By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — In Edinburg North’s first scrimmage last year, coach Rene Saenz lost his top two running back in consecutive possessions.
Eventually, others went down, too. And Saenz never went on to field the same offensive or defensive lines in consecutive games as the Cougars missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.
“That was our biggest obstacle,” Saenz said. “Just freak accidents, game injuries, nagging things that built up. It was hard to build consistency when you’re moving things around like that.”
Now in Year 3, the Cougars are hopeful the rash of injuries doesn’t repeat itself. From a more expansive playbook to familiarity with their quarterback and offensive line coach, who wasn’t hired until mid-August last year, Saenz said the Cougars have several reasons to be optimistic heading into this season.
Rather than having its offense take form during the middle or latter part of the regular season, Edinburg North is focusing on refining specific points during two-a-days.
They will run a multiple pro-style offense, and have a 4-2-5 base on defense, occasionally operating out of a 3-3 stack. Though there’s an entirely new cast of players from their 2012 and 2013 teams, the Cougars are looking to those squads from inspiration. That’s when North boasted one of the stingiest defenses in the Valley.
“They realize they took a step back the last two years,” Saenz said. “But now that they’re bigger, stronger, faster and a little more aggressive, a lot of these kids that played as sophomores are ready.”
The Cougars have a gaping hole to fill on defense with John Mendoza, a first team all-state free safety, graduating. But it has led to one of the more competitive position battles during two-a-days, with Jacob Guerrero emerging as the likely replacement.
Also vacant are spots in the receiving corps, led by Ethan Vela, who has added 10 to 15 pounds to his 5-foot-9, 175-pound frame.
Haunted by last year’s letdown, Adrian Ortiz, a safety and running back, described the team’s practices as having “high intensity” early on.
“There’s a lot of motivation after missing the playoffs,” Ortiz said, “So we’re trying to implement that in our workouts. For a lot of us, it’s our last year, so we’re just ready to get out there.”
UNDER CENTER
Back at quarterback is Cristian Espinoza, who enters his second season as a starter.
Espinoza, who tallied the most TDs (17) and second-most passing yards (1,610) heading into the regular season finale last year, returns for his senior year after visiting camps at Rice, TCU and UT, among others.
Saenz lauded Espinoza for playing the final three games of the regular season with a broken left wrist, saying it served as inspiration for the Cougars, who limped to the finish line in 2015.
“I think the rest of the team sees that and says, ‘If I’m hurting from this or if I’m hurting from that, I can still get out there and help the team,’” Saenz said.
Having missed the playoffs by one win last year, Espinoza said there’s “a burning fire in me” to ensure the Cougars aren’t merely qualifying for the playoffs but solidifying their position early.
“I think there’s a lot more fire and motivation in this group here than last year,” Espinoza said. “You could tell everyone wants it more, they want to win more. It’s a different atmosphere in general.”
STOPPING THE RUN
The Cougars allowed 73 percent of its yards on the ground, which Ortiz believes the Cougars could solve with better communication.
“That’s all you could do,” Ortiz said. “The stack lets our linebackers move a lot faster, so we should be good.”
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EDINBURG NORTH’S PROGNOSIS
Barring another rash injuries, the Cougars should remain in playoff contention with a strong D-line and established QB Cristian Espinoza in place.
Projected 2016 record: 5-5
COACH’S TENURE
Coach: Rene Saenz
Year at school: Third
Record at North: 8-13