BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
The first two weeks of the season have felt more like two months for Roma (0-2) coach Frank Villanueva.
Villanueva, in his first season as a head coach, has had his Gladiators competitive, but they have lost both of their games by a combined eight points.
“We’re still trying to jell, but we’re almost there,” Villanueva said.
Roma started the season with a 16-10 overtime loss to La Joya Palmview on Sept. 1. The Gladiators were without three starting offensive linemen, who were replaced by JV players. The offense improved some last week in a 15-13 defeat against La Joya High. Two linemen returned to action, and senior quarterback Jesus Villarreal threw for 113 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.
“In the second half (of the La Joya High game), we started to put things together,” Villanueva said. “I feel like we’re right there. We’re about to get over the hump.”
Villanueva still believes the bread and butter of his offense is the running game, spearheaded by senior Bryan Garcia and junior Felix Gomez. Garcia and Gomez led the way for the Gladiators offense in 2016, combining for 2,000 yards on the ground. The running backs together have 26 rushing yards on 26 attempts two weeks into the 2017 season.
“They’ve been struggling since we’ve been missing some linemen,” Villanueva said. “Hopefully, we’ll get back to running the ball and running it well.”