By Ramiro Paez

956sports.com

EDINBURG – Edinburg Economedes finished the 2011 season without a victory.

Still, Jaguars coach Gabe Peña is proud of what his team accomplished. Now no, you wouldn’t be able to find it in the win column or any other obvious indicator, but rather in his players’ demeanor.

Peña acknowledges just the type of player it takes to endure a season filled with adversity and tribulations. Football isn’t for the faint of heart. More so, when a team can’t enjoy the taste of victory.

So maybe Peña’s right. What the Jaguars “accomplished” last season maybe does mean more than most people realize.

“Last year we established a practice means something,” the second-year coach said. “You had to show up to practice to participate. You could only get better at the game of football if you showed up to practice. Those were some things we instilled in the program.

“I was very proud of the effort of the boys. I was very proud of the effort of the coaching staff because in a sense we circled the wagons. We never took steps backwards in what we wanted to accomplish as a program. We kept going forward and kept those demands up. We feel good about where we are even though it was a learning season for all of us.”

Now this season is about putting that “learning” to the test. To Economedes, 2012 is about executing on the new demands, those being aggressiveness, confidence and maturity, the team has set forth. If it is successful, Peña says the program has a chance to rise from the cellar and have performances the team can be proud of.

“We did our work in laying a foundation and establishing new demands,” he said. “Now we just got to follow through on those same demands we forced upon our kids. Now, we’re seeing they have bought into that.”

In turn, people should expect to see a hungry Jaguars squad out to prove something. Economedes has 19 returning starters, including eight on offense and all 11 on defense, which should make the Jaguars one of the most experienced teams in District 30-5A.

On offense, the Jaguars bring back their entire line, which has Peña singing high praises. Last season, Economedes ran the ball effectively, producing almost 325 yards per game, with much of the credit owed to the line, consisting of seniors Felix Gallegos, Hugo Jimenez, Luis Prieto, Hugo Guajardo and Genaro Acevedo.

Everything again will go through and depend on them. If the offensive line can win in the trenches, the rest of the offense will fall into place.

“It can be good,” junior halfback Tony Yzaguirre said of the offense. “We have our quarterback and the whole line return. We’ve been doing pretty good. We’ve been working hard.”

The same could be said of the defense.

Senior strong safety Andy Duarte grinned from ear-to-ear when he heard the mention of his defense and the potential it encompasses. Duarte referred to it as “a force to be reckoned with.”

It’s that kind of determined mentality and self-assured tone that lets one know, especially Peña, the changing of a culture has commenced at Economedes.

“We can be great,” Duarte said of his defense. “Our spring scrimmage, it was intense. I’m extremely confident. I have no doubt in my mind we can be one of the top defenses in the Valley.”

Returning Offensive Starters: 8

Returning Defensive Starters: 11

Returning Lettermen: 40

Offensive Players to Watch: Luis Alvarez, junior, QB; Felix Gallegos, senior, OL; Hugo Jimenez, senior, OL; Luis Prieto, senior, OL; Tony Yzaguirre, junior, RB

Defensive Players to Watch: Andy Duarte, senior, safety; Oscar Garcia, senior, CB; John Jacob Castro, junior, DL; Aliver Garza, junior, LB; Robert Brown, junior, LB

Last Year’s Record: 0-10

Last Time Made Playoffs: 2003 (area, Corpus Christi King)