With a 24-6 victory over Laredo Cigarroa in Week 2, Roma again demonstrated how much emphasis it has placed on defense this season.
The Gladiators missed the playoffs in 2013 by way of positive points. The tiebreaker could have been avoided, defensive coordinator Frank Villanueva believes, had his team not given up a big run and go-ahead touchdown to Mission Veterans Memorial in a game that ultimately dashed Roma’s postseason hopes. That’s a big reason why the Gladiators (2-0) have preached “don’t give up the big play” for every game this year.
Roma gave up a run for more than 60 yards early in Saturday’s game, but the Gladiators rallied to hold Cigarroa to only one score the rest of the way. What helped, too, was that the Roma offense maintained possession for the entire third quarter, rejuvenating Roma’s defense in the fourth. It eased the load on players like Diego Cantu (six tackles, two broken up passes) and Juan Peña (two tackles, two broken up passes, one interception) who came up big in the Gladiators’ second straight win.
“The best defense is having your offense on the field,” Villanueva said. “They were just flying to the ball, tackling, making big stops.
“Last year, our defense was good but there were situations in third-and-long or fourth-and-long that we gave up first downs. This year, our kids, they set the goal that we want to make the playoffs. And we know by having a good defense, that gets us over the hump.”
PLAYING FOUR QUARTERS
Edinburg Vela’s 42-17 win over Harlingen South over the weekend meant more to the SaberCats than just recording their second consecutive victory. For Vela coach Michael Salinas, it was about his team putting together their first complete game of the season.
The SaberCats (2-0) have shown flashes of exceptional play from their scrimmages and the season opener. But Salinas felt he had yet to see an all-around game, for 48 minutes, from his squad. They finally demonstrated that Friday by scoring three touchdowns in the final period, blowing the door open on a game that Vela led 21-17 at the end of the third quarter.
“We’re still a young program, so this South game was a big game for us to give us an opportunity to play four quarters,” he said. “It was a four-point game going into the fourth quarter and we found out about the character of our ballclub. … The good thing is, we had a formidable opponent in Harlingen South, and our kids proved that they could play against a 6A football team. We went blow-to-blow to get this victory.”
Anthony Arredondo (113 yards, four touchdowns) scored twice in the final stretch. Ebher Lopez connected with Elijah Reyna on a 2-yard score. And the defense, led by DE John Gonzalez and LB John Treviño, blanked South in the final 12 minutes. It was a stout defensive effort by Vela, which allowed only one score (a field goal) in the latter three quarters.
MAINTAINING POSSESSION
Rio Grande City coach Carlos Longoria understands his relatively young team is going to experience growing pains. But by committing five turnovers in a 36-27 loss to Port Isabel in Week 2, the Rattlers dug themselves an even deeper hole to climb out of.
“We played hard for four quarters,” he said, “but you can’t win a game with five turnovers.”
Part of that could be attributed to the shuffling lineup, with players trying to fill the vacancies left by tight end Bobby Reyes and running back Casimiro Olivares, both of whom are out with knee injuries. Each is expected to return within the next two weeks, giving Longoria a sense of optimism moving forward, with only two non-district games remaining.
“Injuries really hurt us,” Longoria said. “We were limited offensively with what we could’ve done. We had no running game. There’s a reason those guys are starters. I think that’s something that we sorely missed. But I’m glad we’re going to be getting them back.”
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
McAllen High got back in the win column this week, but coach Kevin Brewer felt his team’s performance left a lot to be desired.
A week after losing the season opener 35-7 to Odessa Permian, McHi routed Edinburg High 32-6 on Friday in Edinburg. Regardless of the score, Brewer’s biggest takeaway was the number of errors the Bulldogs made on both sides of the ball.
“We’re still making too many mistakes,” Brewer said. “Too many penalties. Too many turnovers. Missed tackles. Bad snaps. Kicks out of bounds. You name it, we’re doing it. We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got to get better. We’re happy to win, but we’ve got to play better.”
McAllen also struggled in the passing game, and Brewer said quarterback Fred Hover “missed some real gimme throws.” Hover ran well when given the opportunity, but Brewer wants to see the passing improve.
“We’ve got to be more consistent in the passing game,” Brewer said. “We’ve got to have a higher completion percentage than what we’re doing right now.”
Running back Ricky Rodriguez was McAllen’s bright spot, as Brewer said he bounced back from a slow start and an early fumble to put together a strong second half.
“He looked more himself than he did the week before,” Brewer said. “He ran good. A lot of yards after contact and ran real tough.”
While Brewer took many negatives from the win, Edinburg High coach Joaquin Escobar took some positives from the loss, even as his team dropped to 0-2.
He said an offensive line that starts two sophomores and a senior who had not played football before this season made strides in pass protection.
Backup quarterback Efrain Borrego played well in place of banged-up starter Angel Diaz, the defense showed flashes and, most importantly, the team played with the right mentality.
“The kids never quit, which is the best thing about it,” Escobar said. “That’s the most important thing. They’re building something there.”