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Roque Vela – Laredo Native

July 21, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Laredo Law News Release


LAREDO, Texas – The Laredo Law has acquired a local flavor with defensive specialist Roque Vela, a 1995 Nixon High School graduate, joining the team. Vela made his debut last week as the Law was in Florida. He played well in his first experience with arenafootball2.

"He looked good in camp and on film when he played at Hardin-Simmons," said Law head coach Scot Maynard. "He doesn't make mistakes and has a good feel for the game. He is an athletic kid who is very physical."

In his debut af2 game Vela had 2.5 tackles and two pass breakups.

"It felt great," said Vela. "It had been a couple of years since I had played. It felt really good to be back in the flow and be able to play at that level. I missed some tackles, but as I keep playing I won't be making those little mistakes."

With Vela debuting on the road, that helped ease the pressure. Now the Laredo native will make his home debut this Saturday night as the Law hosts the Wichita Stealth at the Laredo Entertainment Center.

"I was glad I was on the road to get my feet wet before I played in my home town," said Vela. "I feel nothing but excitement about playing in front of Laredo fans for the first time since 1994. I am really excited to have a good showing and feed off the home crowd energy. I hope the fans come out and support me and the Law."

The road to the af2 took many turns for Vela. The 5'11" 200-pound defensive back, attended Marine Military Academy in Harlingen after graduation from Nixon. At the time, the mid 90's, few Laredo residents were going on to play college football.

"When I came out of high school I wasn't really being recruited," explained Vela. "Hardin-Simmons was recruiting a friend of mine. In the middle of summer I got the bug to play again and went and walked on and things worked out great."

Vela played at Hardin-Simmons from 1997-99 where he helped the Cowboys to a post-season berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs in 1999. He was a second team American Southwest Conference selection as a free safety in 1999, and was honorable mention in 1998. He had 114 tackles and nine interceptions in his Cowboy career and returned two for touchdowns at Hardin-Simmons. Vela transferred to McMurray University, also in Abilene, for his senior season.

After taking a few years off to work in the family business, the Vela family owns Jett Bowl North in Laredo and a bowling alley in Del Rio, suddenly the football bug was back.

"When I heard Laredo was having an arena team, I decided to get back into football shape," said Vela. "I was working out in Dallas with the fast twitch company three days a week, then working at the bowling alley in Del Rio, then going to San Antonio to spend time with my family. I kept driving this big loop every week for three months to get back into shape and tryout for the Law."

All that work paid off this past weekend with his professional debut.

"It felt like the stars lined up for me," said Vela. "It felt like I was meant to try to excel at the next level. It was a great sense of accomplishment to even get this far. Hopefully it will open the eyes of people in Laredo to help them keep pushing to go as far as they can and keep believing in them selves."

Vela is married, to his wife Kerissa, and they have a son Tristian, who will turn two at the end of the month.

The Law plays their final home game this Saturday against the Wichita Stealth. $5 tickets are available to the first 1,000 fans. For tickets call (956) 726-GAME (4263) or go online at www.laredolaw.com.

LAW ON THE RADIO

Catch the Law all season on 94.9 The New Qure FM. The games will also be video streamed over the internet through www.af2tv.com.

LAW WEEKLY

Law Weekly with head coach Scot Maynard airs every Thursday night at 6 p.m. on Laredo News Talk AM 1490 KLNT.

LAW IN THE COMMUNITY

To schedule the Law for a player appearance contact Nicole Thompson at (956-523-6586) or nthompson@laredobucks.com.

ABOUT THE af2

In four short seasons the af2 has nearly doubled in size from 15 teams to 25. arenafootball2 promotes a fan friendly attitude with autograph sessions on the field for the home team after each game. The af2 and the AFL strictly adhere to a Fans Bill of Rights which is unique to any major sport. The Fans Bill of Rights includes: every fan is entitled to a wholesome environment for guests and family members, free of violence, profane gestures and language or rude and invasive behavior that could in any way interfere with a first-class entertainment experience; every fan demands that we maintain absolute respect for the game of Arena Football and maintain the integrity of the finest of fair competition at all times; every Fan deserves our very best effort on a consistent basis, on every play on the field, every action in the stands, every call to our office, and every involvement in our community.

For ticket information contact the Laredo Law at (956) 726-GAME (4263) or visit www.laredolaw.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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