By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
SAN ANTONIO — As Elijah Reyna walked off the field, he couldn’t help but think of what had cost Edinburg Vela its season.
Though the SaberCats had a penchant for picking up penalties throughout the season, they generally had enough offensive firepower to render any of those miscues moot. But on Friday, the SaberCats were unable to overcome those infractions, losing to Austin Vandegrift 49-39 in the Class 5A Division I regional quarterfinals at Alamo Stadium.
Vela was flagged 13 times for 90 yards, resulting in plenty of lost opportunities, and it had two fumbles that helped opened what was a back-and-forth battle through two quarters.
“When you get to the third round, you have to execute at a high level,” SaberCats coach Michael Salinas said. “At opportune times, we didn’t execute.”
The SaberCats (12-1) were whistled for a variety of things — from false-start violations to holding calls to unsportsmanlike conduct — digging a hole too deep to overcome. A 20-yard carry from Robert Guerra wasn’t enough to convert a new set of downs because Vela faced a 4th-and-21 from the opposing 27, trailing 28-20 with 2:30 left in the opening half.
When the SaberCats got the ball back on the ensuing drive, they were flagged for holding and coughed the ball up two plays later, paving the way for Vandegrift (10-2) to extend its lead to 35-20.
“They executed very well, so did we,” Reyna said. “But we came up short with all the mistakes we had.”
By halftime, they had given up 70 yards after nine calls, and they had little answer for Vandegrift’s Travis Brannan, who was the Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year by the Texas Associated Press Sports Editors in 2014. The senior ran for 31 times for 430 yards and six touchdowns, including four by intermission.
“He’s a special player, there’s no question,” Salinas said. “He plays extremely hard. He’s really patient, he’s got great vision and he’s a little faster than he looks on tape.”
“As coaches, our guys put a good plan together. We felt we could come out execute, and we did for the most part today,” Salinas added. “A little selfish with wanting to put more points on the board. We didn’t make the plays when we needed to at times.”
PRODUCING
Vela produced 549 yards on Friday, with 411 coming on the ground. Guerra (237 yards, 34 carries) scored four of his team’s five touchdowns, and Reyna had a hand in another as a passer.
Faced with a 4th-and-7 from the 12, the SaberCats faked a punt and the holder went on to toss the ball to Reyna, who found Michael Arguelles (seven catches, 114 yards) for a 12-yard score, trimming the deficit 21-20 with 43 seconds left.
Quarterback Fabian Pedraza took most of the snaps, though, completing 17 of 28 attempts for 126 yards.
“Their running back and their quarterback were so much faster than we anticipated,”
Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders said. “They got outside on us and we couldn’t contain them. So hat’s off to them.”
MAKING STRIDES
Since opening in 2012, Edinburg Vela has gotten progressively better. It went 0-10 in its inaugural season followed by a 5-5 campaign in 2013. Last year, it made the playoffs after a 9-1 regular season, advancing to the area round.
Going into Friday, the SaberCats were 12-0, having beaten Victoria East 42-33.
“I can’t tell you how thankful I am for the opportunity to coach these guys,” Salinas said. “Just how far they’ve come in four years, they’ve been a blue-collared group and have come to work everyday and trusted what we did. So, it’s part of the process. We laid another brick this year, and we’re just going to continue to work.”
BIG TURNOUT
Friday’s game drew an announced crowd of 3,647. Vela attracted roughly five times more fans than Vandegrift, which is 95 miles from San Antonio.