NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
The playing surface was wet and the air was stale. But the weather wasn’t the ugliest part of Mission’s 20-15 win over La Joya in both team’s District 30-6A opener on Thursday at Valley View ISD Stadium.
The Eagles blew a halftime lead but grinded out a gritty win despite committing 17 penalties in the game.
Mission quarterback Damian Gomez said the game was won as much between the ears as on the field.
“The mental part of it,” Gomez said. “It was hot, it was humid. The mental part of it came through, and we came through with the (win).”
Mission committed seven offsides penalties, but their most egregious blunder was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Dereck Cavazos that kept La Joya High’s drive alive late in the third quarter.
That drive was another example of Mission’s defense digging out of a hole the Eagles dug themselves.
Mission coach Koy Detmer said overall discipline is an issue he’ll be stressing all week with his team.
“Big time and I addressed it right here after the game,” Detmer said. “I’m proud of our guys that we hung in there and were able to make enough plays to overcome those things. However, you don’t want to put yourself in those situations. It makes it tough, and it’s not going to work out this way every week.”
Gomez threw the ball well out of the gates. He completed two passes for 84 yards in the first quarter, including a 49-yard strike to Sebastian Gonzalez to get the Eagles on the board.
La Joya’s first points of the game were also through the air. Mariano Resendez found space on a slant route and scored on a 29-yard pass from Irving Garcia.
A fresh coat of rain at halftime impacted Gomez’s ability to access the passing portion of the playbook.
Detmer said that the change in offense wasn’t solely about the precipitation. He commended his quarterback’s ability to adapt.
“It had to do a little bit of both: With the weather, we knew it was going to be slick from the rain also with what we were seeing (from La Joya’s defense),” Detmer said. “It’s like I told (Gomez), he’s done an excellent job of running the offense and whatever we’re doing.”
Right tackle Javier Gaitan and the O-line have faith in their coach and, as the game goes on, their running backs.
“We just run what coach says. What he says goes, and it always works,” Gaitain said. “When we’re short yardage, we put in Steven (De Leon). He gets it done. He just runs over people, it’s easy.”
De Leon split carries with Horacio Moronta V. The duo combined for 124 yards in the game, getting carries dependent on the situation.
The most impactful player on the field for the Eagles was De Leon, per usual. The two-way senior punched the ball in for the team’s winning TD, led the team in tackles at middle linebacker and even blocked a La Joya punt in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles defense had to come up big one last time as the fourth quarter wound down. La Joya marched into Mission territory but wasn’t able to make a serious threat at the win.
Gomez commended De Leon, his team’s MVP, after the win.
“He’s a horse, man. He’s a horse and not only him, No. 16 (Aleksander Gomez), he’s a horse, too,” Gomez said. “That defense came on big at the end, and that’s what we needed.”
La Joya’s workhouse was Eddie Villarreal, again. The sophomore power back rushed for 133 yards on 24 attempts.
Coyotes coach Reuben Farias said that getting points on every long drive is a must.
“We just got to finish drives once we get into the 25-, 20-yard line,” Farias said. “We stalled a couple of times tonight. You have to give credit to Mission. They played a great game. They made the plays they needed to make to stop Eddie and made some plays to convert.”