BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
PSJA North plays Edinburg High today at Cats Stadium in a game that exists only as a formality. Win or lose, nothing changes regarding either team’s prospects.
Edinburg High has just one victory and is not in contention for the postseason. PSJA North already has a bi-district date against San Benito, and will face the Greyhounds at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 13 at Bobby Morrow Stadium.
But coach Jorge Peña isn’t focused on the postseason just yet, and still sees work to be done for his team to round into postseason form.
“I try to keep everything as normal as possible,” Peña said. “Our practices have been the same, our approaches have been the same. We’ve been working very hard on making sure that we work on our basics and our technique, especially this late, we just need to keep doing that. It’s important to peak at the right time.”
The Raiders (4-5, 3-2) have won three of their last four games, and have been spurred in part by the trio of Bo Adams, Darren Fuentes and Brandon Villarreal. All have been used in myriad ways throughout the season depending situations and matchups. Fuentes and Adams have split time at quarterback and receiver while Villarreal has served primarily as a running back.
“It’s a blessing as a coach to be able to call on any of those kids and know that they’ll be able to perform,” Peña said.
Though the Raiders are locked into their district seeding, the team will carry on as if tonight’s game is a season opener. As long as the game is close, those healthy and eligible to play will see the field.
“It’s important that our team play our game,” Peña said. “We want to play Raider football and look strong going into the playoffs. If we do that, I think we’ll be alright.”
OPEN THEM UP
During its 30-13 win over PSJA Memorial a week ago, Edinburg North collected four interceptions and forced three punts. It was the kind of performance defensive coordinator Frank Franz was looking for.
“We like playing teams that can throw,” Franz said. “We match up really well against teams like that. Our guys just go wild and have fun.”
As the Cougars (3-6, 2-3) ready for Friday’s winner-take-all game against Edinburg Economedes (4-5, 2-3) for the final playoff spot in 31-6A, Franz is scheming to get the run-heavy Jaguars to pass the ball.
“We’ve got to stop their power runs, their sweeps and their blocking,” Franz said. “We want to force them to open up their offense and get them into more of a spread. If they open things up, that’ll open things up for our defense as well.”
Forcing Econ to pass would most benefit senior safety John Mendoza, who grabbed three interceptions a week ago. Mendoza has 11 INTs on the season, tied for second-most in the state, according to MaxPreps.
THE WORK GOES ON
The PSJA Memorial Wolverines finished 2-7 during coach Mike Uribe’s first year with the team. Though Memorial fell short of their postseason aspirations, including an 0-6 run through district, Uribe pledges to get an early start on 2016.
“We’re excited about the guys we have coming back next year,” Uribe said. “For us, the season never ends. We’re going to roll our sleeves up and start putting the work in to get to where we want to be.”
Memorial quarterback Mike Gonzalez led the district in passing yards (2,168) and receiver Jay Bocanegra led the district in receptions (83) and receiving yards (946).