GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
Even after starting this District 30-6A season winless, Mission High and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln never lost sight of their playoff aspirations.
The Eagles have picked up consecutive wins after an 0-2 start in district, and the Huskies are fresh off a 21-15 victory over La Joya Palmview — their first district win since 2013. Even at 1-3, Juarez-Lincoln still has a chance to reach the postseason if it can win its final two games. Ditto for Mission, which may ultimately need just one more victory.
For all the optimism in both camps, one team is almost assured of seeing its playoff bubble popped when they clash at 7:30 tonight in La Joya.
“(Wednesday) was the first time we had talked about it, about winning out the last three games,” Juarez-Lincoln coach Tommy Garcia said. “I wanted them to understand the big picture of who is playing who, and the possibilities of who is predicted to beat who. They understand that we have a good chance.”
Mission High coach Mario Peña isn’t talking much about the scenarios. He wants to avoid putting extra pressure on his team, instead telling them to just focus on their game and let the wins follow.
That being said, he has worked to keep his team confident and pressing forward this season. On the heels of last year’s 1-5 district record, the Eagles opened with losses to McAllen High and La Joya Palmview before bouncing back with wins against McAllen Rowe and La Joya High. With a matchup with undefeated McAllen Memorial looming in Week 11, tonight is critical.
“We had to really work on their psyche, their minds,” Peña said. “The fact that we couldn’t really throw the towel in yet — that we weren’t out of it. That we could change things around. All we needed was to get a little taste of winning.”
For Juarez-Lincoln, that little taste has done wonders. The Huskies had lost 10 consecutive district games, dating back to last season, before getting off the slide last week, and Garcia has seen a significant attitude change in practice as a result.
“Obviously, it’s a little different. We’re playing for something,” Garcia said. “We had been telling them that we’re still in the playoff hunt. There’s a little extra hop in their step.”
Juarez-Lincoln still faces an uphill battle, although no team outside of McAllen Memorial (4-0) is safely qualified for the postseason. McAllen Rowe (1-4) is out of contention, but each of McAllen High (3-2), La Joya Palmview (2-2), Mission High (2-2), La Joya High (2-2), and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (1-3) can all but guarantee its place by winning its remaining games.
“We have to win out, but I think we’re peaking at the right time,” Garcia said. “That’s one of the things that we don’t have a problem with here. Our kids are young, and they’re hungry.”
The Huskies have been marked by young contributors on both sides of the ball. Sophomore free safety Elias Gutierrez has been the defense’s biggest standout, and running back Adonis Barillas is one of the offense’s top weapons.
Although limited by a high-ankle sprain much of the year, Barillas is coming off his best game of the season: a 22-carry, 139-yard outburst against the Lobos.
“Having him in the backfield, I think it brings up the morale for everybody,” Garcia said. “We know we have somebody back there in the backfield who can break it on every single play.”
Tonight’s game also has added meaning for Garcia, who faces one of his biggest coaching influences in Peña. The two worked together for about a dozen years between stints at La Joya High, Edinburg North and San Benito.
“All of the football knowledge that I’ve obtained has been from Coach Peña,” Garcia said. “He’s kind of my mentor. I’ve always idolized the way his defenses play. The way we play, we tend to play like his defensive teams.”