KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
SAN PERLITA—On Thursday, the San Perlita Trojans hit the road for their class 2A region IV tournament in San Marcos. Behind the Trojans was their passionate fan base, as the community held a sendoff at the high school.
“It is heartwarming and a great thing to see,” said freshman Ely Terry. “When the community supports us, it gets us motivated to go out there and play.”
San Perlita is one of three teams in the Valley that will hit the floor Friday night. In class 3A, Santa Rosa is back at the regional tournament for a fourth straight year and will meet Cole at 6 p.m. at Seguin High School and in class 6A, Edinburg Vela has a date with Cibolo Steele at 8 p.m. at the Northside Sports Gym in San Antonio.
“I would like to thank the community and all of our supporters and fans that have stuck by us since the beginning.” Said San Perlita coach Nataniel Garza.
Junior EJ Nieto realizes just how special it is to be one of three teams remaining in the Valley.
“It is a blessing,” Nieto said. “This group it is special and we want to win especially with this group of seniors, I have played and grown up with them all my life. The last few years hurt us, but now we have an opportunity and we feel we are ready. To see our community rally behind us is amazing, it means so much to us.”
While the Trojans are in uncharted waters, the Trojans were due for a banner year. The last two years the Trojans fell in the third round of the playoffs and now third times the charm for the Trojans.
This season, the Trojans only blemish was a loss to San Isidro in district play. After that, the Trojans ran the table en route to their second straight district title. The road to the regional tournament has been a solid showing with convincing wins against Benavides in the bi-district round followed by a thumping of Yorktown in the area round.
On Tuesday, the Trojans overcame a tough Flatonia team and exercised their third round demons. San Perlita will meet Hearne and the winner will face either Thorndale or Port Aransas in the region final. The Trojans have the pieces in play to reach the coveted state tournament in San Antonio.
“Words can’t express how amazing it was for our community to support these boys,” said Garza. “The boys truly deserve this and more. Not only has this been a special year so far but a very special group of young men I have been privileged to coach, I love every single one of them.”