By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — For all the stops along his coaching career, Edinburg Economedes’ Gabe Peña takes great pride in what his program has accomplished since he took over in 2011, making the playoffs three times in five years despite traditionally low numbers in its football program.
What continues to elude the Jaguars, however, is a postseason victory. And it’s because of that, Peña said, that his senior-laden ball club remains hungry during two-a-days, despite routine workouts in the grueling summer heat.
“We still have a chip on our shoulder,” Peña said, “which we rely on a great deal. We haven’t won a playoff game, so I don’t think we’ll ever get big-headed.”
Despite having the second-largest enrollment in District 31-6A, Economedes faces an age-old issue with low participation. It has 150 players scattered across its program, including 58 on varsity. But Peña takes solace in returning 13 starters, seven of those on defense.
In fact, it was the Jaguars’ defense that largely kept them competitive before snatching the fourth and final playoff berth in 31-6A. They finished in the bottom half of district in both points for and against the team, but they allowed a meager 258.4 yards per contest (best in 31-6A) — an encouraging sign for one of the smaller defensive units in district.
Utilizing their speed and quickness, however, Peña anticipates his defense will be sharper and better able to swarm the ball out of a 3-3 stack or 4-3 formation. The strength largely lies with its D-line, led by senior Fabian Castillo, a 270-pound defensive tackle. Boxer Gomez, a 5-foot-8, 190-pound defensive end, has also emerged as a captain on that front.
“We’re just attacking the ball,” linebacker Nick Villanueva said. “Last year, we weren’t conditioning as much. Now we are. We’re just getting out there — a lot of communication, working on the pass-rush.”
What Economedes is most concerned with is depth. With starting positions beginning to take shape, Peña said he hopes to address backup roles, in case of injuries. That’s why as field a more experienced team than last year, the Jaguars will look to sprinkle in some newcomers with an eye on the future.
Rolando Alvizo, a sophomore defensive back, is among those who have caught the coaching staff’s attention. Though he played on the freshman squad in 2015, Peña said Alvizo possesses the qualities to carve out playing time as a sophomore this season.
SCORING PUNCH
The Jaguars return six starters from an offense that produced the second-fewest yards (274.3) per game in district last year. With a more mature offensive line and diverse system, Peña believes the Jaguars will show better results.
They have a new quarterback with Roger Barrientos, who started every game for the junior varsity team last year. Peña described him as a quick thinker and gambler who “isn’t afraid to think out of the box.” He’s also one of the more vocal leaders Economedes has had in the past six years, Peña said.
“He gives us the opportunity to do a lot of things rolling out,” Peña added. “We feel his arm has gotten better year after year.”
This season, Peña said he wanted more players involved in the offense. So while full back Allen Arredondo and running back Michael Medellin are expected to get the bulk of the carries out of the slot-T, the Jaguars are anticipating airing it out more to receivers Bony Rios and Pete Segura (entering his first full varsity season).
“We’re hungry,” Arredondo said. “We’re starving. We want to eat. We have a lot of returners, a lot of senior leadership, so we have a lot of guys improving at their positions.”
They’ll play behind center Juan Leon, guard Hugo Velasquez and tackle/guard Mario Rodriguez, all of those returning starters.
STARTING EARLY
Economedes will play seven Thursday games this season, which Peña is taking in stride.
“We like the short week, we really do,” he said. “In the end, everyone has the same number of days to prepare. It’s just how you approach it mentally. We know what we have to do Friday now. We’ve told the kids Saturdays this year are going to be like Monday practices.
“Some may cringe at seven (Thursday games), but we look at it like, ‘Hey, we’re going to get on a routine and we’ll be set.’”