MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
Sharing a stadium with other tenants can bring a host of scheduling conflicts and compromises. Few teams experience that as much as Edinburg Vela and La Joya High, which is in the unenviable position of playing a combined nine games on a Thursday night this season.
Thursday, the two square off in the shortened-week matchup at 7 p.m. Cat Memorial Stadium.
“We’re going to do the best we can,” Vela coach Michael Salinas said. “Eliminate distractions. It’s tough.
“It’s familiar to us (having played four Thursday night games). Your preparation changes a bit. You can’t waste a day.”
Neither Vela (2-0) or La Joya (1-1) have any distinct advantage in the Week 3 matchup. Both played last Friday and have had the same number of teams to prepare for the other. The SaberCats, of course, are the home team and carry a two-game winning streak into tonight’s tilt. La Joya is coming off a 33-16 win over Donna North.
When the two collide tonight, it’ll mark the first of a slate of Thursday games for both squads. Vela plays three of its four Thursday night games at Cat Memorial, home to Edinburg Economedes, Edinburg High and Edinburg North. By contrast, La Joya High plays three of its five Thursday games at Coyote Stadium, occupied by La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and La Joya Palmview.
“We were in the same boat last year,” La Joya High coach George Espinoza said. “It’s just the luck of the draw. When it’s a Thursday game, you’re trying to condense everything. It’s an adjustment.”
Vela fared better in the Thursday games in 2013, coming away with a 3-2 record. Perhaps coincidentally, all those wins came at home, including a 49-0 win over La Joya, while both losses were on the road. La Joya, which finished 1-9 last season, won only one of the four Thursday night games last year, beating Brownsville Porter 64-0.
After tonight, Vela will play host to Valley View (0-2) and Mission Veterans (2-0) following a bye, with a road trip to Rio Grande City (2-0) as part of the Thursday action.
La Joya High (1-1) plays host to Weslaco East (2-0) and McAllen Rowe (1-1) in short weeks. It’ll go on the road for McAllen High (1-1) and Mission High (1-1).
The general idea is that the team playing on Thursday loses a day, forcing coaches to condense practices. In some instances, that means only have two days of contact practices, with coaches doing their part in trying to keep their players fresh Wednesday.
With that comes the risk of hurried practices, skimming through game film and breezing through the playbook and schemes.
“I don’t think anyone wants to play on a short week,” Salinas said. “It’s going to post another obstacle that we have to face. But our coaching staff does a great job of preparing our players.
“In a multi-school district, you’re going to battle over the stadium. It’s just how it goes.”