EDINBURG — Edinburg Vela head coach John Campbell blew his whistle during practice and his players moved into their positions.
“Here we go, here we go,” Campbell shouted to his players from down the field ready to examine their every move. “Let’s run it.”
His quarterback, AJ Sotelo, clapped his hands to begin the play. He faked a handoff, rolled left, looked down field and launched a deep pass to receiver Justin Cantu for a big gain.
“Right now our goal is to go out there and have the best fall camp that we can so we can perform well in the scrimmage and ultimately get ready for our first opponent with Laredo United,” Campbell said.
They will open their season on the road for a scrimmage against Laredo United at 7 p.m. on Aug. 29.
The SaberCats are coming off a 10-0 regular season. Last season, they reached the Class 6A DII regional semifinal, where they were defeated by Austin Westlake. This year, Vela has 41 returning letterman as well as seven returning starters on offense and five on defense to defend their 31-6A district title.
“We pride ourselves on the next man up process,” Campbell said. “The expectation is going to be the same for all the guys.”
Since Campbell took over the SaberCats football program in 2017, he has posted a 24-2 record. The team’s only two losses were against Austin Westlake in the playoffs each season.
“We pride ourselves on being able to perform on both sides of the ball,” Campbell said.
Some of the returning key players on offense include offensive lineman Tyler Bailey, Sotelo, Kevin McKinney at running back and Cantu at receiver.
Last year, Sotelo passed for 2,158 yards and 25 touchdowns. Cantu picked up 484 yards receiving and five touchdowns.
“I expect us to score a lot of points, put on a show and just do our job,” Bailey said.