By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Throughout the season, injuries and bumps and bruises toward the offensive line threatened to derail the success of the Los Fresnos Falcons’ offense.
But instead they created one of the deepest groups on the team, as every member knows every position on the offensive line. Several players have played multiple positions during the season.
“Someone had to step in and play a different position. It hurts you early, but it helps you later,” Los Fresnos coach Clint Finley said. “Because they have a better understanding of the full (offensive) concept, how everything works together and how everyone is counting on one another, I think it’s been beneficial for us in the long run. We were able to build depth at different positions by playing people in multiple positions.”
The Los Fresnos’ offense averaged 319 yards and nearly 33 points per game, the third-best mark in District 32-6A. The Falcons totaled 3,189 yards on the season — 2,173 yards rushing and 1,016 yards passing.
Los Fresnos used a number of combinations of Javier Gonzalez, Jake Sales, Bruce Castro, Carlos Galvan, Sam Saldana, Isiah Zepeda, Bruce Waters, Kenneth Miller, Michael Mendez, JJ Cuellar and Alvaro Hernandez on the offensive line. But there was no secret to the Falcons’ success.
“It’s a combination of experience and guys maturing,” Finley said. “There’s been some inconsistency with who is playing those positions, but the good thing is we have a system put in place, and the guys understand the system. It’s kind of been done by committee this year.”
The Falcons’ coach set the precedent early in the season for his linemen.
“If you’re not (playing) hurt by playoffs, then you’re not playing football right,” Mendez said. “That’s what we live by in the trenches. If we get hurt, it happens. Everybody learned every position on the O-line so if someone goes down, we still stay strong. There’s never a weak point on the offense.”
At times a thankless job, Mendez said the skill players always keep them motivated. In turn, the linemen do their job.
“When we got the job we all know who gets the credit, we don’t really mind,” he said. “They’re our friends, and we practice to make them great.”
Finley has definitely seen the improvement throughout the season.
“I feel we’ve made progress since early in the season,” he said. “We had a setback midseason. I think we’ve learned from it, I’ve seen them improve steadily. It’s that time of the year when you need to be at your best, so hopefully they’re coming together at the right time.”
As for the Falcons’ playoff opponent, Edinburg North, the linemen haven’t forgot about the loss in Week 1.
“We understand what the stakes are, and it’s still in our minds,” Mendez said. “We know its going to be tough.”
To Finley, it’s two different teams competing in the playoffs.
“It’s basically a full season ago,” he said. “We felt like we let one get away from us. We played well for three and a half quarters, then we started having some issues and they were able to capitalize on those issues.”
Even after playing against the Cougars earlier this season, Los Fresnos isn’t preparing any differently.
“We’re trying to work toward our strengths, try to get better at what we do,” Finley said. “We do what we do, its no secret. They do what they do, that’s the reason they’re in the playoffs year in and year out because they work to get good at it.
“It’s who is better at what they do (tonight).”
But Finley expects a similar game to the prior meeting in Week 1.
“I expect a very physical football game,” he said. “They run the football and play good defense, and that’s what we do. It’s going to be a clash. They never gave up after we had them down 19-0. We know they’re fighters.
“Hopefully it plays out a little different for us this time.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.