BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
MERCEDES — Mercedes’ offense got off to a hot start, and the defense held off Valley View to seal the win.
Senior quarterback Isreal Alegria started it off, finding senior receiver Leeroy Garcia in the end zone in the first quarter. He capped off the score by running in the conversion.
On Mercedes’ next drive, Alegria punched one in from the 2, putting Mercedes up 15-0.
That would be all Mercedes needed to pick up the District 16-5A DII win over Valley View 15-11 on Friday night at Tiger Stadium.
“A lot of credit to Valley View and their coaching staff,” Mercedes coach Roger Adame Jr. said. “Defense was huge tonight, all credit to coach (Ralph) Galvan our DC. They work hard every day, and they preach physicality. We got some points on the board early. The defense stepped up huge. We got the stop at the 1-inch line, that is pretty dang huge.”
Finding the end zone early proved to be the difference for Mercedes.
“It got us going,” Alegria said. “Last week, we couldn’t get anything in the red zone. So, all week that was our topic going in. We had a good matchup of what we wanted. It was a play-action. Leeroy made a great play. It helped us out a lot, because it gave us that confidence we needed.”
Once the offense had put up points, the group came back down to earth. Penalties slowed the pace of the game, and Mercedes relied heavily on junior running back Sonny Vela to help milk the clock and gain yardage. Vela finished the game with 120 rushing yards.
“He came up to me before the game and said ‘coach, let me roll,’” Adame said of Vela. “Sometimes during the game there are situations where you are hesitant, but when he got the ball, he was doing everything he needed to do. He’s a team captain for a reason.”
Alegria was able to show his elusiveness and his passing ability, but he was also thrown off by the rhythm of the game.
“We had a few bad plays, the holding penalties, the false starts, those have been a problem all year, and we have to get that stuff under control,” Alegria said. “But we had to fight through it tonight. We will get it right.”
To start the second half, Valley View stole the momentum.
The Valley View defense started the half by holding Mercedes to a three-and-out. As Mercedes tried to punt, the snap sailed over the head of Alegria, the punter, and out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
The points woke up the Valley View offense, and on the first offensive snap of the second half, senior quarterback Simon Fernandez ran for 39 yards and a touchdown to cut the lead to six.
After Valley View shrunk the deficit, the offense again sputtered, as the Mercedes defense rose to the occasion time and again.
“The defense came up big,” Vela said. “I applaud them for their effort tonight. That was big for us.”
The most intense series of the game came with about three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Aided by penalties and a few good-looking passes from Fernandez, Valley View found itself with a first-and-goal from the 1.
“We just had to adjust,” junior defensive lineman Chris Hogan said. “It was a high-intensity game. It was a playoff atmosphere, and we knew our defense could win the game for us.”
The Mercedes defense was thinking turnover.
“We were just thinking we have to get a stop and get our offense the ball back somehow,” Hogan said.
Fernandez took the snap on second-and-goal from as close as you can be, and headed straight for the end zone. Big No. 75, junior Marcus Garcia, got one of his giant arms on the ball, and ripped it out and flung it backwards as he fell to the ground. Hogan was there to fall on the ball in the end zone and give the Mercedes offense the ball back.
“In my mind, I’m just thinking get the ball, get the ball,” Garcia said. “The first time, I dove to try to get the ball. It worked, I knocked the ball out, but (Fernandez) fell on it. The second time, I just made sure I grabbed it and threw it back. It ended up in our player’s hands. I’m just grateful he was there to get it and get this win for us.”
The recovery was just what the Tigers needed to ice the game.
“They were on the 1-inch line, two minutes left, down by six,” Adame said. “We were going through all of the scenarios: Do we let them score? Do we take a timeout? In the end, the defense got it done. That is huge.”
Mercedes fell behind early in the season, but the wins only really start to count in district. Friday’s win moves Mercedes to second place in District 16-5A DII, while Valley View drops to fourth.
“They were doing a lot of talking during the game,” Garcia said. “We stay quiet and we let our playing do the talking.”