By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
During his 23-year coaching career, Sharyland Pioneer’s Jason Wheeler said he had not seen a group so determine to keep the opposition from scoring as he did with his Diamondbacks last week.
By beating Valley View 6-4, Pioneer (5-0, 1-0) remained undefeated going into Week 6 against Rio Grande City.
The second-year program has allowed an average of 163.8 yards per game, beating Hidalgo, Brownsville Pace, Corpus Christi Ray, La Feria and Valley View. Through it all, Pioneer has surrendered only three touchdowns, after giving up two safeties last week, while yielding a mere 2.3 yards per carry.
“In today’s football, it’s not easy keeping teams under 7 points per game,” said Wheeler, whose group is allowing 7.8 per contest. “Part of that has to do with who you’re playing. But we’ve been able to play with high energy. Last year, we ran out of gas. But that’s not happening to us this year.”
After emphasizing strength and conditioning during two-a-days, Wheeler said he has cut practice time, along with weight-lifting, to ensure his players stay fresh.
So far, it seems to be working. Last week, the Diamondbacks intercepted two passes and recovered three fumbles, holding Valley View to 115 offensive yards (their second-best effort this season).
The Diamondbacks enter the most grueling part of their schedule next week when they face four teams that qualified for the playoffs in 2014 in Edinburg Vela, Mission Veterans Memorial, Sharyland High and Roma, respectively.
ROUGH STRETCH
Through five games, Rio Grande City (2-3, 0-1) ranks fifth in district in yards allowed (320.2 per game), a contributing factor in its two-game skid.
Coach Carlos Longoria has been impressed with the play of free safety Ivan Garcia, outside linebacker Victor Martinez and defensive tackle Javier De La Torre, particularly during a 19-14 loss to Roma in which the Rattlers blocked a field goal and PAT.
But Longoria insists his team cannot continue to “give up the big play,” as they did in allowing Roma’s Ramon Espinoza to rip off two runs for more than 30 yards en route to scoring three touchdowns.
A week after facing undefeated Roma, RGC again is gearing up to go up against another unbeaten team in Sharyland Pioneer (5-0, 1-0) on Thursday.
NEW HOME
PSJA North quarterback George Olivarez announced on social media that he is transferring to Edinburg Vela.
“Time to register and become a Sabercat,” he posted on Twitter.
PSJA North coach Jorge Peña confirmed that Olivarez is no longer with the team. It’s unclear, however, whether the Olivarez, a senior, will play for Vela.
SaberCats coach Michael Salinas could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.