By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
There was a subtle hint of uncertainty nearly three months ago, as Edinburg Vela went through two-a-day practices.
At the time, coach Michael Salinas said his team wasn’t in the same position as it was a year ago, when the group was intact and ready to hit the ground running. This year’s edition needed to sort out the depth chart, find the right combination on the field and establish cohesiveness.
Flash-forward to Week 11, and the SaberCats find themselves in much better situation heading into the regular-season finale than they did in 2014. That’s because with a win tonight, the fourth-year program can claim the District 31-5A title outright, while earning the top seed in Division I heading into the playoffs.
As it stands, Vela (9-0, 5-0) can do no worse than split the district crown with Mission Veterans Memorial (7-2, 4-1) when the two square off at 7 tonight at Tom Landry Stadium in Mission.
Both teams stand to gain plenty by winning. For Vela, the No. 2-ranked team by RGVSports.com, it would be a noteworthy accomplishment, given its youth and relatively rapid ascension.
A Patriots victory would go a long way considering they’ve played most of their district schedule with a freshman quarterback in Landry Gilpin, who has spearheaded a four-game win streak. Gilpin’s insertion into the starting lineup came amid a season-ending injury to Diego Hernandez, and the transfer of Adam Solis, one of the district’s top receivers and a backup quarterback.
Mission Veterans has powered through, nonetheless, maintaining the district’s most productive offense at 442 yards per game, with Gilpin throwing for 854 yards and seven touchdowns since taking a lead role.
It is Edinburg Vela, however, that’s more widely regarded as the most offensively potent team in district, averaging 48.2 points per game.
Though they have balanced offenses, the SaberCats lean a bit more on their aerial game, where Elijah Reyna (746 yards, 8 TDs) and Michael Arguelles (444 yards, 6 TDs) are among their favorite targets.
The Patriots rely more heavily on their passing/receiving game, which is responsible for 66.4 percent of their offense. Bobby Tovar leads all district wideouts with 1,110 yards and 10 TDs, while Roman De Leon has hauled in 523 yards and seven scores.
Even though there’s a wide gap in yards allowed, with Mission Veterans (253.5) second in district and Vela (330.3) second-to-last, the points surrendered are virtually the same. Yet, in scoring nearly seven times a goal and yielding 22.3 points per outing, the SaberCats have consistently won games by some of the wider margins in the Valley week after week.