GREG LUCA & MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITERS
Already regarded as Weslaco East’s top all-purpose threat, J.C. Vargas added one more role to his arsenal last week: quarterback.
In a 62-14 win against Brownsville Rivera on Saturday, Vargas completed 3 of 4 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Before that game, he had attempted just one pass on the year.
Regular starter Richard LeFevre also attempted four passes, completing one for 8 yards.
“We felt like at the time J.C. had the hot hand, so we ran with J.C.,” coach Mike Burget said. “Richard is still our starting quarterback. J.C. is our starting quarterback. It depends on the situation of the game.”
Vargas ranks as the team’s leader with 11 catches, 221 receiving yards and four interceptions as a defensive back. He has also run 57 times for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Weslaco East is 4-4 overall and 2-3 in District 32-6A with matchups remaining against Harlingen South and Brownsville Hanna. The Wildcats are tied with Hanna and Los Fresnos for fourth in the district standings, with Weslaco High just ahead at 3-2.
Burget said he was proud of his team for overcoming adversity this season, battling more injuries than he can remember facing in his coaching career.
“It’s been very competitive this year. I’ve been very pleased,” Burget said. “Do I wish we would’ve won more games? Of course, not to put ourselves in this situation. But sometimes injuries and the luck of the bounce and the calls on the field affect a lot of games.”
NEXT MAN UP
With McAllen Rowe starting quarterback Jesus Sanchez out due to a torn meniscus, senior William Savage has taken on the starting role. In two games — a win against Mission High and a loss to McAllen High — Savage has completed 32 of 50 passes for 346 yards and a touchdown without an interception.
“William has been a program kid who has worked extremely hard throughout his career with us,” Rowe coach Bobby Flores said. “He’s a smart kid. A very coachable kid. I’m really happy with the way he’s performed for us.”
Rowe’s offense affords Savage many easy throws. On the Warriors’ sweep plays, he can toss the ball underhand to a player running just a yard or two in front of him.
Still, Flores said orchestrating the offense successfully requires a great deal of timing with the receivers and backs, especially given Rowe’s penchant for play-action and pre-snap motion. Savage had developed those skills with regular practice reps dating back to the spring, and Flores said he has only grown more comfortable during his time as the Warriors’ starter.
“He hadn’t really had to do it live and in color versus a No. 1 defense,” Flores said. “That, I think, he’s gotten better at the last couple of games with experience.”
With a 2-2 record, Rowe is in a four-way deadlock for second place in the District 30-6A standings. McAllen Memorial leads at 4-0, Mission High will miss the postseason at 1-4, and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln faces an uphill battle at 2-3 and drawing Memorial this week.
La Joya High, La Joya Palmview, McAllen High and Rowe all sit 2-2 and will battle for three playoff spots.
“I knew coming in that every night was going to be a battle, and it’s still that way,” Flores said. “As far as how I feel about our position, I know that we need to play well in order to win. There’s no team in our district that’s going to be easy. So we need to focus on getting better.”
CLOSING OUT STRONG
With a loss to Edinburg Economedes in the regular-season finale last year, Edinburg North was ruled out of the playoffs.
Cougars coach Rene Saenz reminded his players during the offseason about the importance of finishing strong to avoid the same letdown in 2016. And with two games remaining in the regular season, Edinburg North is facing a somewhat similar situation.
The fourth and final playoff berth in District 31-6A will come down to Economedes (3-2 in district) and Edinburg North (2-3). The Jaguars, who sit in fourth place, have the tougher schedule, taking on PSJA North and Edinburg Vela, two of the top 10 teams in the Valley. The Cougars, currently in fifth, face PSJA Memorial and PSJA High, both of whom are out of playoff contention.
The circumstances have given Edinburg North, which opened the season losing four straight games, an added boost of confidence down the stretch.
“It’s been ingrained in them, because of last year, that we have to finish strong,” Saenz said. “That’s what we tell the kids every day. We look at each other and we have this belief that we can play with anybody you put in front of us. Our record (2-6 overall) doesn’t show it, but the kids’ belief is there.”
What’s helped Edinburg North, Saenz said, is an improving defense that has not allowed its opponent to score into the 30s in the last four games. And also the emergence of senior quarterback Cristian Espinoza, who had arguably his best game of the year in Week 9, completing 13 of 19 attempts for 125 yards and one touchdown and no interceptions.
“I just think the kids are starting to fit in and work well with each other,” Saenz said. “Early on, we weren’t meshing very well as far as finishing plays, finishing drives. Defensively, we learned how to get teams off the field on third downs. And offensively, we’ve learned how to convert a few of those third downs.
“The longer your offense is on the floor, the less chance the team has to score. We’re a ball-control offense, so that’s critical for us.”