BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
A small part of what a football coach does is motivating all of his players to improve. Most players might need a little push at the behest of their coach, but the remaining group of athletes know how to start their own engines, if and when the moment calls for them to do so.
When a football coach finds a self-motivator on his team, he feels a brief sense of relief, but understands he might have to find creative ways to push the self-motivated athlete to reach their peak performance.
Roma coach Frank Villanueva had known senior defensive back Adrian Maldonado was of the rare self-motivated mold.
“I’ve seen him grow up from a boy into a young man,” Villanueva said. “I coached him in elementary school at Emma Vera. He’s really come a long way. He’s one of our best kids. He was here (on the Roma campus) all summer, lifting weights and running. But really, he had been doing that since he was a freshman. He’s worked his butt off to get where he is right now.”
Maldonado’s toiling spirit didn’t come out of thin air. His older brother, Alex, was a former Gladiator who played on Roma’s first-ever playoff team in 2014.
“They’re (Adrian and Alex) exactly the same,” Villanueva said. “Adrian’s brother was just as hard a worker as he was. It must have rubbed off on him.”
“Alex set the bar pretty high for me,” Maldonado said. “That second game of the (2014) playoffs, he had two picks. I’ve always tried to follow in his footsteps. I wear the same number ‘6’ that he wore and everything.”
Late last year, Jonathan Rios had an idea. Rios, who ended his sophomore season and began 2018 as Roma’s starting quarterback, carved out time to throw the ball around with Maldonado.
“He’d always toss me the ball before we practiced,” Maldonado said. “I worked hard this summer on my conditioning to get myself ready to play both ways, but it takes more than just getting physically ready. I wasn’t as confident as I am now in my speed. I wouldn’t have been mentally ready to do this last year.”
“Adrian used to be a defensive player only, but I liked him a lot as a receiver,” Rios said. “I told coach (Villanueva) that should try putting him at receiver, and they did. We started connecting. Now I feel like he’s a go-to guy.”
The Gladiators trailed for most of their season opener against Rio Grande City, but they were always within a touchdown or less. Following a field goal that put the Rattlers up seven late in the third quarter, Maldonado returned the ensuing kickoff for a 90-yard touchdown to bring Roma within a point.
Once the Gladiators forced overtime and won the toss, Rios went looking for his go-to receiver. The junior completed two passes to Maldonado, the first for six yards and the second for a 19-yard score that moved Roma in front. Brandon Duarte’s extra point sealed it.
A 32-31 final in favor of Roma in the Starr County Super Bowl in as big a game as a high school football game can be west of the Hidalgo County line.
“I was so anxious and hyped before this game,” Maldonado said. “When we got to overtime, they were setting up their outside backers to blitz. Once coach saw that blitz, he sent me on a different route. The ball was in the air. I realized I was open, and in my mind, I knew I had the confidence to catch it.”
“There was more energy to that game, definitely,” Rios said. “It’s our rival. We won bragging rights for a whole year.”
Villanueva didn’t mince words with his judgment of Maldonado’s performance last Friday night.
“I think it’s the best game that he’s had,” Villanueva said. “He had a good game last year against (Laredo) Cigarroa, but I think by far this is his best game.”
“I’d rate it as an eight out of 10,” Maldonado said. “I felt I could have done better on some speed sweeps on offense, but it was pretty good. There’s always room for improvement.”
The Gladiators’ (1-0) next chance for improvement will come against La Joya High. The Coyotes (1-0) are where Roma would like to be: fresh off of a playoff appearance the previous year.
La Joya High also presents a challenge to stop their profitable running spearheaded by running back Eddie Villarreal, who ran for three scores last week. The Gladiators will have their own internal battles. They must summon the same emotion and electricity that a non-season opener or non-rivalry game might not provide.
“We were down the whole game against Rio but we kept fighting, we wouldn’t go down and looked what happened,” Rios said. “We can do it again.”