“We played really well offensively and defensively,” said La Feria head coach Oscar Salinas. “Our defensive improved tonight, we all know containing Leo Lara is tough but our defense did a great job.”
Offensively, La Feria’s Isaac Galpin played his best game so far. The senior quarterback threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns on the night.
With 10:10 left in the first half, Galpin connected with Isaiah Martinez on a 62-yard touchdown to give the Lions a 7-0 lead. Martinez finished the game with 145 yards on nine receptions.
Galpin would strike again five minutes later connecting with Brandon Perez on a 28-yard catch to double the lead.
“He’s our leader and he’s the kid we can count on,” said Salinas. “We told him ‘you’re going to have to be the best quarterback tonight’ and he was. We can go as far as he can take us and he had a great game today.”
The first half momentum carried into the second as Perez took the kick off and went the distance on an 85-yard return.
While most of the credit went to the offense, the defense managed to make the biggest impact of the night by containing Santa Rosa’s elusive quarterback Leo Lara.
However, with a little over a minute remaining in the game, Lara threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to put his team on the board.
When asked about the positives the team can take from the game, Santa Rosa head coach Arturo Garcia simply replied: “None. “We couldn’t block and we couldn’t tackle.”
Week 1 against Rio Hondo, penalties played a big part in the game for the Warriors and against another quality opponent like La Feria, two big calls negated some big plays.
Next Friday the Lions will play their neighbors to the west Mercedes, while the Warriors take on Progresso at home.