BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
It was always supposed to be this way. Two schools, one city, one district champion.
Weslaco East and Weslaco High have been the class of District 31-6A this year. Each team enters today’s game at Bobby Lackey Stadium with an unblemished district record, and each has consistently cruised to lopsided wins. The victor is awarded the outright title, while the loser enters the postseason on a sour note.
The Wildcats (7-1, 5-0), boast the best statistical offense in 31-6A, averaging 43 points on 403 yards per game. During its six-game win streak, East has outscored opponents 268-82. Making their production more impressive is the fact the Wildcats return just one full-time offensive starter (senior left guard Jonathan Banda) from last year’s regional quarterfinal team.
The offensive line has been the key to East’s success in 2015. Though running back Emilio Tamez and multi-positional athlete Ciro Rojas have combined for 33 touchdowns, each has credited the O-line throughout the season for their success.
“We’ve got two coaches that handle the linemen,” East coach Mike Burget said. “Jesse Treviño, our offensive coordinator, and Coach Sergio Martinez do an excellent job of working with those kids and getting them ready. They take pride in making sure our quarterbacks and running backs don’t get hit.”
Despite such heavy roster turnover, Weslaco High coach Tony Villarreal sees the same opponent, at least in terms of X’s and O’s.
“Both sides are pretty familiar with each other,” Villarreal said. “Both teams already know what the other team is going to do. But we like it that way. We like lining up mano a mano and seeing who can play the cleanest game without the fewest number of mistakes. That’s what ultimately wins football games.”
The Panthers (7-2, 5-0) have won five games in a row and have largely gone unchallenged in their pursuit of a second consecutive district championship. Weslaco have beaten 31-6A opponents by an average margin of 39 points — including a 56-7 win over PSJA North on Sept. 25.
Though tonight’s game will have no shortage of intensity given what’s at stake, Villarreal hopes a tough non-district schedule will pay dividends in readying his team for a game in which winner takes all.
“We’ve played in about four or five game of the weeks this year,” Villarreal said. “That’s why we play the Harlingen and Donna and Corpus Christi King and Harlingen South. It gets the kids used to playing in stadiums with a lot of people and gets them used to playing in a high-stakes environment. They’ll be ready, but it certainly won’t be easy.”
Win or lose, both teams are already guaranteed a home playoff game next week. Weslaco High will likely face Los Fresnos, while Weslaco East will likely host Brownsville Veterans Memorial. Burget uses the postseason as a means of putting tonight’s game in context for his players.
“It’s just a football game,” Burget said. “Win or lose, we won’t stop playing. We didn’t stop playing when we lost to San Benito. We went back to work and got better. Same thing with this game. We want to win, expect a clean game on both sides, but even if we lose, we know we get to play another day.”
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