GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — When La Joya High senior Brandon Ramos suffered a tear in his AC joint against McAllen High, coach George Espinoza could tell he was injured. But rather than letting his coach know what was wrong, Ramos talked his way into staying on the field.
“He told us it was something else,” Espinoza said. “And he said, ‘Coach, if I told you it was this, you would’ve pulled me out of the game.’”
Ramos couldn’t let that happen. Leading rusher Justin Leanos had suffered a torn ACL earlier in the game, meaning Ramos was suddenly the Coyotes’ primary back.
La Joya had been riddled with injuries all season, and Ramos wasn’t about to add his name to the list. The Coyotes have needed every healthy player they could muster, plus the emergence of Ramos and sophomore quarterback Irving Garcia, to claw their way to a 2-2 mark through four District 30-6A games, including that 22-18 win against McHi.
“That’s one of the reasons why I push through it,” Ramos said. “I’m a senior, and I want to set an example for everybody else, that you have to push through and have to keep going. I don’t feel like I’m 100 percent, but I’m going to try to play 100 percent out on the field.”
Ramos’ game against McAllen High is a prime example of the resiliency La Joya has relied on this season.
He came into the night expecting to play mostly defense, filling in for an injured starter. Suddenly, he was back on the offensive side, stepping into the shoes of the team’s leading rusher both in 2014 and through the first five games of 2015.
Ramos had been nursing a knee injury during the first half of the season and then compounded it with the shoulder injury. But even if it means having to carry the ball with only his right hand and not being able to use the left to stiff arm, Ramos will play.
“I’m just going to keep going,” Ramos said. “It doesn’t really mean anything. I’m just a little banged up.”
The Coyotes have been down as many as six starters at times this season, leading to some uneven results. After losing to Edinburg Vela, Weslaco East and McAllen Memorial by an average of 42.7 points per game, La Joya bounced back to topple 2014 playoff teams McAllen High and La Joya Palmview. Then, last week, La Joya slipped in a 35-14 loss to Mission High.
“We have been inconsistent, but it comes back down to the injuries,” coach George Espinoza said. “It’s been a roller coaster. We finally get a couple kids healthy, and then we lose a couple more.”
The constant turnover has led to as many as five sophomores starting on offense. But it’s also yielded some positives, like Garcia taking hold of the starting quarterback job.
After playing with the freshman team last season, the 6-foot-4 Garcia entered 2015 expected to split time with starter John Cadena. But Cadena struggled and missed time due to injury, and Garcia was determined to follow his brother and last season’s starting quarterback, Julio Garcia.
Now in his first year at UTRGV, Julio has been able to watch La Joya’s games on Friday nights and offer Irving pointers — things like what reads to make, which routes will be open at specific times, and how to pick up on different gestures by the defense.
“He taught me that it’s a team effort,” Irving said. “Don’t ever dedicate yourself to the team thinking that you’re the best, because it’s the people around you that make you who you are. It’s not just you.”
Every week for Irving brings improved timing and understanding of the offensive system, Espinoza said. And every week for the Coyotes, especially this week’s bye, is expected to make the team healthier and ready to make a playoff push.
“We have this week to kind of recoup a little bit,” Espinoza said, “and we’re going to hit it hard next week.”