By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
ROMA — Perhaps there was some lingering thought as to the type of season Roma might have enjoyed last year, had they had a healthy set of wide receivers.
With injuries forcing them to go to a third-stringer, who had just begun playing the sport, the Gladiators almost exclusively ran the ball. Their offense became predictable at times, as teams jammed the box with 9-10 players. And it wasn’t until the final game of the regular season that they qualified for the playoffs, for which they were heavy underdogs, given their standing.
This year, Roma gets a do-over. With two capable receivers in Elias Martinez and Damian Villarreal back in the fold, Roma will have another shot at trying to have a balanced offense.
“I think we’re going to do what we were doing at the end of last season, which was the plan all along,” coach Max Habecker Jr. said, laughing, after completing his first week of two-a-days. “We had a plan in place with our receivers, who both got hurt, and there’s nothing you could do about that. But it pushed Elias into the fire. Now he has experience under his belt, and he’s carrying that into this season.”
With then-senior Aldo Ramirez, their top receiver, missing a chunk of last year with a shoulder injury, and Villarreal (dislocated elbow) also sidelined, Martinez joined the team late after focusing on basketball.
Even with a healthy receiver corps back late in the season, Martinez made big catches. And he now figures to play a central role in the aerial attack, along with Villarreal. Habecker calls the tandem “two dynamic players on the outside, who will help alleviate the box.”
The Gladiators saw the result of that balance the latter two games of the regular season, when they totaled 324 and 358 yards of offense, respectively. In their first eight games, they tallied more than 300 yards only once. In their last two games, they combined for 142 passing yards; in the previous eight games, they had 216.
That should make things easier on Ramon Espinoza, who enters his first year as the featured back. Last season, he was the second option behind Peter Rodriguez, who led District 31-5A in rushing yards with 1,187. Now, Espinoza can gradually transition into the role without commanding as much attention from the defense.
“At the end of last year, you could see how different the offense was” with the receivers back, Habecker said. “Just the simple fact that you have 9-10 guys in the box makes it harder. So to be able to have a pass threat, going against 7-8 guys (in the box), it’s going to open up running lanes for us.”
PLAYING ‘D’
Roma lost a couple of defensive backs from a unit that helped produce the second-stingiest defense in district last year. But Gerardo Gonzalez, a middle linebacker and two-year starter, believes the experience of the defensive linemen and linebackers should keep things afloat.
“The good thing about the defense is, we work as a team,” he said. “There’s no individuality here. If one person messes up, there’s someone there to cover it up.”
Defensive coordinator Francisco Villanueva said the team has “looked solid” during the first week of two-a-days. He said he doesn’t see much changing as a result of the players they graduated, and he expects last year’s sophomores to continue improving.
J.J. Peña, who played cornerback last year, is coming off a junior season in which he earned the district’s co-defensive newcomer of the year honors. And Alexis Escoto, a strong safety, is back as the leader of the secondary for his senior season. He started all 12 games last year, when he emerged as a vocal figure.
“Last year, it was an all-around effort,” Villanueva said. “We had a real good inside linebacker, good safeties, good leadership. This year, I see they’re more confident and they’re ready to go.”
UNDER CENTER
Andy Marroquin inherits the reins at quarterback, replacing R.J. Garza.
As a sophomore, Marroquin started for a JV team that went .500. Habecker believes the record is a result of his staff promoting 11 sophomores to start on the varsity squad, leaving JV with even less-experienced players.
Still, Habecker is confident in Marroquin’s experience, having played the position since his seventh-grade year.
“I had to make a decision last year whether we were going to move him up and be a backup to RJ,” Habecker said. “I didn’t want to just have him on the sidelines. I needed him to get another year of experience, and it’s paid off.”
Marroquin, who went 9-1 as a freshman, said he’s growing accustomed to the speed and size of varsity players during two-a-days. He said “the run game looks pretty good for us right now,” adding that he believes “we’re going to pass a lot more this year.”
BACK IN THE MIX
The Gladiators return 32 players, 14 of those starters, on a roster that will carry 42 players. They have 12 seniors on a team that helped clinch the program’s first-ever playoff berth, and bi-district win, in 2014. And it has led to a different mindset during the first week of two-a-days.
“What I’ve told the kids is, ‘OK, we jumped a huge hurdle last year. But the tough part is becoming consistent. Not just doing it one time and then missing the playoffs the next year,’” Habecker said. “The expectations are higher. And we’re going to have to maintain a high level of play because we’re going to get everyone’s best shot week after week.”
Gonzalez, a three-year letterman, has seen a discernible difference from a year ago.
“Now that we made it, we don’t just want to be there,” he said. “We want to go far. We want to get to the Sweet 16. Making the playoffs, it’s going to push us to try to go even further.”
ROMA’S PROGNOSIS
With a more balanced offense, and health permitting, Roma should enjoy more success in trying to build on its first-ever playoff appearance.
Projected 2015 Record: 6-6
TENURE
Coach: Max Habecker Jr.
Year at school: 9th
Record at Roma: 32-49-1
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