By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald
Mother Nature is prompting some Rio Grande Valley football teams to call an audible this week.
With the threat of inclement weather on the horizon due to tropical storm activity in the Gulf, teams are moving games originally scheduled for Friday to today.
The non-district matchup in Elsa between Los Fresnos (1-1) and Edcouch-Elsa (0-2) is one of them.
Kickoff is now set for 7 p.m. today at Benny Layton Sr. Memorial Stadium.
Los Fresnos comes into the game with plenty of momentum following a remarkable rally to beat Austin LBJ last Friday. The Falcons came back from a 28-point deficit (35-7) in the second half to win 36-35 after opening the season with a 16-13 loss against El Paso Montwood on Aug. 31. Both games were played at Los Fresnos.
E-E has had a tough start to the season with road losses against Corpus Christi Veterans (38-0) and Weslaco High (58-7).
“It’s really hard to determine yet what kind of team Edcouch-Elsa has because they’ve gone up against two monster opponents,” Los Fresnos coach Patrick Brown said. “They are 0-2 with nothing to lose, so that makes them scary. I’ve been there (in that situation).
“The Edcouch-Elsa players are playing with a lot of heart,” Brown added. “I see it on film. There’s a lot of pride in that program.”
The Los Fresnos coach said one of the reasons the Falcons had a better showing last week was the improved play of senior quarterback Sergio Martinez. Against LBJ, he completed 19 of 29 passes for 190 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions. Martinez also rushed 20 times for 81 yards and another score.
“Sergio is finally settling in at quarterback,” Brown said. “He’s doing a good job.”
Another playmaker for the Falcons is wide receiver Nico Valencia, a junior who has started since he was a freshman. He caught 11 passes for 132 yards and two TDs against LBJ.
Meanwhile, first-year E-E coach Bradly Chavez is telling his team to give a maximum effort all the time.
“The biggest thing for us is to do what we’re supposed to do and play with heart,” Chavez said. “That’s what we’re looking for.”
The Yellowjackets have had two players at QB — senior Albert Trevino and sophomore Raven Rojas. Trevino’s passing stats (11-24-1, 74 yards in two games) are slightly better than Rojas’ passing numbers (7-16-0, 58 yards). Neither one has thrown a TD pass thus far.
Isaac De Anda, a senior running back, leads E-E’s ground game with 27 rushes for 54 yards in two games.
Chavez said he has seen enough film of Los Fresnos’ game last week to know the Falcons are a dangerous team.
“I’m impressed with the way they came back against LBJ,” Chavez said. “They’ll be a tough team for us to face.”
Brown also is feeling admiration for his team and how it rallied to win.
“It’s the greatest comeback that I’ve been a part of (as a player or coach),” Brown said. “Before that, the biggest deficit I’ve ever seen (as a coach) was 24 points at halftime (and we came back to win). Yes, it was pretty impressive.”
Regarding the matchup with E-E, Brown said, “It’s hard to predict whether it will be high scoring or low scoring, but I do know both teams will be playing hard.”
Non-district action continues for each of the squads on Sept. 21 as Los Fresnos is at home against Edinburg Vela and E-E plays host to Edinburg North.