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On the strength of a solid run game, La Joya Palmview defeated La Joya High 23-10 on Friday at La Joya ISD Stadium to move to 2-0 in District 30-6A and inch closer to the first playoff berth in school history.
“It was very important,” Palmview coach Margarito Requenez said. “We’re one foot in the picture already. We just have to take care of next week’s game. One game at a time. It was big step for our program.”
Jose Bernal scored two touchdowns and Freddy Villarreal added another as the Lobos continued to find success in the running game.
“Everybody kept saying that we haven’t faced anybody hard,” Requenez said. “They were saying that every defense we faced was weak, and we were facing somebody that could finally stop us. I didn’t think they stopped us.”
DISTRICT 31-6A
EDINBURG NORTH 30, EDINBURG HIGH 14: At Edinburg, the return of Matt Whitesides and the decision to start sophomore quarterback Cristian Espinoza gave Edinburg North the boost it needed.
The Wildcats bounced back from last week’s 42-0 loss to PSJA North, moving to 2-1 in District 31-6A.
Coach Rene Saenz said normal quarterback Martin Rodriguez didn’t start “because he was cold.”
“We went with a sophomore, and he controlled the game,” Saenz said. “He did a good job. He was collected. He just managed the game well and really that’s what we needed. I think we’re going to go with him against Weslaco, which is our next opponent.”
DISTRICT 31-5A
VALLEY VIEW 14, RIO GRANDE CITY 13: At Pharr, the Tigers won their first game of the season, snapping a nine-game losing streak that dated back to last season.
Valley View (1-5, 1-1), which was coming off a bye, hung on to win after Rio Grande City missed the two-point conversion after Rio Grande City’s second score with a little over three minutes left in the game.
“Our defense had their backs against the wall several times but they stood up and came through big time,” Tigers coach Ubaldo Pena said. “(Defensive coordinator) Victor Cardenas had those kids ready.”
All season, RGC has dealt with players being sidelined, although Friday took a different twist, when quarterback Jason Gorena went down late in the first half without being hit.
“That kind of put us in a mad scramble,” RGC coach Carlos Longoria said. “I don’t want to speculate what it is. Nobody hit him. He went down, so we don’t know what it is. We’ll wait to see what the doctors say tomorrow.”
As for what led to the Rattlers’ loss?
“You name it. Whatever could go wrong, went wrong,” Longoria said. “Valley View played a great game. They took advantage of the opportunities they had.”
EDINBURG VELA 42, SHARYLAND PIONEER 15: At Mission, the SaberCats won their second consecutive district game, running past a first-year Diamondbacks program.
Edinburg Vela improved to 6-1 overall, 2-1 in district. Pioneer dropped to 3-4, 1-2.
DISTRICT 16-4A DIVISION II
PORT ISABEL 61, PROGRESO 7: At Progreso, the Tarpons benefited from a dominant performance across the board and continued their torrid start, improving to 6-0.
Coach Monty Stumbaugh was incredibly pleased but doesn’t want to rest on the win.
DISTRICT 16-4A DIVISION I
ZAPATA 37, HIDALGO 19: At Zapata, Hidalgo lost its district opener to Zapata. The Pirates are now 2-6.
LA FERIA 36, GRULLA 17: At La Feria, Grulla was downed by La Feria. The Gators are now 0-6 on the year and 0-1 in district.
DISTRICT 16-3A DIVISION II
DILLEY 48, MONTE ALTO 0: At Dilley, Monte Alto fell to Dilley High to fall to 2-4 and 0-1 in district play.
DISTRICT 16-2A DIVISION I
THREE RIVERS 38, LA VILLA 10: At Three Rivers, La Feria dropped to 1-5, losing its district opener.