By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — The short week didn’t seem to impact Edinburg Vela, after all.
Playing in the first of four Thursday night games this season, the SaberCats scored an emphatic 59-7 victory over La Joya High at Cats Stadium, as Vela (3-0) got off its best start in program history.
For the second time in three games, SaberCats quarterback Ebher Lopez threw for five touchdowns, including three in the opening half, as Vela jumped out to a 35-7 lead. He finished the game completing 13 of 19 passes for 158 yards. He also ran for 71 yards on five carries.
“Everybody’s with me,” Lopez said. “I’m blessed with receivers. I’m blessed with the line to protect me, so I’m thankful for that.”
Lopez connected with four different receivers to score, including twice to Elijah Reyna (2 catches, 24 yards). The first score was on a 20-yard reception, beating the halftime horn by a second. The two connected again midway through the third quarter on a 4-yard pass, ignited by a 62-yard interception return by free safety Armando Regalado.
La Joya High quarterback Julio Garcia was picked off again early in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 71-yard return by John Treviño that set up Anthony Arredondo’s 14-yard scoring run for a 56-7 cushion.
“I think today was an overall team effort,” Vela coach Michael Salinas said. “Our defense came up with some big turnovers and gave us a short field and offensively we executed early and that helped us.”
Garcia finished the game completing 15 of 30 passes for 142 yards and two interceptions. Justin Leanos led the La Joya High rushing attack, totaling 103 yards on 14 carries.
“We just got to let this sink in. Learn from it,” said Garcia, whose team dropped to 1-2. “Of course, this loss hurts. But (we have to) use it as a positive to learn from it and never let this happen again.”
The Coyotes are 1-4 in Thursday night action the past two seasons. Vela is 4-2 during that stretch.
GIVING AWAY YARDS
High atop Edinburg Vela’s to-do list after Week 1: cleaning up penalties. Last week, the SaberCats played a relatively clean game, at least to Salinas’ liking.
But by halftime on Thursday, Vela had committed five infractions for 43 yards. It cost the Sabercats late in the second quarter, when they were called twice for pass interference.
Vela survived the first call, which moved La Joya High half the distance. The second violation, however, resulted in a 15-yard penalty that put the Coyotes 4 yards from the end zone. That set up Isaiah Calderon’s scoring run on the next snap, cutting the deficit 28-7 with 1:23 to play before halftime. In all, Vela was called for nine penalties for 83 yards.
“We probably had a couple too many today and that was my fault, probably, as a coach, we didn’t get them prepared well enough,” Salinas said. “We’ll go back to work. Our coaching staff has done a good job and our kids are responding. So, we just got to keep our thumb on them and get better.”
MINIMIZING MISTAKES
With sophomore and juniors filling out his roster, La Joya High coach George Espinoza is focusing on trying to eliminate mistakes. That, he said, could determine how successful the Coyotes are this season. On Thursday, La Joya High seemingly atoned for giving a touchdown on the opening drive when Calderon returned the ensuing kick off for 92 yards.
Two plays later, the Coyotes’ series ended when Vela’s Ryan Rodriguez stripped the ball for a clear path to the end zone, scoring on a 97-yard return. The SaberCats went up 14-0 with 4:42 to play in the quarter and never looked back.
OPTIONS
Not only has Vela had a relatively balanced offensive attack, it also looks to distribute the ball evenly. On Thursday, Lopez found five different receivers, three of those for touchdowns, through the opening half. Three of five players hauled in three passes, two of those for at least 50 yards.
The SaberCats also had six different ballcarriers through two quarters, with Lopez leading the way with 71 yards on five carries.