With 32 seconds left on the play clock, La Feria quarterback Isaac Galpin snapped the ball, took a knee and solidified a 26-22 victory over District 16-4A DI rival Zapata at Lions Stadium Friday night and ending a 16-year outright district title drought.
“I’m just so excited and happy for these kids,” said La Feria head coach Oscar Salinas. “We’ve been at this and we’ve been close in the past, but to be able to finish it is just a great feeling. I’m so happy.
“This win is special because it’s been 16 years and this senior class is very special. They believed in what we were doing and it’s great to come out and finish the job.”
Zapata (6-3, 1-2), however, had other ideas and fought to the very end.
Down 26-14, running back Orlando Villarreal brought the Hawks to within four points after scoring on a 7-yard touchdown with 4:49 left in the fourth.
Rather than kicking an extra point, Zapata’s quarterback Connor Moreno found the end zone for the two-point conversion, making the score 26-22.
Playing his first game back after suffering an injury two weeks ago against Kingsville King, Moreno passed for 73 yards and rushed for another 26 yards.
La Feria (7-2, 4-0) got on the scoreboard first. Galpin found Isaiah Martinez for a 16-yard touchdown that got the home crowd off their seats and gave the Lions a 7-0 lead with 7:25 left in the first.
On their second possession, the Lions scored another after running back Russ Gonzalez broke a tackle and went the distance on a 44-yard touchdown run, doubling La Feria’s Lead with 5:06 remaining in the first quarter.
And the scoring didn’t stop there. Galpin threw his second TD of the night to his other favorite target Brandon Perez for a 50-yard touchdown extending the lead 20-0 with 7:36 left in the second.
Galpin finished the night with 154 passing yards (3TD) and 49 rushing yards. Teammate Russ Gonzalez would finish with 130 and one TD.
Just before the half Zapata made things interesting after Villarreal scored on a 7-yard touchdown run to make the score 20-6 going into the break.
After not being able to get past Zapata in the previous three encounters, Salinas felt a little lighter after the game.
“They’ve had our number in the past, but it feels like a big weight off my shoulders,” said Salinas. “Our offense was able to keep them off the field and our defense did a great job in the first half.”
With the win the Lions are district champions and get the first seed heading into the postseason.