DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
This time of year, with the end of the regular season quickly approaching, is when seniors step up. For inexperienced teams like Edcouch-Elsa, that means more than it does for other teams.
In last week’s 33-21 win over PSJA Southwest, Yellowjackets senior receiver Chon Hernandez caught four passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Then, with E-E cornerback Noe Rodriguez struggling, coach Joe Marichalar inserted Hernandez in the defensive backfield with a 12-point lead late in the fourth quarter and Southwest threatening.
Hernandez killed that momentum single-handily, snaring a key interception that put away a game with second place in 32-5A on the line.
“He’s a leader, he’s a captain and he got the job done,” Marichalar said of Hernandez. “We felt comfortable with him back there. We threw him in there for a series, and he gets a pick. The ball seems to find him.”
With offensive lineman Jarred Cantu and running back/receiver/defensive back Tay Valdez out with injuries, Marichalar needed someone to step up. Hernandez, among others, answered the call after an emotional 22-19 loss at Mercedes the week before.
“It was a good performance overall,” Marichalar said. “Good heart, good resilience. I was happy we could close the (Mercedes) chapter, have a short memory and move on.”
GARZA SOARS
As Mercedes (5-0 32-5A) has paved way toward a district title, it’s no coincidence that senior receiver Joshua Garza has stepped up his play as well.
The Valley’s top returning receiver, Garza has caught eight passes in four of the last five games. Over that span, he has seven touchdowns. His latest escapade was an eight-catch, 157-yard, 2-TD performance in a 28-14 win at PSJA High last week.
“He’s amazing. Unbelievable,” Mercedes coach Roger Adame Jr. said after the game. “We’re throwing it up there, and he’s got two or three guys swarming him, and he just goes up and gets it. Amazing.”
Garza is by far 32-5A’s top receiver with 42 catches, 751 yards and seven touchdowns. He averages 17.9 yards per catch. He has receptions of 41, 45, 48 and 56 yards, respectively, this season.
“I can’t even explain it,” Garza said after last week’s game. “I just go up and catch the ball. I just do my job.”
DOWN TO THE WIRE
After a string of games in which a previously lethargic offense had started to play brilliantly, PSJA High saw woes on that end again last week.
The Bears turned the ball over three times — two interceptions and a fumble — during a 28-14 loss to Mercedes. But coach Steve Marroquin said that was not so much a result of his team as it was a Tigers defense that ranks as the best in the district.
“They created a lot of problems,” Marroquin said. “That defense just gets after it. They’re always around the football, and they made it to where we just couldn’t execute.”
Whereas before he may have taken a look at a different quarterback — Marroquin played as many four signal-callers in games earlier in the season — that won’t be the case this time around. Senior Troy Flores is the Bears’ man.
Either way, now is not the time for drastic changes. Like last season, when the Bears missed out on the playoffs with a loss in the regular season finale, PSJA High’s season is coming down to the wire.
The Bears (2-3 32-5A) sit a game behind Donna High and PSJA Southwest for the fourth and final playoff spot. The Bears own the tiebreaker against the Javelinas, but not the Redskins.
PSJA High has Brownsville Porter (1-4 32-5A) and Donna North (0-5) remaining. Donna High has Donna North and Edcouch-Elsa (4-1 32-5A). Southwest has Mercedes (5-0) and Brownsville Pace (2-3).
“There’s a lot of football left, but we have to take care of our business,” Marroquin said. “That’s what we’re focusing on. These kids have been in this position before. I can see they’re hungry. I know they want it.”