By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
ROMA — The matchup that was supposed to pit one of the best defenses in District 31-5A against one of the better offenses never fully came to fruition Friday night.
With Ramon Espinoza nursing a bruised right forearm after one carry, Roma’s middling offense was never at full strength, and Edinburg Vela took full advantage to cruise to a 28-7 victory at Gladiator Arena in The Monitor’s Game of the Week.
Espinoza, the district’s leader in carries (172), rushing yards (1,344) and touchdowns (17) entering Week 6, had only one carry for six yards before checking out during Roma’s second drive of the game. He sported a sling on his right arm, and did not play the rest of the way. There’s no timetable yet for his return.
Averaging 364.3 offensive yards through five games, the Gladiators tallied 212 yards, including 172 on the ground — their lowest output of the season.
“We’ll bounce back,” Roma coach Max Habecker Jr. said.
With a relatively clean bill of health, the SaberCats added to their program-best 6-0 start, including 2-0 in district. Robert Guerra again led the way, posting 117 yards on 13 carries. He scored four times Friday, including one on a 12-yard TD run with 3:52 remaining in the third quarter, to hand Roma (5-1, 1-1) its first loss of the year.
“We just matched what they brought to the table and we were able to stop the run,” Vela defensive tackle Stephen Ramos said. “We had to draw the double teams, get our linebackers free, and they were able to fill the holes and stop the run.”
Guerra entered Week 6 third in district in (483) yards and (60) carries, and second in scoring. He posted his 13th touchdown of the season to close in on the 15 he scored through 10 regular-season games last year.
Though Vela was in control for most of the game, it struggled offensively at times. The SaberCats posted a season-low in yards (236) and points (28), after averaging 444.4 yards and 56.4 points per game.
Vela came up empty on two red-zone opportunities, in addition to the 144 yards it gave up on 16 penalties.
“I think some of those things offensively were self-inflicted,” SaberCats coach Michael Salinas said. “We have to get back to work and get better.”
STEPPING UP
With Espinoza out, Roma’s Bryan Garcia and Rene Ramirez had arguably their biggest games of the year. Garcia ran 22 times for 107 yards, and Ramirez tallied 39 yards on six carries.
“They did a good job filling in the spot,” Habecker said. “They’re going to get better, and we’re going to get better as a whole.”
The Gladiators, who had won eight of nine games heading into Friday, scored in the air for only the second time this season. Andy Marroquin connected with Elias Martinez for a 3-yard TD with 3:44 left to play.
Marroquin finished the game completing 3 of 14 passes for 40 yards with one interception.
BIG PLAYS
Vela capitalized on big plays Friday. Elijah Reyna opened with a 44-yard punt return on the SaberCats’ first drive, setting up Guerra’s 1-yard pick-up on the very next play. And on the ensuing drive, Reyna returned a punt 33 yards to get Vela inside the 23.
Later in the second quarter, Vela recovered a fumble on the opposing 25, scoring moments later on Guerra’s 25-yard run with 3:34 to play before halftime. The SaberCats led 21-0 at intermission.
UP NEXT
For a second week in a row, Vela will face another undefeated team when it hosts Sharyland Pioneer at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Diamondbacks (6-0, 2-0) are coming off a 20-10 come-from-behind win over Rio Grande City on Thursday.
Roma travels to Mission Veterans Memorial (4-1, 1-0) next Friday at 7:30 p.m.