McALLEN — The McAllen Memorial Mustangs are fine as long as they still have their line and an explosive back to run behind them. It’s a simple, two-item checklist that has spelled consistent success for the Upper Valley’s top team.
Exceptional running back? Check.
Campbell Speights is back for just his second season with the Mustangs, and he’s the back of the present and future.
A strong line, full of intelligent players who are ready for the grind of lining up to run 30 times a night and still coming out with 400-plus yard rushing performances? You guessed it, check again.
“Really all it is is just communication,” center Marcus Robles said. “It’s really selflessness and knowing we aren’t one person on the offensive line, we’re a unit. We kind of have safe measures to make sure that everything stays in place. It goes all the way around, we have an amazing team.”
Veteran coach Bill Littleton said the quick thinking of the offensive line makes the machine go.
“That’s the secret of our scheme,” Littleton said. “We really don’t sit out here every day and tell our kids who they’re going to block. We want our kids to be thinkers. They’re going to make good calls up front.”
As the center, Robles calls out defensive packages and blocking assignments to the team, all before getting the ball to their quarterback.
“You have to call out everything,” Robles said. “You have to call the formation up front, whether it’s a 3-1 or they have a nose. And then looking past the defensive line, you have to look at the linebackers and see who’s there.”
Robles is one of three returners from an offensive line that straight bullied opposing defenses in their 10 regular season games last year. Memorial ran for 3,613 yards, outpacing the next-best team in their district by 1,698 yards.
This offensive line expects no drop-off, especially with all of Memorial’s football programs except freshmen light winning district championships in 2016.
“They look pretty good,” right guard Aaron Ramirez said about the newcomers on the O-line adjusting to varsity. “They already know what they’re doing. The coaches are teaching them, so when they’re in there, they just execute it. It’s just awesome the way they adapt in the offense.”
The run game has been the recipe for success for the Mustangs for years, dating back to Littleton’s early season with Memorial and the legs of Bradley Stephens.
The line is a walking testimonial to the machine coaching them every day. Offensive line coach Robby Jasso played tackle until his graduation in 2007 and keeps the tradition with his boys.
“I take a lot of pride in it,” Jasso said. “What we do here is we run the ball. We’re going to pound it non-stop. It takes a special type of person to take the beating.”
Until a couple of years ago, Stephens reigned supreme as the Valley’s all-time rushing leader. Then, the rusher that Jasso himself blocked for was surpassed by Trevor Speights, a running back the players he was coaching were blocking for. Speights surpassed Stephens’ all-time rushing record of 7,803 yards in 2015.
“Everything, when it comes to all levels of football, always starts with the offensive line,” Ramirez said. “To be a part of the people who ran behind us, the amount of talent they’ve had and where they are now. It’s truly amazing to see to see how hard the offense works for them.”
Ricky Garcia returns as the everyday left tackle. When Memorial scores or kicks, it’s his leg doing the work.
“It started with Trevor. I had the pleasure to play with him,” Garcia said. “It was a really a true experience, and now it’s Campbell, his brother. We got to get him ready.”
As for the kicking responsibilities, he doesn’t catch any breaks after a score.
“Honestly it comes naturally, because since middle school I’ve been doing both things,” Garcia said. “And every time we score a touchdown, I have to run and get the tee for myself.”
Garcia and the entire line may be considered unsung heroes to some, but to the football savvy, including their coach, their work is not overlooked.
“We’ve had some exceptionally good running backs, but you don’t have good running backs without having pretty good offensive lines,” Littleton said. “Our offensive lines have played pretty well over the years. They’ve done a great job, and we don’t feel like this one will be any different.”