BY GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — After a night of grinding out tough yardage carry after carry, Roma’s Ramon Espinoza finally found the open field on his final rush.
The Gladiators had already put the game away, but the Valley’s second-leading rusher entering Week 4 was desperate to crack 1,000 yards for the season. Taking the handoff from his own 1-yard line, Espinoza burst into the secondary for a 61-yard gain.
“It was amazing,” Espinoza said. “I’ve been wanting to gain more yards for my personal goal, so it felt good. Hopefully I accomplished what I wanted to.”
Little did he know, he had gotten there long before his scamper as time expired. Largely behind Espinoza’s 38 carries for 260 yards and three touchdowns, Roma dominated time of possession, suffocating La Joya Palmview en route to a 44-27 win Friday at La Joya ISD Stadium.
On the season, Espinoza has 1,069 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“We had to do some different things, but eventually it opened up for him,” Roma coach Max Habecker Jr. said. “As you can see there at the end, the kid has great endurance, and he runs for four quarters.”
Even at 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds, Espinoza has proved himself a reliable workhorse for the Gladiators. After rushing 40 times for 343 yards and four touchdowns last week against Uvalde, Espinoza said all he needed was a week of ice baths to start feeling fresh again.
It showed on Friday, as Espinoza repeatedly slogged his way for first downs, pounding into the line again and again.
“I’m tired,” Espinoza said. “Forty carries is a lot. But I can’t stop. I keep on going.”
That persistence was Roma’s mantra against Palmview. The Gladiators ran 64 offensive plays for 430 yards and picked up 20 first downs. The Lobos, meanwhile, ran just 37 plays for 264 yards and a measly six first downs.
“That was the plan coming in,” Habecker said. “We knew they had a very explosive offense, and we needed to keep them off the field.”
Roma also had some uncharacteristic success through the air, as quarterback Andy Marroquin completed 6 of 10 passes for 95 yards and a score. He also ran 12 times for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Elias Martinez was the standout among receivers with six catches for 75 yards and the touchdown. Martinez, Damian Villarreal and Rene Ramirez all consistently put Palmview’s defensive backs on the ground to spring big runs.
“We got it going with the receivers and passing a lot more,” Marroquin said. “I’ve been waiting for that for five games. I feel we can do a lot more with the passing.”
Palmview coach Margarito Requenez said the loss came down to miscues. Joel Piña ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns, and receiver Damian Quintanilla had four catches for 117 yards and two scores. But the Lobos fumbled the ball six times and lost three of them.
“We killed ourselves,” Requenez said. “They’re nobody special. We killed ourselves by turning over the ball.”
Roma has certainly looked special through four games, moving to 4-0 for the first time in program history. The Gladiators open District 31-5A play next week against Rio Grande City.
“It’s awesome to have that momentum,” Habecker said. “But we know that now is when it all comes together and when it counts the most.”