5A because of the boys up front.
Four seniors, Kevin Garcia (6-foot-0, 310), Milton Botti (6-3, 320), Orlando Garza (6-3, 255), and Aldo Castillo (5-8, 255), and a pair of juniors, Juan Lopez (6-0, 284) and Pablo Jara (6-2 315) make up the Cowboys’ offensive line. It helped senior running back Jorge Gutierrez rush for 2,025 yards and 25 touchdowns on 314 carries (6.4 yards per carry).
That’s more than 1,700 pounds of linemen blocking in front of Gutierrez and others as Porter’s offense had 3,249 yards this year (2,960 rushing and 289 passing), an average of nearly 325 yards per game.
Porter has been so effective because of experience, and it has been fortunate by staying healthy.
“Last year, we’ve had (the starters) play every single snap of every single game, this year every single snap of every single game, that’s huge,” Porter coach Tom Campos said. “And Coach (Greg) Fortner, our offensive line coach, does a great job with those guys, and honestly that’s the real reason the offense is going so well.
“Some of those guys have played 30 games, so that’s pretty impressive.”
Campos said he has not been a part of a team where that happened, and it happened once again this season.
The six have paved the way to a postseason berth for the Cowboys.
Porter (6-4) plays host to Edinburg Vela (10-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium in the Class 5A Division I bi-district playoffs.
“We had to become a unit, we had to trust each other to perform our jobs,” Garcia said, speaking on behalf of the group. “Since our freshman year, we started motivating each other to become better, every practice helping each other.”
Some of that motivation and work started in the offseason.
Campos said the players’ strength and conditioning has helped them tremendously.
“They’re here every day,” he said. “The loyal ones that show up every day are the big guys, that’s what has helped them quite a bit I think to stay consistent and healthy throughout the season.”
Garcia said his teammates and he all have the same mindset.
“We listen to our coaches, we never miss a day, none of us,” the senior said. “We’re here every day working hard, putting as much into the season as we want to get out of it.”
While some of it may be good luck, the Cowboys’ linemen are just tough. Many, if not all, have played through injuries, such as sprained ankles, knee pains and strains, and one player even played with a torn meniscus throughout the season. Sometimes the character of player isn’t only about talent and ability alone.
“We can’t go down,” Garcia said. “We don’t have anybody else. If something hurts, you have to stay (on the field). I have a lot of respect for these guys. No matter what, they stay together and stay strong.”
Porter faces an unbeaten Edinburg Vela squad, but the Cowboys focused on what they need to do to win. And it starts with the front six.
“(Edinburg Vela) is a good team all-around, they don’t really have a weakness,” Campos said. “We’re focused on what we need to do and not so much who’s in front of us, but what our job is. It’s going to be really important for (our linemen) to play well.”
The Cowboys are confident, though. They average almost 7 yards per carry and will need to do just that against the Sabercats.
“We’re not going to change anything,” Campos said. “We made it to the dance doing what we do, we’re not going to switch partners (now).”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.