A lot has changed for Edinburg Vela football this offseason.

After former Sabercats head coach John Campbell retired this offseason, Ernie Alonzo was brought in to fill the shoes.

Alonzo is a former assistant at Vela, having made stops with the programs at Weslaco High and McAllen High before returning to Vela.

"Our kids here for the last 12 years, they're a resilient bunch," Alonzo said. "When we went 0-10 (the first year), they still came out here every single day. Went 5-5 (the second year) and then the last 10 years, 10 straight playoff appearances. Our standard is the standard. It's a standard of excellency."

Alonzo joins a Vela team with a lot of talent.

The team posted a 10-2 record last season and went 6-1 in district.

That success took the team into the playoffs where the Sabercats picked up a bi-district round win.

This year, they return many of the same players from last season and are confident in themselves to put together another successful season.

"We have 13 starers coming back," Vela senior center Ronnie Ramirez said. "There's a lot of competition and that's what makes Vela, Vela. There's always competition here."

"The whole team been putting in the work all summer," Sabercats defensive end Rolando De Leon added. "We all feel like the chemistry is great. The quarterback, he's been doing amazing. The D-Line and the O-line looks awesome too The O-line, very scary O-line for sure."

The team will also be aided by adding quarterback Geoffrey LeFerve, who joins Vela after transferring over from Donna this offseason.

The team will start the season against Edinburg North on August 30th.

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