BY GREG LUCA AND MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
When Fernando De La Rosa left La Joya High before the end of his junior year last spring to start working with his parents, coach Reuben Farias wasn’t sure if he would be returning to the defensive backfield come fall.
De La Rosa ranked fourth on the 2015 team with 53 tackles, but he told Farias that he was contemplating not coming back for his senior year.
“We had assumed he wasn’t going to play,” Farias said. “But right now, he’s one of the young men that is anchoring the secondary.”
De La Rosa opted to come back, and through four games he ranks tied for the team lead with 25 tackles.
He’s listed on the roster at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, although Farias admits that weight figure might be slightly inflated. Still, his stature hasn’t prevented him from ranking as one of the team’s hardest hitters.
“He’s a very physical player,” Farias said. “He’ll come and lay a hit on them. He’s not going to shy away from contact. If he has a chance to tag guys, he will. He’s going to light you up.”
De La Rosa always impressed Farias with his attitude and effort, so the coaches opted to move him to free safety from strong safety for this season.
There, he has a better opportunity to read and react to plays, using his speed to find the ball on every snap.
“I know he was kind of hesitant at the beginning of the school year and during the offseason when we were making that switch,” Farias said. “But now, he realizes that it’s for the better. He’s going to be a better leader and a better motivator. He’s going to be involved more from the free safety position than he was last year.”
Farias said De La Rosa is looking into the possibility of graduating in December.
BACK ON TRACK
After winning 20 straight regular-season games dating back to its 2014 opener, McAllen Memorial suffered back-to-back losses against Weslaco East and San Benito in Weeks 2 and 3.
“We’re not used to losing,” Memorial coach Bill Littleton said. “It was tough. It’s tough on our community. Tough on us. Tough on the coaches. Nobody ever wants to go out and lose a ball game. But sometimes, you have to lose to learn what you need to get better at. I think our kids responded well and continue to fight and battle and continue to get better every week.”
The Mustangs showed their resiliency last week, knocking off the Valley’s No. 2 ranked team, Los Fresnos, 32-30 on the road.
Littleton said playing well on offense, defense and special teams to come out with a win gave the team momentum heading into its district opener Friday against La Joya Palmview.
“It was probably the most complete ball game we’ve had,” Littleton said. “There were maybe spots we played better here and there, but as a team in all three phases of the game, that was probably our best game.”
Littleton credited the improvement to the team’s young skill players growing up. Senior Emilio Mendez has been the Mustangs’ leader with 440 rushing yards and six touchdowns, but he is the only senior who regularly touches the ball. Junior quarterback Angel Almaguer, junior back JoJo Williams and freshman back Campbell Speights have been the other key skill players.
“Every ball game they get under their belt they get a little better, and their confidence continues to grow,” Littleton said.
RELYING ON THE DEFENSE
Despite Edinburg High posting the second-best defense in terms of yards allowed (262.2 per game) in District 31-6A, coach J.J Leija sees room for improvement.
At times, his Bobcats have given up big plays, and it’s the reason why he feels his team has dropped two of the first three games. Still, the first-year coach takes solace in his team’s ability to keep games close as they ease into a new system.
“Defensively, they’re all putting their weight in,” Leija said. “They’re all believing in the package (a 4-2-5 alignment with multiple fronts). They’re all in on what we’re teaching them. We’re a young group, so hopefully we can carry it into the next two weeks, where we keep it close.”
After taking on Economedes, Edinburg High will face Edinburg Vela, which averages 42.7 points per game. The Bobcats, for their part, boast a middling offense, though they saw improvement in their last game, two weeks ago against La Joya Palmview.
Edinburg put up 390 yards of offense on its way to a 19-13 win. What’s slowed the Bobcats down on that side of the ball is turnovers. But as Edinburg High’s defense continues delivering, Leija believes his team should remain competitive.
“We’re a young group, and they’re still learning,” Leija said. “We’re trying to fix things, because as they say, the best defense is a good offense. So we’re very fortunate to have stayed within striking distance. We’re just looking for better execution.”
SHORING UP ERRORS
Having started the season 0-3, PSJA Memorial coach Michael Uribe said he worked with his team on limiting some of the “self-induced errors” that have prevented it from capitalizing on opportunities.
“Whether it’s coverage busts, misalignments, (errors) returning punts or kickoffs that have cost us field position, dropped balls which have prevented us from getting first down, we have to give our opponents credits,” Uribe said. “But those are things we have to clean up.”
Scoring only one touchdown and allowing 107 points, Uribe said the team didn’t use last week’s bye so much to scheme for its 31-6A opener against PSJA North as it did reinforce fundamentals: blocking, tackling, route-running, etc.
Also, with a relatively inexperienced team, Uribe said he felt conditioning could give his team an edge as it enters a six-game district slate. So, the past two weeks, he had his team running more.
“Our kids have no quit,” Uribe said. “They’re giving maximum effort. They’re not being critical of each other. It really has been a family atmosphere. This is an organization that has gone through rough times, but it’s because we’re sticking through this that we’re going to get better sooner rather than later. Those are things that don’t stand out on the stat sheet.”