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Big 7 teams have a tough 2 week
Six of the seven ISD football teams from Mission, Sharyland and La Joya, the Big 7, lost in their games last week. This is the bad news. All of these games except one were out of district games. This is the good news.
After a 1 week in which four Big 7 teams won their matches, two lost to other Big 7 teams and only one lost to a non-Big 7 team, things were looking up for our heroes. gridiron premises. But with all but the La Joya Coyotes succumbing to defeat in Week 2, the others will be looking to understand what went wrong and how they can turn the tide by coming out victorious in what is the opening of the District play for everyone except the Palmview Lobos, who opened their District 16-5A Division 1 schedule last week.
While it is true that the Mission Veterans Patriots and Pioneer Diamondbacks lost their Week 2 games by a combined score of 115-0 (not a typo), with the skill level of these two teams and with the The commitment to excellence that their coaches bring to their jobs, chances are it will be a long time before either team finds itself thrown out by 50 or more points again. And the fact that neither of those losses will have any effect on the Patriots or Diamondbacks’ chances in the playoffs, will almost certainly make it possible for these two teams to more easily put those losses behind them as they focus on their goals. respective district opponents from now on. .
So what does week 3 look like for the Big 7 teams? The Patriots and Juarez-Lincoln Huskies were both scheduled to play their Week 3 games last night; the Patriots against Valley View and the Huskies against Edinburg High. As for the Diamondbacks, they have a pass this week, so they’ll be enjoying the luxury of having an extra week to prepare for their District 16-5A Division II opener against the PSJA Memorial next week. There remain the Mission Eagles and the Coyotes, who are due to face off tonight at La Joya ISD Pack Stadium, the Palmview Lobos, who are also due to play in the McAllen Memorial Mustangs tonight, and the Sharyland Rattlers, who are due to host the Yellow Jackets from Edcouch Elsa tonight at Richard Thompson Stadium, and who we’ll be focusing on here until the end.
The Rattlers began their first season under head coach Craig Krell with an impressive 42-28 win in Week 1 over the Brownsville Pace Vikings. In that game, senior quarterback Orly Lopez made 10 of 17 attempted passes for 231 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. His quarterback odds against the Vikings were near perfect at 142.8. Lopez connected with four different receivers in his four touchdown passes; Tomas Robinson, Ricky Vasquez and twin brothers Alan and Alek Gonzalez.
Sharyland’s Alan Gonzalez scores the game’s first touchdown in the Rattlers’ Week 2 loss to Brownsville Hanna last Saturday. Progress Times photo by Luciano Guerra
Last Saturday, the Rattlers traveled to Sam’s Memorial Stadium in Brownsville to take on the Hanna Golden Eagles in a game that featured a highly unusual 11am kick-off time. As hot as it was on the pitch, the Rattlers were even hotter jumping to an early 20-0 lead thanks to a touchdown pass from Lopez to Alan Gonzalez, a 62-yard interception return of Alek’s choice. Gonzalez and a 33-yard touchdown from Alan Guerrero, all in the first quarter.
Unfortunately for Rattlers fans who braved the South Texas heat to watch their favorite team play, the Golden Eagles made a comeback that started with a touchdown on the final play of the first half and continued. with 30 points in the second half. Those 37 points, combined with the fact that the Rattlers were able to score just six points on two Mikaeli Nguma goals in the second half, brought the final score to 37-26 in favor of the home side.
So what went wrong for the Rattlers against Hanna? Krell found the fault on both sides of the ball.
“We didn’t move the ball as well,” Krell said. “We often got behind the eighth ball on the offensive side of the ball. We had a penalty or we had a bad snap and we always seemed to be second and long and third and long. And you are never going to win these battles, especially when you face good defense like Hanna did.
“On defense we gave up two really big plays,” added Krell. “We gave up an 83-yard rush and we gave up a 55-yard rush. We have to do a better job of stopping the race and being more consistent about it. “
Even with the loss, the Gonzalez twins’ play, both in attack and defense, was one of the bright spots Krell got out of the game.
So what makes the Gonzalez boys so special?
They are very good athletes, ”said Krell. “They are hard working kids and on top of that they are huge competitors. If they had what they wanted they would never get out of the game. But as coaches we have to be smart to play them. Just to make sure they last the whole season without them getting so shocked that we can’t finish the year with them.
As previously mentioned, the Rattlers are expected to open the District 16-5A Division II game against the Edcouch Elsa Yellow Jackets tonight. At first glance, the Yellow Jackets, who are currently 0-2 after losses to Los Fresnos (23-7) and PSJA North (35-0), may seem like a team the Rattlers can benefit from. However, Krell doesn’t take them lightly.
“Edcouch Elsa faced two tough teams,” said Krell. “They played against Los Fresnos and PSJA North. The PSJA North game has gotten a little out of hand, but North is a big, solid 6A program. These are two great programs and Edcouch Elsa is as good as anyone in our district. Their defensive line and linebackers are aggressive. They flock to football and they’re hitting so we don’t take these guys lightly at all. “
The 1-1 Sharyland Rattlers will open the District game against the 0-2 Edcouch Elsa Yellow Jackets tonight at Richard Thompson Stadium. Progress Times photo by Luciano Guerra
So what would a victory over the Yellow Jackets mean in his first year as head coach for Krell and his team?
“It would be huge,” Krell said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s my first year or not, one of the most important district games is the first and we’ve talked to our players about it. We want to be half of the schools in our district at the top of the rankings, not the bottom. It’s hard to constantly chase other teams and in order not to chase other teams you have to win the first one. This game is therefore important for everyone.
Tonight’s game between the Rattlers and the Yellow Jackets kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Richard Thompson Stadium.
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