BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
PHARR — PSJA High quarterback Trey Guajardo is looking forward to a big junior year.
“I feel like we are going to be much improved from last year,” Guajardo said of the Bears. “The talent that we have now is great. So it’s going to be depend on how much work we want to put in. And I know we are putting in hard work. Everybody has been out here every day.”
The Bears opted for spring football this year, which gave new coach Lupe Rodriguez the chance to work with his players right away.
Spring practice made sense for Rodriguez, who is bringing new systems to PSJA High. On offense, he is installing a spread attack that was very successful at Mission Veterans.
“The transition has gone well, because PSJA High has been a spread team before, so coming in it wasn’t that much of a transition,” Rodriguez said. “There are little things that are different between my spread and the spread that was here. The kids are grasping the new system and the terminology.”
The players are excited about the new system.
“I know, for sure, we are going to be throwing the ball a lot more,” Guajardo said. “So that is going to be very deadly. It’s going to be a lot of work for us (quarterbacks) and the receivers, but we are ready to put it in. I know that, what coach is trying to do for us, it’s going to work. All we want to do is win. We are tired of losing. We want to turn around this program and hopefully fight for a district championship next year.”
Guajardo has had a busy spring. He would head out to practice in the mornings before school, then after school he would practice with the baseball team. Guajardo was a big part of the baseball team, hitting .321 with 13 stolen bases, 12 RBIs, two doubles and two triples. He also pitched 39 1/3 innings with a 2.85 ERA and 41 strikeouts.
He also shined on the football field this season. He completed 93 of 178 passes for 1,323 yards and 11 TDs, and he ran for 1,009 yards and 10 TDs.
“Coming in, I had heard about Trey and the ability, and I had seen him run track before,” Rodriguez said. “I had never really seen him play until I got here and watched some film on him. He pretty much fits the same mold as all of the other quarterbacks I have had at Mission Veterans: he’s very mobile. He can throw the football.”
Rodriguez earned the reputation of being a quarterback guru at Mission Veterans. He worked with Santos Villarreal from 2011-14, helping him reach 6,122 yards and 48 TDs in his career. When Villarreal graduated, Rodriguez worked with Diego Hernandez, turning him into one of the Valley’s best passers last season and The Monitor’s 2016 All-Area Player of the Year.
The first step for Rodriguez in helping Guajardo reach that next level is to refine some components of his game.
“We just need to clean up his game a little bit,” Rodriguez said. “One thing that we have emphasized this spring is to not to force the ball downfield. If things are not there, not to throw it. He has the ability to run, and that’s one thing that I have stressed to him, ‘If it’s not there, if you don’t feel comfortable, tuck it and go or throw it out of bounds.’ Those are things that he has done very well this spring. He has not yet thrown an interception this spring, which is good.
“It’s like I told him, ‘I expect him to be the man next year to get this team where it needs to be.’ PSJA High comes with high tradition, and that’s one thing that we are trying to instill in these kids. And him being the leader of this team is a big part of that.”
Guajardo could tell right away that Rodriguez could make a difference.
“It’s very noticeable,” Guajardo said. “He has the experience, being a quarterback himself. I’m very thankful to have him as a coach. He’s been through that experience, and him telling us the stories that he has been through, it makes us want to get better to be in that situation, as well.”
NEW D
Tommy Sauceda was the head coach at Donna North in 2015. Last year, he took a job at PSJA High as an offensive line coach. This year, Rodriguez has moved him to the other side of the ball.
“Coach Sauceda is our defensive coordinator,” Rodriguez said. “He served as a defensive coordinator for many years at Donna.”
Sauceda brings a familiarity with the team, according to Rodriguez.
The Bears will be using a 50 defense, with five defensive lineman and two linebackers.
“I feel like (Sauceda) is ready to go,” freshman linebacker Jacob Sanchez said. “He has a good defense. The new system is helping a lot. Our defense is improving a lot.”
THE BEARS WAY
The tradition of success at PSJA High is well known, but the football team hasn’t been to the playoffs the last two seasons. In fact, the only Bears team to make the playoffs this year was the baseball team. Rodriguez is hoping to change all of that next year.
“You can tell these guys have been wanting to break out and get back to winning,” Rodriguez said. “They have been close in a lot of the games. That’s one thing that they are excited about, getting back and bringing that winning tradition back to PSJA High. I told them it’s our duty to start off the season right, because if you start off with the football team winning and getting into the playoffs, it kind of rolls downhill with the other programs. The school gets excited. So I am excited for this team for next year, and the possibilities that are there for us.”
The players feel that with the experience and guidance of Rodriguez, they can accomplish a lot next year.
“It should be a good year,” Sanchez said. “We are really excited, because we know this year will be better than last year, and we will be a better team.”
PSJA HIGH
Returning starters (O/D): 5/5
Returning letterman: 17
Key players: QB Trey Guajardo, WR Joachim Almaguer, WR Nate Miranda, G David Chapa, DE Orly Huerta, OLB Marcos Pedraza, DB Gabriel Espinoza, MLB Jacob Sanchez, WR Nate Sanchez
Coach: Lupe Rodriguez, 1st year at school
2016 record: 3-7