GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — After nursing flu symptoms on Thursday night, being drenched in a cooler of ice-cold Gatorade probably wasn’t the healthiest thing for La Joya Juarez-Lincoln coach Tommy Garcia.
But when the Huskies finished off a 20-7 win against La Joya High on Friday at La Joya ISD Stadium to secure the first playoff berth in program history, Garcia was all right with Andrew Rodriguez and Robert Gonzalez giving him a freezing shower.
“I was feeling a little bit under the weather, but I don’t mind,” Garcia said. “Hell, we’re in the playoffs.”
The Huskies went 0-10 last season and started this year 0-3 in District 30-6A play before ripping off a three-game winning streak.
Juarez-Lincoln finishes the regular season 4-6 overall and 3-3 in district, while La Joya misses out on the postseason with a record of 3-7, 2-4.
“This is outstanding. I can’t explain what I feel,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment, and it feels great. It just feels, oh my God.”
The Huskies had been close to the postseason before, going 5-5 in 2012 but missing on a tiebreaker.
Juarez-Lincoln was 20-50 all-time entering this year, coming off the first winless season in program history. In 2014, the Huskies were derailed by injuries and a lack of numbers in the program, being outscored 332-107.
Juarez-Lincoln still struggled at times in 2015, posting the worst offense in district even with three straight wins over La Joya Palmview, Mission High and La Joya High to close the regular season.
“This is awesome,” safety Elias Gutierrez said. “We came together as a team.”
In doing so, Juarez-Lincoln earned the right to visit Laredo United at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. In last season’s bi-district round, United beat La Joya High 62-7.
“We’re going to enjoy this moment, and we’re going to work hard this week,” Gutierrez said. “We have Laredo United, and they’re a real tough team, but we’re going to put it to them.”
The Huskies needed a major offensive turnaround to pull through Friday.
During the first half, Juarez-Lincoln picked up just 13 yards on 17 plays, going without a first down in six drives.
In half No. 2, the Huskies racked up 204 yards on 28 plays, scoring three times. Garcia said Juarez-Lincoln started running the ball inside more often to negate La Joya’s speed on defense.
“We were a little wide-eyed because of the impact of the game,” Garcia said. “We made our adjustments at halftime, and we were able to move the chains.”
Adonis Barillas finished the game with 11 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Obed Fernandez had 12 carries for 63 yards with a score, and Robert Gonzalez had five carries for 45 yards. Fernandez also connected with Carlos Serna on a touchdown pass.
Gutierrez made a major impact on defense, hauling in two interceptions.
“We did need a big lift,” Gutierrez said, “and that helped us out a lot.”