GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — Just two weeks removed from a 10-game losing streak in district games, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln is one win away from a playoff appearance.
After taking down Mission High 24-19 on Friday at La Joya ISD Stadium, Juarez-Lincoln is guaranteed a postseason berth if it can beat La Joya High next week. This after the Huskies went 0-6 in district play last year and started the 2015 season with three consecutive district losses.
“We always believed in ourselves,” junior Livan Peqeño said. “Even though everybody else didn’t believe in us, the coaches believed in us, and we believed in each other. We stayed together. We always believed we could make it.”
The win, coupled with last week’s victory over La Joya Palmview, moves Juarez-Lincoln to 2-3 in a muddled District 30-6A. Mission High, La Joya High and Palmview are also 2-3, with McAllen Rowe at 2-4 and McAllen High a notch ahead of the pack at 3-2.
McAllen Memorial has already locked up the district title, but every other spot in the standings is up for grabs, with the results of the Week 11 games potentially triggering any number of tiebreaker scenarios.
“We never lost hope,” Huskies sophomore safety Elias Gutierrez said. “We kept fighting, and thinking we were going to go. We’ve made it to that point.”
On Friday, Juarez-Lincoln pulled through behind big plays and turnovers. A 40-yard touchdown pass from Obed Fernandez to C.J. Flores and a 64-yard scoring run by Livan Pequeño staked Juarez-Lincoln to a 17-6 halftime lead.
The Eagles outgained the Huskies 177 to 124 during the first 24 minutes and ran 40 plays to the Huskies’ 16.
“We needed (those big plays), because we need to go to the playoffs for the first time in Juarez-Lincoln history,” Flores said. “It feels amazing to be this close.”
The Eagles got off to a hot start, taking a 6-0 on Steven De Leon’s 2-yard run that capped a 16-play, 79-yard opening drive. But Juarez-Lincoln’s defense adjusted, holding Mission under wraps for most of the next two quarters.
After Juarez-Lincoln extended the lead to 24-6 on a Robert Gonzalez touchdown run midway through the third quarter, the Eagles attempted to rally. De Leon scored on an 8-yard run, and Treviño punched in a touchdown from 1 yard out. But Mission could never overcome four turnovers — one interception and three lost fumbles.
“To me, that was the difference: The fact that we allowed two big plays for TDs, and the turnovers,” Mission High coach Mario Peña said. “We’re not going to win when we turn the ball over.”
Mission High’s playoffs hopes remain intact, but the team faces a tough Week 11 matchup against undefeated McAllen Memorial. Mission High needs a win and a little help to qualify for the postseason.
If form holds and McAllen Memorial can beat Mission High, next week’s game between Juarez-Lincoln and La Joya High becomes a play-in game. The Coyotes could potentially win and still miss out on the postseason, but the Huskies would secure a berth with a victory.
“The thing I told them is don’t listen to what the media is saying,” coach Tommy Garcia said. “Don’t listen to whoever is saying what. The bottom line is we have to take care of La Joya and bring that city championship back, and get ourselves some momentum going into the playoffs.”