BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — As La Joya High coach Reuben Farias stood at midfield for a post-game interview, a pack of Coyotes came running over with the classic Gatorade water cooler.
The attack missed as Farias spryly dodged the waterfall, but what happened next was pure elation.
The players started hugging Farias:
“I love you coach, thank you.”
“This is why we play! All the long practices and early mornings are worth it for this.”
La Joya High junior running back Eddie Villarreal punched in a 3-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left in the game, and the Coyotes (4-1, 1-1) hung on to beat McAllen Memorial (3-2, 1-1) 29-28 on Friday at La Joya ISD stadium, and snap the Mustangs’ nearly five-year district unbeaten streak.
“This was a big statement,” Villarreal said. “I’m not going to lie, we came out cocky against PSJA. We needed that loss to wake us up. I know we have a great team. We just had to wake up and get our heads in the game. Now, we are coming for that district title.”
Memorial jumped out to a 20-3 lead before the half, with touchdowns from senior receiver Ethan Bazan, junior running back Campbell Speights and senior quarterback Sean Skaugen.
“Everything has to come to an end at some point,” Memorial coach Bill Littleton said. “All records are made to be broken. We had a good run there, we just have to start it all over again.”
Villarreal came out in the second half with the force of a bulldozer and orchestrated a 12-play, 78-yard touchdown drive, capped off with his 1-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 10.
“Eddie did a good job all night long,” Littleton said. “We had a hard time stopping him.”
Villarreal was a force in the first half, but his demeanor was slightly different in the second half.
“The coaches said I was tippy-toeing, not hitting the holes,” Villarreal said. “So, in the second half, I just ran through the holes, made my own holes. But the line, they got their head in the game, and we just kept moving the ball.”
Memorial came out for its first drive of the second half, and the Coyotes’ defense clamped down and forced a punt, after three-straight negative plays for the Mustangs.
“The defense, they are the ones that gave us the motivation,” Villarreal said. “They stopped them, and we all got excited. Then, we go punch it in.”
On the first play of the Coyotes’ ensuing drive, senior quarterback JR Rodriguez faked the handoff to Villarreal, and ran through the line. Once he burst past the line, he was gone — 40 yards untouched, and a touchdown.
“We knew that JR was due for a big run,” Farias said. “He is so potent and electrifying that when he runs, he can change the game. He’s a threat all the time.”
The Mustangs weren’t quite done, though, as Speights ripped off a 58-yard touchdown run in the closing minutes of the third quarter to extend Memorial’s lead to 11.
The Coyotes responded again with another extended drive, capped off with a 10-yard touchdown run from Villarreal. La Joya’s extra point attempt was blocked, but the Mustangs lead had slipped to just five points with time waning in the fourth quarter.
The Mustangs tried to eat up as much clock as possible, but La Joya’s defense again held, and the Coyotes got the ball back with 3:27 to go.
The Coyotes were down to their final timeout at their own 33, so the power-run game was not going to get it done.
“People doubt my arm,” Rodriguez said. “I know I can throw the ball; I consider myself a dual threat. Most people don’t see it. I know when it comes to the clutch, I don’t mind stepping up and rising to the occasion. It just comes to me. It’s natural.”
Rodriguez had the trust of his team in the biggest moment of the night, and he came through with two big first down-earning passes.
“That’s JR right there,” senior Irvin Zamora said. “He can come in clutch. Some people are sleeping on him, and we need them to wake up now.”
Zamora does a little bit of everything for La Joya. He plays defensive back, he plays receiver and he returns kicks. In the biggest moment, Zamora was called upon to fuel Rodriguez’s arm.
“He is a special young man,” Farias said, with the emotion breaking through his voice. “He works hard every day. Anytime he has the ball he can make things happen. We knew he would be there for us in that moment.”
Zamora caught both passes on the drive, allowing the offense to punch in the last-second touchdown.
Memorial had not lost a district game since Oct. 25, 2013.
“This was the biggest moment of my life,” Zamora said. “It feels amazing to play for the La Joya Coyotes — and to be playing here, as a senior, on homecoming night, and beating the Mustangs, the very last year, senior year — it feels absolutely amazing. Words cannot describe this right now.”