GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — Even at 1-6 and 0-3 in District 30-6A, La Joya High never lost faith in its ability to make the playoffs.
On Thursday, the Coyotes moved one step closer to the first postseason appearance since the school split, beating McAllen Rowe 23-6 to ignite a celebration that lasted long after the final horn.
“The emotion that we have in us is unbelievable,” senior defensive end Erik Marroquin said. “It’s like no other. We’ve never felt it before. We just made history in La Joya.”
La Joya High hasn’t made history just yet, but they’re right on the doorstep. At 3-6 overall and 2-3 in district play, the Coyotes leapfrog Rowe (3-7, 2-4) for fourth place.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, which is winless and has been outscored by an average of 25.3 points per game, would have to beat Mission High and La Joya in consecutive weeks to force a positive points tiebreaker between the three schools at 2-4.
“This means a lot,” quarterback Julio Garcia said. “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve seen the Coyotes perform. Everybody was afraid of the Coyotes. And since the split, it’s been downhill for us. I never expected I would be in the class that would give the Coyotes a chance to get back in the playoffs. That’s a great honor for me and my teammates.”
La Joya High was a perennial playoff contender in the Valley before the split that created La Joya Palmview and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln in 2008.
In the six years since, La Joya was 11-49 before this season. None of the schools had ever reached the postseason.
“This La Joya team has more heart,” senior linebacker Ricardo Ornelas said. “It puts more effort into the game and the team.”
Although the team’s record early on suggested La Joya High was in for another trying year, coach George Espinoza never lost faith in his team.
La Joya came within one point of Weslaco East and four points of McAllen Memorial. The Coyotes’ only lopsided losses were to McAllen High and Edinburg Vela, as the team played one of the most challenging schedules in the Valley.
“We feel we’ve been in it all year,” Espinoza said. “We had close ball games, bad calls, a little mistake here or there that cost us a game. … That’s the swing between really being 7-2.”
Even 3-6 represents a big step — the most games the school has won since 2008.
Now in his third season, Espinoza has drastically increased the number of players on the roster, and he’s had time to teach those kids his schemes. The results are now starting to show.
“When coach Espinoza came in, he changed everything,” wide receiver J.C. Maldonado said. “This is awesome. It hadn’t been done in a couple of years, and it feels awesome.”
GROUND GAME
La Joya got the majority of its offensive production on the ground. Justin Leanos, the district’s sixth-leading rusher coming into this week, carried 23 times for 119 yards. Overlin Montes scored the Coyotes lone rushing touchdown, a 5-yarder early in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Julio Garcia was also an unexpected threat in the ground game. He had run for only 48 yards on the season before picking up 58 on six carries against Rowe, mostly on read-option keepers.
“That was also key to moving our offense,” Espinoza said. “We needed to spark it up a little bit. People needed to see that he could also be a running threat.”
QUICK STRIKE
Garcia and Maldonado connected for a critical 51-yard touchdown with just 6.8 seconds to play before halftime. Maldonado caught a slant route at about 10 yards, spun off a tackler and sprinted for the score.
“I was surprised I didn’t go down,” Maldonado said. “The guy tried to chop me, and I just didn’t go down. It feels great. First touchdown of the season. It was awesome.”
Garcia finished 6-of-15 passing for 84 yards and two scores, the other a 4-yarder to Montes.
DEFENSIVE FRONT
La Joya High’s defensive front took over the game from start to finish, harassing Rowe quarterback John Perez all night.
Marroquin finished with 3.5 of the team’s 5.5 sacks, combining with sophomore Rey Hernandez on one takedown that forced a safety. Hernandez also had a sack to force a fumble that Marroquin recovered.
“One of the things we noticed from watching film was (Perez) always had a lot of time to throw, and that’s what was basically hurting a lot of people,” Espinoza said. “So we schemed it, and we were going to come.”
Jose Medina and Ricardo Ornelas made interceptions for the Coyotes.