By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — For the first time in three years, Edinburg Vela fielded a roster without Robert Guerra’s name on it.
The senior running back has sat out games in the past, but never has his future with the team been in doubt as it has this week, after he and three other teammates were charged with criminal mischief in connection to vandalism on the campus of Edinburg High, days before the rival schools were set to face one another at Richard Flores Stadium.
On Friday, the teams met for only the third time on the football field, and Vela won handily, 42-14, without Guerra, the District 31-5A MVP in 2015, in action.
The SaberCats recovered a string of turnovers to score a 28-0 first-quarter lead, improving to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in district. What lies ahead remains uncertain after Daniel Elizondo, Guerra, Ryan Javier Rios and Samuel Valenzuela were arraigned before a judge Wednesday and charged with criminal mischief, a state jail felony.
They were accused of spray painting “RV” and “Robert Vela” on the Edinburg High practice field and press box earlier this week. They were issued three-day suspensions but remained enrolled at the school.
Asked if the players would suit up for the team again, should they get absolved of the charges, Edinburg Vela coach Michael Salinas suggested it was out of his control.
“Obviously we don’t condone anything that happened,” Salinas said. “Apologies now to all of EHS and all of their administration and staff, on behalf of our football program. Our guys continue to battle. This is a district issue, and I’m going to leave it in their hands.”
In their absence, the SaberCats turned to a familiar scoring source in Cristian Flores, the sophomore running back who filled in nicely in Guerra’s one-game absence earlier in the month. Flores ran 18 times for 130 yards and three touchdowns on Friday, with two of those coming on the SaberCats’ first two drives.
Going forward, Flores could see a spike in carries, especially if Guerra does not rejoin the team. Through three games, Guerra was the district’s rushing leader with 825 yards and 13 touchdowns, including 96 receiving yards and two scoring hauls. He also totaled nine TDs in the season opener, breaking a Valley record and tying him for third all-time in Texas high school football history.
With Guerra sitting out the third game of the year, Flores became only the second other player for Vela to score, after the senior back had been responsible for 12 of their first 13 touchdowns. Friday’s output again emphasized Flores’ value to the team, given their aspirations of capturing a District 31-6A crown.
Vela trails just PSJA North (5-0, 2-0) for the district lead.
“We talk about next man up, and I think our guys understand that,” Salinas said. “We talk about no player being bigger than the program. They understand this is going to be a team effort. I think they truly understood that this week. They came together. They understand the standard around here is the best, and tonight we got the best out of each one of these guys.”
IMPRESSIVE ‘D’
The SaberCats culminated a week marred by off-field distractions with one of their better defensive efforts of the season. They held Edinburg High to 47 plays (compared to Vela’s 70) and just 170 yards, 159 on those on the ground. They recovered two interceptions and three fumbles, four of those turnovers picked off on the Bobcats’ first four drives.
Vela scored in each of those instances with Flores punching in scoring runs of 2 and 48 yards, respectively, on consecutive sequences. Timothy Ellington then returned a fumble for a 72-yard touchdown, and Vela used another fumble to set up a 17-yard scoring strike from Nathan Garcia to Marcos Santos for a 28-0 cushion with 4:51 left in the first quarter.
“Coach told us from the very beginning we had to come out and hit them in the mouth,” rover Ryan Rodriguez said. “He said we had to hunt as a pack, and we did. Better than ever, I think.”
He added: “We just stayed together as one. We blocked out all the noise. We know it was more than each other. It was more of a team thing, and we had to focus on staying together.”
ON THE MARK
Garcia enjoyed his best game as Vela’s starting quarterback, completing 19 of 22 passes for 140 yards and two scores. He also ran 13 times for 26 yards.
Despite an injury that caused him to miss a drive during the second half, Garcia returned to close out the game. Backup Marc Buhidar, a sophomore, filled in for Garcia and came up empty on two passing attempts. With Garcia back under center, Buhidar was utilized as a running back and he picked up 55 yards on 12 carries.
UP NEXT
Vela travels to take on PSJA Southwest on Oct. 7. Meanwhile, Edinburg High (2-3, 1-1 in district) stays at home to take on PSJA Memorial.
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