McALLEN — The McAllen Memorial Mustangs closed out the regular season with nine consecutive wins, capturing the outright District 16-5A DI crown, while finishing with a perfect 9-0 district record.
The Mustangs ran through opponents on their way to their 12 straight postseason appearances, rushing for 3,163 yards and 39 touchdowns on the year.
McAllen Memorial deployed a three-man rushing attack all season, with Max Alaniz-Choy, Ethan Castillo and Marcos De La Cruz each rushing for more than 700 yards.
Still, when discussing the Mustangs’ dominant rushing attack, the key to their success begins up front, McAllen Memorial head coach Moses Patterson said following his team’s 35-17 win over Brownsville Veterans on Oct. 21.
“The O-line are kind of the unsung heroes of the whole thing,” Patterson said. “They’ve done a great job. They’ve worked hard all year. We had some little dings here and there, but they’ve managed to work through all of that.
“They feature themselves through the running backs. The running backs do a great job. We have a lot of talent back there. But it all starts up front.”
The Mustangs offensive line is hard to miss prior to games, each starter standing over six feet, while weighing more than 250 pounds. They’re led by a group of veterans, returning four of five starters from last season, including a trio of seniors in Alejandro Avila, Devin Villarreal and Jaylun Williams.
Avila and Williams anchor the right side, lining up at right tackle and right guard, respectively, while Villarreal serves as the team’s center. On the other side, junior left tackle Thomas Domian, the fourth returning letterman, is joined by sophomore Carlos Rodriguez in manning the trenches.
The group’s chemistry has played a huge part in their success on the field, McAllen Memorial offensive line coach Robert Jasso said, playing as a unit instead of as individuals.
“They’re a hard-working bunch,” Jasso said. “In my nine years as a varsity line coach, this is probably the hardest working group that I’ve had. Their chemistry is a testament to that. They come together really well. They hang out in school and out of school. It’s fun to watch and see them do their thing. It’s to the point right now where I don’t do much coaching anymore. … Right now, they’re running the show right now.”
Their chemistry began forming during the offseason, Villarreal said, with the group getting together for weight-room sessions and pasta nights.
“With a great bond comes great chemistry,” Villarreal said. “I really feel like if we didn’t hang out, we wouldn’t be a great O-line. We try to hang out together as much as we can.
“Over the summer we loved to go lift together. We were just striving to be great and pushing each other. I think that’s what helped us out and become a group.”
While big in size, the Mustangs’ front five prides itself on being able to explode off the ball and being quick on their feet, a trait necessary for the Mustangs’ ground-and-pound attack, Jasso said.
“It’s a testament to our offseason program,” he said. “That’s one thing that’s pushed here aside from the weight room and strength and conditioning. It’s our agility drills and all that stuff. We stress all of that. We don’t just focus on our skills guys. We want our big guys to move too because we do a lot of pulling and it gives us a bunch of different ways to block for our whole offense.”
With a combination of size and speed, the Mustangs’ front five have helped the offense rush for more than 200 yards in eight of their 10 games, including a pair of 500-yard performances.
While they might not garner the headlines, the success of their running backs is a testament to their hard work, Williams said, celebrating each time one of them gets into the end zone.
“Honest opinion, our running backs give us all the praise,” Williams said. “Our running backs know the work we put in. Being able to look at them after they get a touchdown, it’s an amazing feeling that you did your job, aside from getting the praise and stuff like that. It’s just an amazing feeling to know you were able to get down and dominate the player in front of you.”
The Mustangs (9-1, 9-0) host the Victoria West Warriors (6-4, 5-3) during their Class 5A-DII bi-district round matchup at 7 tonight at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen.