KEVIN LU | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — Weslaco East’s dynamic 1-2 punch keyed a 62-48 win over Edinburg Economedes on Thursday night at Cats Stadium.
Weslaco East (6-1, 2-1 31-6A) leaned on seniors Darren Rivas and Lupe Moron as it returned to the site of its only loss this year, a double-overtime loss to Edinburg North two weeks earlier.
The duo took different positions to begin the game. The running back Moron went behind center and the quarterback Rivas split out. When Moron took the snap, the Economedes cornerback opposite Rivas approached the runner. Moron tossed an easy pass to a wide-open Rivas, who completed an 80-yard touchdown on the Wildcats’ first play from scrimmage.
“Darren is one of our best receivers. We figured they’d be keying on Lupe,” Weslaco East coach Michael Burget said of the play that gave the Wildcats an early 7-0 lead. “Easy touchdown. We like it that way.”
The Jaguars punted the ball on the ensuing possession. Moron fielded the punt off a bounce and returned it 75 yards for another score. Weslaco East was up 14-0 before it ran a second offensive play.
The Wildcats had a 21-7 lead in the second quarter when Moron took a hand-off up the middle. He spun out of the grip of three Jaguars defenders before bolting out of the scrum for a 62-yard touchdown. He also added a 25-yard scoring run in the quarter to give Weslaco East a 34-13 lead going into halftime.
Moron finished with a game-high 215 yards rushing and three touchdowns to go with a game-high 80 yards passing on the touchdown pass.
“I guess that’s an average night,” Burget joked about Moron.
Both teams found the end zone on seven straight possessions in the second half. Weslaco East was up 48-34 in the fourth quarter when a member of its kickoff return team fumbled the ball following a Jaguars touchdown. Six plays later, Jaguars senior Rudy Castillo scored on a 13-yard run to pull Economedes within 48-41.
It took the Wildcats two plays to pull away again. Rivas took the snap and ran the ball 46 yards for his fourth touchdown. His final score came on the next Wildcats possession to put the game out of reach.
Rivas finished with 114 yards rushing and four touchdowns to go with his receiving score.
“I didn’t call half of those plays; he called half of those plays,” Burget said. “He checked in and put our running backs in a good situation… I didn’t know sometimes what the play was.”
Economedes (2-4, 0-2) had more total yards than Weslaco East, but also had 15 penalties that cost the Jaguars 104 yards. Five different Economedes players reached the end zone. Charlie Vela had a team-high 102 rushing yards and two touchdowns.