ELSA — Former Alabama head coach and College Football Hall of Fame member Paul “Bear” Bryant coined the phrase “offense sells tickets, defense wins championships.” Tonight, two defenses with district championships dreams are set to collide on the field in Week 7.
The top two defensive units in District 16-5A DII are ready to lock horns as the Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jackets (3-3, 1-1) play host to the Sharyland High Rattlers (4-2, 2-0) at 7:30 p.m. at Bennie Layton Sr. Memorial Stadium.
“It’s going to be hard-nosed football,” Edcouch-Elsa head coach Chris Navarro said. “We’re going to go out there and get after it and get after each other. I know they’re a good team, they’re very well-coached, but at the end of the day, there’s got to be a winner and a loser.”
The talent both defenses possess was on display in Week 6 as they kept their respective opponents out of the end zone. Edcouch-Elsa earned a 48-3 win over Valley View, while Sharyland High claimed a 43-3 victory over Roma.
The Rattlers are one of two unbeaten teams left in District 16-5A DII with wins over Laredo Cigarroa and Roma. The defense creating eight turnovers in two games was key during those victories.
“They’ve provided takeaways,” Sharyland High head coach Ron Adame said. “We’re leading that statistical category, and when you’re in the plus numbers with turnovers, you’re giving yourself extra opportunities to score and extra opportunities to win ball games.”
The Rattlers have been tested by some of the top playmakers in the Rio Grande Valley this season, having gone up against McAllen Memorial’s Campbell Speights, Brownsville Hanna’s Victor Campos and La Joya High running back Eddie Villarreal.
Rattlers senior linebacker Santino Pascual said the only thing on Sharyland’s defense’s mind is the matchup ahead.
“It’s about every player doing their job. Our defense is centered around everyone doing their job and running to the football, and I feel we got that done,” Pascual said.
The challenge for the Rattlers now isn’t to stop just one player, but three dangerous runners in the Edcouch-Elsa backfield in Shawn Alvarado, Jay Cardenas and Edward Cardoza.
“The unique part about Edcouch is they’re not going to feature one guy. There’s three young men that they’re feeding and that’s what really makes the slot-T offense tick,” Adame said. “That’s what makes them dangerous: if you take one away, they have two other options. You don’t have to just stop one, you have to stop all three of them.”
And if they plan on getting through the Yellow Jackets, they’ll have to do it at “The Black Hole.”
Navarro and Edcouch-Elsa have won three of their last four by winning the battle at the line of scrimmage, both on offense and defense.
“I’ve always said that we’re going to go ahead and go back to what this school has done traditionally, which is pound the rock, throw when you have to and dominate the trenches,” he said.
The Yellow Jackets’ defense ranks first in 16-5A DII with just 218.8 yards surrendered per game. Senior linebacker Jack Perez said Edcouch-Elsa is just trying to make proud those have previously played “Thunder Defense.”
“What’s been working is playing full speed, sideline to sideline. No matter who is in front of us, we’re going to play every down like it’s our last,” Perez said.