BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Sharyland Pioneer coach Tommy Lee went out of his way to remind his team how last season ended entering this week’s district opener.
The Diamondbacks met Mercedes at Tiger Stadium in the first round of the playoffs and were overmatched in a 37-point drubbing. The Tigers ran for 590 of their 746 yards of total offense and dropped 34 points in the fourth quarter.
“We put that up on the bulletin board and we put it in our scouting reports,” Lee said. “It was something the kids felt very strongly about. When we asked everybody who played in that game to stand, there were only about eight guys that stood up. But they knew what it was about. They put the challenge on the younger kids that played JV and freshman last year. They were doing it for them and for the kids who graduated.”
Sharyland Pioneer (3-2, 1-0) were the aggressors on Friday night when they jumped out to a five-touchdown lead midway through the third quarter. The Diamondbacks breezed to a 35-12 dismantling of the Tigers.
The quarterbacks led the way for the Diamondbacks. Sophomore Eddie Marburger was sharp, going 8-for-12 for a team-high 98 yards and a second quarter touchdown to wideout Lavar Lindo.
One of Pioneer’s few starters from last year’s playoff team, senior quarterback Jacob Rosales, completed 7 of 14 passes for 86 yards and two touchdown passes while also toting the ball 10 times for 60 yards and another score.
“We came out hungry. We had a bye, so we had an extra week to prepare,” Rosales said. “It (the 68-31 loss to Mercedes in 2017) was a hard game. That game went back and forth for awhile before they exploded on us. We also heard that they the coach from Mercedes said that we weren’t physical and we were soft. That kind of lit a fire under us. We came out today playing smashmouth football and got the ‘W.’”
“Both quarterbacks played well tonight,” Lee said. “They feed off of each other, they play hard for each other and all of our kids do the same for each other. We don’t miss a beat, one way or the other. We caught the ball well tonight. We have some big play kind of guys at receiver.”
The Tigers (2-4, 1-1) offensive line struggles continued Friday. The front five kept quarterback Israel Alegria for absorbing much contact out of the shotgun, but several low snaps required Alegria to adjust himself before he’d let a pass fly. The line was also a frequent contributor to Mercedes’ 15 total penalties.
“We have to keep working with them,” Mercedes coach Roger Adame Jr. said. “We’ve got a bye week ahead of us before we face Valley View. We need to work to get better up front.”
The Diamondbacks will square off with the same Valley View team next week in Hidalgo. The Tigers shutout Edcouch-Elsa 33-0 to improve to a program-best 6-0 start to the season. Valley View’s six wins also tie its single season record for most victories in a season, which they pulled off in 2012.
“That’s going to be a big game for the both of us,” Lee said. “If we want to win a district championship, Valley View’s going to be right there.”