Business boomin’ for PSJA North’s “Blackshirt Defense”
By BRYAN RAMOS
Staff Writer
PSJA North brings back seven starters of its vaunted “Blackshirt Defense,” and the unit has picked up right where it left off after a dominant display during Week 1.
The Raiders demolished rival PSJA High in this year’s edition of the Tri-City Classic, starting the season with a shutout.
PSJA North pitched four shutouts during the 2021 regular season. During the summer, the Raiders advanced to the Texas State 7-on-7 Football Tournament in College Station by holding two opponents scoreless and two more to 13 and six points, respectively, in state qualifying action.
Now, the Raiders are rolling right along after their 49-0 win over the Bears to kick off the 2022 season.
“It’s just the tradition of our ‘Blackshirt Defense.’ We’re hard-hitting, everybody flies to the ball, we do what we’re supposed to do and win games,” junior middle linebacker Mikey Gonzales said. “We’re hoping to use the experience we got to dominate and win games.”
Gonzales finished with nine tackles, three for loss, and two sacks against the rival Bears.
Defensive back Leroy Palacios also had himself a day against PSJA High with one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery to go with five solo tackles.
SABERCATS UNLEASH THREE QUARTERBACKS
Edinburg Vela sent three different quarterbacks behind center for live action during the first quarter of its season opener against Edinburg North in Week 1, and all three delivered.
Senior Bobby Garcia was the first quarterback up and tossed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Tamez. Next was sophomore Myles Lopez, who on his first play from scrimmage, connected with Justin Navarro down the left sideline for a 62-yard catch and run for six. Then, Braden Luedeker, a sophomore transfer from Victoria West, showed off his ability by punching in a 1-yard touchdown run.
Garcia finished 6-for-9 for 108 yards with one passing touchdown, and 50 rushing yards and a score on the ground. Lopez went 2-for-6 for 72 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Luedeker ended with 50 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 10 attempts, and also passed for 6 yards on one completion.
All three made the most of their opportunities, a good sign of things to come this season for top-ranked Edinburg Vela.
200-YARD RUSHERS
A trio of running backs is off to a blazing hot start after torching defenses for 200 yards or more to lead their respective teams to Week 1 wins.
La Villa junior Rey Perez led the pack with 225 yards on just 12 carries for an outstanding 18.8 yards per run. He scored three touchdowns from distances of 2, 55 and 80 yards to lift the Cardinals 54-0 over Progreso.
PSJA Memorial started the season in the win column while riding its workhorse running back, Oziel Flores, to an 11-0 victory against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln. Flores kept the chains moving for the Wolverines as he handled 29 carries for 204 yards, averaging 7 yards per touch.
McAllen Memorial’s Max Alaniz-Choy rumbled for 201 yards on 23 carries and one touchdown to lead the Mustangs to a 31-28 win on the road against Brownsville Hanna. Alaniz-Choy has another opportunity for a big day as he leads Memorial into the RGVSports.com Week 2 Game of the Week against Mission Veterans at 7:30 p.m. Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
