DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
PHARR — Fundamentals. Sure tackling. Sound, not fancy. Great, not good.
This is what it takes to play defense at PSJA High.
“Defense is the backbone of this program,” senior defensive back Bobby Guard said. “A stacked defense, aggressive, hard-hitting … that’s PSJA. We’re just trying to maintain that, get it known again in the Valley.”
Consider it done.
The Bears (4-2, 2-1 District 32-5A) are the fourth-best defense in the Valley in regard to yards allowed. They allow 12.8 points on 199.6 yards per game. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. They were seventh in defense in the Valley last year.
It’s second-year coach Steve Marroquin’s recipe for success. Develop kids who are tough, aggressive and no-nonsense, and voila!
You have the Bears.
“The season before I got here (2012), the defense hadn’t done so well, and that’s one of the first things I addressed,” Marroquin said. “You think about PSJA High, you think about running the football and tough defense, tough kids.
“Our guys have bought in.”
ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK
It’s a quartet of playmakers that has spurred the defense: Guajardo, linebacker/defensive back Eric Castillo, 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker Christian Sanchez, and 6-3, 260-pound defensive end Thomas Quiroz.
“It’s pretty simple,” Castillo said. “We take away zones, take away the gaps. Christian plugs the holes. The rest of us make the reads.”
Sanchez is the engine, compiling 54 total tackles, four fumble recoveries, three fumbles caused, 2.5 sacks and two defensive touchdowns this year.
But where PSJA High thrives is its depth. Despite his overpowering presence, Sanchez has been double-teamed all game just once this season, against Brownsville Pace two weeks ago. Because opponents also have to account for the likes of Guajardo (37 total tackles, one fumble caused, one interception), Castillo (48 total tackles, three fumbles caused, two interceptions) and Quiroz (29 total tackles), they can’t afford to single out just one Bears defensive player.
Sanchez likes it that way.
“I know teams will double-team me more as the season goes on,” he said with a smile, “but I really, really hope they don’t.”
PSJA High’s defensive M.O. is the same as any good defensive team: stop the run. It just so happens the Bears are better at it than most, surrendering just 108 rushing yards per game.
That success is birthed from simplicity. The Bears run just a handful of formations. The players do all the work.
“Our defense isn’t hard or complex,” Quiroz said. “Just attack.”
THE SPARK
While Sanchez may be the Kevin Durant of the defense, Castillo is the Russell Westbrook.
He plays three positions (linebacker, safety and cornerback), five including offense, and has solid genes. His brother Jesse was an all-district standout for the Bears three years ago.
“I love playing linebacker,” said Castillo, who last week returned an interception for a touchdown. “My brother was really good at it and I’ve always wanted to be like him. I get compared to him a lot, and I want to be better.”
It’s certainly possible.
“Eric’s a heck of a football player,” Marroquin said. “He does everything and anything. He’s the true meaning of a football player. Out of all the kids we have, he’s the one that when he steps onto the field every day, he goes 110 miles per hour.”
Entering the season, Marroquin didn’t know what to expect from his defense.
The unit returned just two starters and lost All-Valley defensive linemen Ray Guajardo and Nick Mendoza. And another hurdle occurred late in the summer when defensive coordinator Elifonso Esquivel abruptly retired, and Eddie Torres and Crespin Gonzalez were named co-defensive coordinators not long before the start of two-a-days.
But Marroquin said those question marks quickly turned into check marks, thanks to the emergence of the four seniors as leaders, not just gritty hard-hitters.
“We’re a family on this defense, and that’s what makes this fun,” Bobby Guajardo said. “When it comes to defense, we’re focused.
“Playing defense for the Bears takes a toll on us. But it also wins games for us.”