NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
WESLACO — Weslaco East was down some firepower in its loss against San Benito on Friday. The Wildcats felt the absences on both sides of the ball as they were handled 44-21 by an impressive Greyhounds (5-0, 2-0) squad.
The atmosphere was electric before kickoff, but soon only the visiting crowd was enjoying the evening.
Weslaco East’s sideline general Mike Burget said that despite the outcome, he was leaving with positives in his back pocket.
“Everybody thinks we played bad because of the score, but we didn’t,” Burget said. “We had a bunch of young guys, like I said before the game, trying to fill in for our starters. You know what, I’m proud of ‘em. They came out in the second half and traded punches with the team that is probably going to win district.”
The biggest absence for East (3-2, 1-1) was running back Roy Pedraza, who sustained a season-ending injury last week. His backup, Freddy Gonzalez, is also out due to an ankle injury, leaving the running duties primarily to J.C. Vargas.
Vargas had 68 yards, many coming on a 33-yard play, but he wasn’t able to find penetration to consistently move the chains.
San Benito scored the first three touchdowns of the game to race out to a 22-point lead and never looked back.
The Greyhounds gave a preview of the rest of the game right away on their opening drive. Quarterback Erick Retta made all of the right plays to march his team down the field. San Benito converted four third downs on the first drive alone.
Retta completed three passes, including the TD strike to Ryan Reza from 10 yards out.
“They have a great quarterback that leads them really well. One of the best quarterbacks I’ve seen in the Valley in a long time,” Burget said. “They got a great system and did a great job.”
The system and machine of San Benito is complemented by the passing game of Retta, but it centers around the holes up front and the running talent of halfback Tyrone Harper.
San Benito coach Dan Gomez wouldn’t let any of the credit get to his skill players without praise for the big fellas moving bodies at the line of scrimmage.
“It all starts up front,” Gomez said. “Anybody that knows football understands that it’s the D-line and O-line that make a program go, and those kids put in the time and work hard.”
The work was on full display, as the Greyhounds outgained East 449-280 on the night.
“Our coaching staff does a great job of breaking down film, putting together game plans, and then it just comes down to the kids executing, and that’s what you saw tonight,” Gomez said.
Harper had 111 yards by halftime and ended the night with 3 TD rushes to his name. His ability to eat up yards after contact and fall forward with his 6-foot-1-inch frame kept drives alive.
“We just did what we do,” Gomez said. “It was just a good effort. The intensity in practice and the expectations that you put on the kids, the demands that we have are very high. When you do that to kids, they will raise the bar.”
East scored on a QB sneak by Richard LeFevre seconds before halftime to build momentum heading into the second half.
The hope for a comeback was all for naught, as Retta scored on a keeper of his own on San Benito’s first drive of the second half. The teams traded scores the rest of the evening.
Weslaco East’s bright spot was Vargas. He caught for 40 yards and even threw for a TD on a trick play, giving the crowd something to be excited about in the late stages.
Burget was glad to get younger Wildcats into district competition.
“They’re young,” Burget said. “Sophomores, juniors, they’re going to come back next year. I’m excited. They played hard today. They played against a great ball club.”
The Wildcats will get no breaks in their 32-6A schedule. Next week, East will be tested on the road against a strong Los Fresnos group.
Weslaco East’s players loaded the bus immediately after the game to get back to campus and start work for next week.
Burget wasn’t ready to look forward to the game against Los Fresnos until he spoke with his coaches about what to fix from Friday.