MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
Roma (3-4, 1-3) is open this week, which means it’ll have added time to prepare for Sharyland Pioneer (3-5, 1-3) in what’s considered to be a make-or-break game for both teams’ playoff aspirations.
Rio Grande City (3-4, 1-2) is in the mix, as well, but it will close out the regular season facing the top three teams with Edinburg Vela (7-1, 3-1), Mission Veterans (5-2, 2-1) and Sharyland High (6-1, 3-0), respectively.
“I’m not going to say there’s pressure,” Roma coach Max Habecker Jr. said. “We just have to continue trying to improve every week and we’ll be OK.”
The Gladiators went through “an easy day” of practice Monday, Habecker said, before going through their regular routine Tuesday. Part of that time was used to recover from some nicks and bruises. The other: taking a back-to-basics approach in practice.
“Just improving the fundamentals,” he said. “That’s what I really like to do in a bye week: go back to tackling and blocking.”
Roma’s stated mission this season was to earn its first-ever playoff berth. And while it’s coming off a three-game losing to the top three teams in district, the Gladiators are very much alive.
Plenty will hinge on the Week 10 matchup against Pioneer, which takes on Sharyland High on Friday.
INJURY UPDATE
Mission Veterans quarterback Santos Villarreal returned to practice Monday on a limited basis. Coach David Gilpin said Villarreal is still listed as “day-to-day.”
“He’s moving a lot better and we’re talking to him on a daily basis and seeing how he’s feeling,” Gilpin said. “He’s a real tough kid. He’s got a high-pain tolerance. He’s a gamer. If there’s anybody who could get on the field and play when they’re not 100 percent, it’s him.”
Gilpin said he couldn’t gauge Villarreal percentage-wise, except to say he looked mobile this week. He hasn’t practiced yet in a team setting, instead opting for individual drills. He said Villarreal should make a decision Friday about whether he’ll play against Valley View (1-6, 1-2).
“It’s his senior year,” Gilpin said. “If it were his sophomore year or junior year, I’d caution him, ‘Nice and easy, nice and easy.’ But we have to understand that he’s a senior. He’s a kid that’s given himself to this program for the last 3 1/2 years. So what he feels is important to me.”
BACK ON TRACK?
Rio Grande City coach Carlos Longoria said Jason Gorena will more than likely be a “game-time decision” this week following an injury that forced the senior quarterback to miss the second half of a 14-13 loss to Valley View loss in Week 7.
Gorena had an MRI last week when the Rattlers (3-4, 1-2) were open. At Gorena’s family’s request, Longoria declined to reveal much else about the injury.
RGC returns to the field Thursday against Edinburg Vela.
The Rattlers could certainly use Gorena, who has passed at a 50-percent clip and has thrown for seven touchdowns. RGC has arguably the toughest schedule to close out district, facing three teams ranked in the top 10 by RGVSports.com, with its playoff livelihood on the line.