GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
When McAllen Memorial coach Bill Littleton faced La Joya Palmview from 2008-11, he saw a struggling spread team that was still in its infancy.
As a result, Memorial won all four matchups. Only one of the games was decided by fewer than 18 points.
Two years later, Littleton finds himself scouting a new-look opponent.
“Now they’re a power running, 3 yards and a cloud of dust kind of team,” Littleton said. “It’s a totally different kind of looking football team than the last time we played Palmview.”
The quality has changed considerably, too. A matchup that might have looked lopsided in past years and even entering 2014 is now The Monitor’s Game of the Week.
With both teams an undefeated 4-0 in District 30-6A, Friday’s game at 7:30 in La Joya will go a long way to determining the district champion.
“They’re sticking to their plan, and they know what they want to get done,” Littleton said. “They’re utilizing their kids to the best of their abilities.”
If Memorial wins, the Mustangs will need only to get past 1-7 Mission High to claim the district title outright. If Palmview wins, the Lobos will set up a Week 11 showdown against McAllen High.
On paper, the matchup still looks intimidating for Palmview. Memorial’s four district wins have come by a combined margin of 95 points, while Palmview’s four wins are by a combined 29 points.
Part of that is a product of Palmview’s ball-control offense, which will look to limit possessions and shorten the game to stifle Memorial’s high-powered attack.
“They’re really good on (yards after contact),” Littleton said. “We have to do a good job of wrapping up and tackling, getting a lot of people to the football. They have big, strong kids there in the backfield.”
Palmview’s two biggest threats with the ball have been Freddy Villarreal (1,036 yards, 12 touchdowns) and Jose Bernal (997 yards, 10 touchdowns). Behind a big, powerful offensive line, Palmview has run for 313.6 yards per game, the second-best average in the district.
The ability to control the ball is a big reason Palmview has ranked as the top defense in the district, allowing only 204.1 yards per game.
“We can’t waste possessions against them,” Littleton said. “We have to get some production when we have the football.”
Efficiency has rarely been a problem for Memorial, which scored touchdowns on its first five possessions last week in a 42-28 win against McAllen High.
Memorial boasts the district’s top offense, gaining 466.4 yards per game. Much have that has come from running back Trevor Speights, who has run for 2,101 yards and 23 scores this season.
Palmview is in the midst of a historic year for the program, having already clinched the first winning season and first playoff appearance in school history.
A win Friday could solidify Palmview’s place in District 30-6A’s top tier, a major step for a program that was 17-43 all time entering this season.
Palmview coach Margarito Requenez could not be reached for comment Thursday, but spoke about the possibility of facing powerhouses Memorial and McHi after his team defeated McAllen Rowe to clinch a playoff spot two weeks ago.
“Everybody is beatable in our district,” Requenez said. “It just depends who is going to show up that night.”