EDCOUCH — New starting quarterback Albert Trevino and the Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jackets did some maturing in their 24-21 season- opening win against Los Fresnos on Friday at Benny Layton Sr. Memorial Stadium.
“Offensively, we had some kids step up,” Marichalar said. “They’re starting to emerge as guys that we can depend on.”
Marichalar said the junior Trevino’s first pass attempt of the season was a “50-60 yard” touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Jared de los Santos.
“That kind of set the tone for the rest of the game. It put him at ease,” Marichalar said. “Was he perfect? No, but he controlled and managed the game pretty good. His confidence is getting higher and higher.”
Trevino replaces Marco Aguinaga who was Edcouch-Elsa’s starting quarterback in 2016, but he wasn’t the only newbie on the Yellow Jackets’ offense.
“You’ve got to give credit where credit is due and our offensive line deserves it,” Marichalar said. “They held the fort down. They won the line of scrimmage. It was a very good thing to see out there.”
MISSION HIGH 24, PSJA NORTH 14: At Pharr, Mission High started its season on the right foot and it did so without its starting quarterback. With Damian Gomez on the sidelines, it was Mr. Do Everything Steven De Leon under center for the Eagles.
“We just erred on the side of caution tonight (with Gomez), given it’s early in the season,” Detmer said. “‘I’m just really proud of our guys under the circumstances with that. It’s a tough thing to do, to play without your starting quarterback and then to go out and get the job done.”
EDINBURG VELA 34, LAREDO NIXON 13: At Laredo, Edinburg Vela improved to 1-0 after getting a game last minute. Vela’s original opponent, Victoria East, had to pull out because of the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Nixon drops to 0-1.
MONTE ALTO 51, PREMONT 6: Monte Alto, Monte Alto’s offense was clicking right off the bat. On the Blue Devils first drive, wide receiver David Alvardo caught a pass from sophomore quarterback Joseph Cano. The Blue Devils got on a roll from there and took a 27-6 lead into the dressing room at halftime. Running back Marcos Izaguirre also had a big game in the backfield, accounting for a few scores.
“Our conditioning is coming around,” Salas said. “We still lacked some of the basic form tackling, things we can improve on. Overall I think our kids performed really well for the first game of the season.”
SANTA ROSA 42, HIDALGO 28: At Santa Rosa, the turning point for the Pirates came just before halftime. The Warriors were up 21-14, but the Pirates were driving.
“We ran a boot and we threw and dropped it,” Hidalgo coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “We could have run for a first down. They scored right after that to make it 28-14, when it could have been 21-21. That’s a big turnaround in the game.”
Hidalgo never gave up, but the momentum was gone, and the Pirates couldn’t get it back.
Senior quarterback Marco Bella scored a touchdown. Junior running back Bryan Aleman scored the other three for the Pirates.
“I’m disappointed we lost,” Stumbaugh said. “I don’t like to lose, at all. There were some positives that came out of it. We moved the ball well, we ran the ball well. We played hard for four quarters.”
VALLEY VIEW 21, DONNA HIGH 20: At Pharr, Valley View found itself down 14-7 to Donna High at halftime, but was able to pull off the second-half comeback. Senior Alfredo Ruiz had his fingerprints all over Friday’s game, catching a touchdown pass as a receiver and collecting an interception as a defensive back.
PALMVIEW 16, ROMA 10 (OT): At La Joya, the Lobos held a lead for most of the game but gave up a defensive TD on a return after Roma’s second blocked punt of the night with six minutes to play in the fourth quarter. They used a late field goal to force OT. Palmview coach Maragito Requenez said the win was possible because his defense played at a high level.
“Defensively, we had a great game,” Requenez said. “They went out first on offense, and our defense stepped it up and stopped them.”
LYFORD 48, PROGRESO 14: At Progreso, the Red Ants started off the season 0-1. Lyford, led by senior quarterback Chase Hinojosa, started off its season on a winning note.
RIVIERA-KAUFER 46, LA VILLA 14: At Riviera, the Seahawks improve to 1-0, while the Cardinals drop to 0-1.