GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — As the final notes of La Joya Palmview’s alma mater sounded, a group of players sprinted to surround coach Mage Requenez. The Lobos lifted their coach off the ground to ensure he couldn’t escape as a second group ran to grab the Gatorade cooler and give him a celebratory bath.
Palmview had plenty to be excited about Friday night, clinching the first winning season in school history and all but securing a playoff berth with a 21-17 victory against McAllen Rowe at La Joya Stadium.
“Basically, we just made history here at Palmview,” running back Jose Bernal said. “That’s what we always wanted here: To start a tradition. And we’ve started a tradition.”
At 5-1-1 overall and 3-0 in District 30-6A, Palmview can finish no worse than a third-place tie.
The Lobos can also finish no worse than 5-4-1 in the regular season, ensuring the school’s first winning year. This from a team that was 1-9 last year and is playing under a coach in his first full season. Palmview’s preview best record was 5-5 in 2010. The school was 17-43 all-time before this year.
“It was a dream to make the playoffs here in Palmview,” running back Freddy Villarreal said. “I wanted to make it happen.”
Despite being 4-1-1 coming in, Palmview felt it had a lot to prove. Yes, the Lobos had the top-ranked defense and third-ranked offense in the district, but they had only defeated one team with a winning record: PSJA Southwest.
With a win against Rowe — even though the Warriors are 2-6 — Palmview feels it has shown it can play with a team from McAllen and a group that was widely projected to make the playoffs before the season began.
“We proved a lot of people wrong about how we weren’t going to make it this year, we had just played some teams that weren’t at the level of the McAllen schools,” quarterback Aaron Gonzalez said. “We played our hearts out and proved them wrong.”
Villarreal and Jose Bernal continued to get it done on the ground for the Lobos. Villarreal carried 15 times for 86 yards and three touchdowns, while Bernal added 16 carries for 111 yards.
Villarreal now has 1011 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year, while Bernal has 865 yards and eight scores.
“(Rowe’s) shifts were killing us, but we managed to keep our composure, and we started running good,” Villarreal said. “It ended up working.”
Behind a defense that forced enough turnovers to limit Rowe’s offense, Palmview has now accomplished two of its preseason goals: reach the playoffs, and post a winning season.
“One is done, two is done, and now we’re going for No. 3, which is the district title,” said Requenez, water still dripping from his drenched outfit. “That’s our main goal right now.”
But doing that would mean topping McAllen High and/or McAllen Memorial, teams Palmview has never beaten and units that defeated Rowe by 49 and 39 points, respectively.
“Everybody is beatable in our district,” Requenez said. “It just depends who is going to show up that night.”
PALMVIEW QUARTERBACK
When quarterback Andrew Puente went down to an ankle injury after Palmview’s third drive, Gonzalez stepped in and kept the offense rolling. He completed just 1 of 2 passes for 11 yards and carried the ball 10 times for 31 yards, but it was enough.
“I just had to step it up a notch,” Gonzalez said. “My teammates had confidence in me bringing this win.”
ROWE’S OFFENSE
Rowe moved the ball effectively on the arm of quarterback John Perez, who finished the game 33-of-46 passing for 413 yards and two touchdowns. Joseph Moreno caught 8 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, Victor Adames caught nine passes for 121 yards, and Hector Bosquez — the district’s leading passer through six weeks — played exclusively wide receiver and caught nine passes for 142 yards and a touchdown.
COSTLY MISTAKES
While Perez shined for the Warriors, penalties and turnovers ruined a number of Rowe’s drives. The Warriors lost a pair of fumbles while driving to attempt to take the lead in the final four minutes, one of which easily could have been ruled an incomplete pass. In all, Rowe turned the ball over on three occasions and was flagged nine times for 67 yards.
“When we needed to make plays, sometimes we just didn’t get it done,” Rowe coach Paul Reyes said. “Just didn’t get it done in certain areas.”