BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
WESLACO — Weslaco East coach Mike Burget is a perpetual optimist. No other team in District 31-6A saw more turnover on the offensive side of the ball this summer than the Wildcats. Only one starter returns from last year’s team which made it to the regional quarterfinals. With so many new bodies preparing for their increased roles, Burget already likes what he sees.
“I wish we would have played a game today,” Burget said. “We might have snuck one in. The kids look really good. At this point in practice, kids start getting sore. But they came out and looked great today. The effort is there.”
Weslaco East will look to continue their ground-and-pound offense this season, albeit behind a refashioned offensive line. Former standouts Sergio Morales, Roy Villarreal and Ramiro San Miguel graduated, leaving Jonathan Banda the lone holdover from last year’s squad. Burget holds Banda in high esteem and says the senior left guard is among the best lineman to ever play for the Wildcats.
“He’s got the size, and he’s got the strength,” Burget said. “He’s up for the challenge, and he explodes off the ball.”
Aside from protecting the blindside for senior quarterback Ciro Rojas, Banda is helping the O-line coalesce to set up the team’s running attack, a task he says is well underway.
“The chemistry is already there,” Banda said. “We’ve played with each other before. They weren’t starters, but they saw time on a couple plays last year.”
Joining Banda on the line are seniors Israel Alfaro, Gavin Gaytan, Daniel Mendez and Matthew Garcia.
“We know that last year’s team played really well,” Banda said. “We’re not putting any pressure on ourselves. We’ll get to where we want to be, was just have to keep putting the work in.”
KEEP IT FAMILIAR
To say Weslaco East favors running the ball is an understatement. In 2014, the Wildcats gained 3,951 regular season yards, all but 275 of which came on the ground. District 31-6A MVP Lupe Moron accounted for the bulk of their production, totaling 1,783 yards and 25 touchdowns.
With Moron graduated, however, Burget looks to give senior Emilio Tamez the workload out of the backfield.
“It’s his job to lose,” Burget said. “We’ve got a good group of running backs this year. We know it’ll be hard to replace Lupe, but we don’t need them to be Lupe. We need them to be at their best.”
INCREASED ‘D’
Where the Wildcats offense was a Valley powerhouse a season ago, the defensive unit was middling and unremarkable. The team allowed regular season opponents to score 23 points per game on 326 yards — both stats being the second worst among playoff qualifiers in District 31-6A.
But as the offense experienced heavy turnover, the defense remains virtually intact, returning eight starters. Burget has higher expectations for that side of the ball.
“I look for our defensive line to be especially improved,” he said. “We knew we were going to be young on that side of the ball last year. I think having all those miles under them will come into play this year.”
The defensive line will in part feature senior Marco Arroyo, junior Luis Aguire and junior Ricky Cardoza.
SWITCHING SIDES
Ciro Rojas played cornerback a season ago, but is spending much of camp preparing to play under center. Though Rojas will hold the title of quarterback, history shows he’ll likely spend the majority of the season carrying the ball. Last year’s QB Darren Rivas rushed for 956 regular season yards in addition to 15 touchdowns.
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