BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
In Edinburg North’s game against Harlingen South on Thursday in Harlingen, the Cougars came away with a 24-7 win, but they also suffered a difficult loss.
Junior quarterback Francisco Zuniga suffered a broken clavicle. North coach Rene Saenz said the initial diagnosis is Zuniga will be out four to six weeks, but that the evaluation will be made week to week.
“Like any kid would be, Frankie is frustrated,” Saenz said. “He is a little bit shocked, because now he is not able to do anything for a few weeks. He’s dealing with it and ready to bounce back. That’s just the natural competitiveness in him.”
Luckily, sophomore wide receiver Izaiah Rangel has been taking snaps at quarterback in practice all season. He first began trying the position during two-a-days and has developed a feel for the role, Saenz said.
Saenz had one word for his feelings on Rangel at quarterback going forward.
“Comfortable,” Saenz said. “It’s always been something we wanted to look at, him at QB, because we know he has a ton of talent. Unfortunately, he’s pushed in there 100 percent of the time because of the injury with Frankie. We were hoping to kind of share the responsibilities and ease him into the role, but now that he is full time, we are very comfortable with it. We just hope he stays healthy.”
After coming on at quarterback Thursday, Rangel rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Prior to the injury, Zuniga had 398 passing yards on the season. Despite the difference in play style, Saenz said North’s offense will not be less effective.
“It might look a little different,” he said. “Week to week, we add and adapt a little bit based on who we are playing and what we are getting. For the most part, the playbook stays the same. We are hoping nothing really big changes. We need to continue to progress. It showed when Izaiah went in there. I don’t think we missed very much, as far as rhythm goes. There wasn’t much of a hiccup as far as the fluidity of running the offense. There shouldn’t be any adjustment.”