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La Joya Juarez-Lincoln continued a run of strong defensive play, pitching a shutout in the second half to knock off Mission High 21-7 on Friday at La Joya ISD Stadium.
“They’ve stepped it up a notch defensively,” Huskies coach Tommy Garcia said. “I think Joseph Valdez has stepped up his game at linebacker. He had some strikes today that I hadn’t seen this year.”
Elias Gutierrez was also key for the defense, which is giving up an average of 12.7 points through three District 30-6A games.
Juarez-Lincoln improves to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in district, while Mission falls to 1-6 and 0-3.
“The biggest thing is that the kids knew we were playing for our playoff lives,” Garcia said. “Overall, everybody picked it up a notch offensively, and we were able to move the chains, and that was the reason why we won the game.”
Gutierrez scored a rushing touchdown for the Huskies, and quarterback Andrew Rodriguez connecting on scoring passes to Albert Martinez and Harley Vargas.
DISTRICT 31-6A
EDINBURG VELA 61, PSJA SOUTHWEST 8: At Pharr, Cristian Flores rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns and Marcos Santos hauled in 77 yards and two more scores as the SaberCats won their fourth straight game.
Vela (5-1, 3-0) took a 31-0 halftime lead and never looked back as it remained undefeated in 31-6A play. The SaberCats tallied 486 yards (268 in the air), more than doubling Southwest’s output (188 yards).
EDINBURG HIGH 14, PSJA MEMORIAL 0: At Edinburg, Saul Ramirez and Angel Salinas scored on the ground during the second quarter and the Bobcats won for the third time in four game.
Edinburg (3-3, 2-1 in district) will take on PSJA High next week. PSJA Memorial (0-6, 0-3) remains winless on the year.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Bobcats coach J.J Leija said. “Kids played well defensively this week. PSJA Memorial came out pretty good defensively. It was a tough battle. Our offense had a tough time moving the ball, but we were lucky to get two touchdowns.”
DISTRICT 31-5A
SHARYLAND HIGH 35, LAREDO CIGARROA 7: At Laredo, five Rattlers reached the end zone as Sharyland High improved to 5-1 overall, 4-0 in District 31-5A, and won its fifth straight game.
“Our boys came out, played hard and took care of business,” Sharyland High coach Ron Adame said. “It’s always a challenge whenever you come to Laredo. But we stayed focused and we played to our ability. The main thing was staying on that roll.”
Quarterback Alan Alvarez threw three touchdowns and rushed for another. He found Blake Klein, Edgar Alanis, and Luis Franco on scoring passes.
Now the Rattlers look forward to the third annual “Snakeskin Classic” and a bout against little brother Sharyland Pioneer next week. The Diamondbacks are 3-1 in 31-5A and coming off big wins over Mission Veterans Memorial and Rio Grande City.
“It’s always exciting,” Adame said. “This year’s no different. It’s a friendly rivalry and it seems to be a great one.”
ROMA 48, VALLEY VIEW 7: At Roma, the Gladiators won their first district game after four consecutive losses.
Roma improved to 3-4 overall, 1-4 in 31-5A as it hangs on to its playoff prospects.
DISTRICT 32-5A
MERCEDES 41, BROWNSVILLE PACE 13: At Mercedes, the Tigers were sound in all three aspects of the game in improving to 3-0 in 32-5A.
“Anytime you can get a district win, it’s a plus,” Mercedes coach Roger Adame Jr. said. “There were a lot of good things I saw. Our defense continues to play at a high level, from our front to our secondary. Offensively, we moved the ball well and scored points quick.”
The Tigers led 21-0 after the first quarter and never looked back.
Fabian Ledesma ran for a touchdown. Marc Ledesma ran for two touchdowns. His brother Matt caught a touchdown.
Matt Gracia ran for another TD, and defensive tackle Rolando Rincon had a scoop-and-score for the final TD.
Now the Tigers get Edcouch-Elsa, which is now 2-1 after a big 50-20 loss to Brownsville Veterans Memorial on Friday.
“District 32-5A is a huge tough district and we have to keep our players focused,” Adame said of keeping his team from looking ahead this week. “Our motto is 1-0 every week. We can’t control what’s behind or in front of us. I know there’s still talk about a big game like Edcouch-Elsa, but we try and keep this about ourselves and I like the way we responded.”
BROWNSVILLE VETERANS MEMORIAL 50, EDCOUCH-ELSA 20: At Elsa, the Yellowjackets were down and out early as Brownsville Vets built an early 36-13 lead late in the first half.
It was a redemptive win for the Chargers, now 2-1 in 32-5A and coming off a loss to Mercedes. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Yellowjackets, who are now 2-1 in 32-5A heading into next week’s meeting with Mercedes.