BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — When Rolando Alviso goes back to San Antonio, he’s usually hanging around the River Walk with his buddies, possibly grabbing a bite to eat at the Rainforest Café.
Alviso grew up in San Antonio, and he didn’t move to Edinburg until he was in seventh grade.
Now, the senior defensive back and linebacker has adopted a new crew — the Edinburg Economedes football team.
Alviso started playing football in fourth grade. He played on offense growing up: receiver and running back.
“I wasn’t really that great of a football player growing up,” Alviso said. “Through the years, I have trained harder and harder, and I have developed.”
When he got to the Valley, he was immediately drawn to the football field. Many of his teammates then are still his teammates today with the Jaguars.
“They all welcomed me and made that transition easier for me,” Alviso said.
Alviso moved to the Valley because his father was transferred to the Valley as part of his career with the Border Patrol.
“I had never lived in the Valley,” Alviso said. “My parents grew up in the Valley, but once they got married, they moved to San Antonio.”
Alviso’s father, Lucio Alviso, played football growing up. He was a linebacker and safety in high school.
During Rolando’s freshman year, he was moved to linebacker, putting him on the defensive side for the first time.
Lucio had plenty of experience to share with Rolando when he made the move.
“He was pretty excited about me making the switch,” Rolando said. “He was happy to see I was excited about it.”
Lucio has always supported Rolando on and off the field.
“He was my main resource in football, and he has pushed me throughout the years,” Rolando said. “Since my childhood, he has always pushed me to be a better person and a better athlete.”
The move to defense gave Rolando a new dedication to the game. He became a player Economedes coach Gabe Peña can rely on. During his sophomore year, he started doing CrossFit to increase his strength.
Rolando said this summer has been the most intense of his life. He trained, learned and prepared for what he expects to be a breakout senior year.
“He is very intelligent,” Peña said. “He is probably the guy on our team that has the most football savvy.”
Because Economedes has the smallest roster numbers of the four football teams in ECISD, depth has never been a luxury. As a result, Econ players have always had to play multiple positions.
Rolando will be playing some linebacker and some cornerback this year, according to Peña. But his responsibilities may not end there.
“He’ll be playing some slot receiver and some slot back for us, because he has really thickened out,” Peña said. “He’s primarily a defensive guy, but our job right now is to rep him and get him ready for the times that we do need him. It would have been very easy for him to say no. He’s a team player, and he said, ‘Coach, whatever the team needs.’ So he bought into it real quick.”
The Econ offense lost its top receiver and its top three running backs, so Rolando will provide some experience for the youthful group.
“I’m ready for it,” Rolando said. “I have been training since freshman year. I have been put into many different situations since my freshman year, and I have developed more and more.”
Rolando is at home lining up across from the opponent’s No. 1 receiver.
“I’m a little bit of everything,” Rolando said. “I feel like I play like Kam Chancellor. He’s a big hitter, he can cover, he’s fast on the ball, and he can do everything.
“I’ve noticed that no one can line up against me, because they are shorter than me or skinnier than me. I almost always have the height and strength advantage.”
AIR ECON?
Last year, Economedes passed for 1,387 yards and ran for 1,235.
Running the slot-t offense, the Jaguars often impose their will in the ground game. But Peña has specialized in mixing in the spread just enough to exploit teams who key in on the run too much.
Senior quarterback Albert Guerra played a big part in that last year, passing for 1,315 yards and 10 TDs.
He was also helped by a pair of talented receivers in Pete Segura and Roger Barrientos, who have both since graduated.
“We are still trying to work out who we like at the receiver position,” Peña said. “We have a young group, without much experience. But they are really fast, and they are coachable.”
The good news for Econ is that in a seven-team district, the Jaguars will have four non-district games to get the depth chart sorted out.
“That is a big advantage of four non-district games,” Peña said. “And we have some tough teams scheduled. Laredo LBJ and (Corpus Christi) Moody, which will allow us to travel and see some out-of-area competition.”
STABLE OF HORSES
Last year, Econ shuffled through running backs, allowing each to excel at different points in the season. The three backs spelled each other when one needed a rest, and as the Jaguars moved deeper into what was an injury-plagued season, they replaced the injured backs’ production.
Lee Maldonado carried for 400 yards, Gabriel Ornelas totaled 276 and Sonny Castillo added 192. All three have graduated.
“Our philosophy is we want a stable of backs,” Peña said. “We have PJ Soto and Jeremy (Fernandez) coming back from last year. Andrew Zuniga is coming up from JV, and he will be our fullback.”
The new-look backfield is already starting to churn out yardage in practice. Peña said he was pleased with the progress his backfield has made. The group’s production will make Guerra’s job easier and buy time for the receivers to emerge and grow into their roles.
Underestimating the Economedes backs will be a danger for every team in District 31-6A.
“They are tiny, but they are going to be able to hide and make the right reads, use those angles to create space,” Peña said. “They all ran track for us, and we had a very successful team last year.”
EDINBURG ECONOMEDES’ KEY TO THE SEASON
The powerful Econ defense will have to be the strength of the team while the new offensive pieces fit into place around senior QB Albert Guerra.
2017 record: 4-6
Returning starters O/D: 6/6
COACH’S TENURE
Caoch: Gabe Peña
Year at the school: 8th
Record at Edinburg Economedes: 32-42