NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
LA JOYA — La Joya Juarez-Lincoln forced a three-and-out right out of the gate, and it was a sign of things to come as the Huskies topped McAllen High 17-7 on Friday night at La Joya ISD Stadium.
Juarez-Lincoln coach Tommy Garcia put his defense to the test right off the bat. He instructed his team to defer the opening kickoff to give his defensive unit a chance to set the tone.
The Huskies (6-2, 3-1) forced four turnovers and didn’t allow any points after the Bulldogs (2-5, 1-2) scored on their second drive.
“That is probably one of our better defensive games we’ve played this year,” Garcia said about his defense, which allowed only 171 yards.
Defensive end Xavier Monreal was one of the players who got in on the turnover party with a pick of Aaron Nixon in the second quarter.
The junior lineman admitted that he went away from the script to make a read.
“I just made the play,” Monreal said. “I was supposed to keep rushing, but I saw a screen. I got it, and my emotions just went toward me. My coach told me I should have run, but I threw myself (on the ground).”
Kevin Delgado added an interception in the second quarter, and Elias Gutierrez intercepted his fifth pass of the season as time expired. Monreal said the turnover battle is important to keep the good times coming for Juarez-Lincoln’s offense.
“We’re just trying to make our offense have the ball, keep the ball moving, the clock and score points,” Monreal said.
Albert Martinez was the Huskies’ best offensive weapon yet again. He slashed the Bulldogs front seven for 135 yards and a 9-yard touchdown run.
His best running and score came early in the contest.
Gunnar Henderson was looking dangerous again for McHi in the early going. He was on the receiving end of a 42-yard pass from Nixon but was stopped at the 1-yard line.
The Bulldogs almost scored on the next play, but Nixon was stopped on a quarterback keeper from a read-option play.
Disaster struck on the next down as a bad snap led to a clumsy handoff and, consequently, a fumble inside of the 5-yard line.
Henderson struck on the ground the next time McAllen had possession. Running back Roy Gutierrez and Henderson moved the chains consistently, with the speedy wide receiver getting rewarded from 3 yards out.
Huskies quarterback Efren Martinez summed up his defense’s ability to rise to the occasion.
“The defense has always had that mentality to step up in big games. They’re unbelievable,” Martinez said.
Efren used the threat of his brother, Albert, on play action to perfection during the team’s next drive. The Bulldogs bit on the fake and were burned through the air when Martinez found a wide open Harley Vargas for 23 yards.
“It all started with the line again,” Vargas said. “It’s a team effort. It’s not just me and the quarterback. We dominated, and we put some points on the board. Our defense is good. They carried us.”
Right before halftime, the game had a bit of extracurricular activity. McAllen recovered a fumble near its own goal line following a Juarez-Lincoln catch and run.
Some players on both sides appeared to not like how the hits were happening, and those feelings devolved into pushing, shoving and punches. Two players from the Huskies and one from the Bulldogs were ejected after the scrum.
After halftime, with emotions running high, Juarez-Lincoln again got the better of the visitors. McHi only mustered two first downs in the second half. Even in the one-score game, the Bulldogs never threatened the lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Huskies kept to bread-and-butter runs on the ground to chip away at the clock.
Wesley Frayre made up for a missed kick in the first half to nail a 35-yard field goal and put the game on ice for the Huskies in the fourth.
McAllen will look to get back to a .500 district record when it goes up against rival McAllen Rowe. Juarez-Lincoln will also face a crosstown foe in La Joya High.
“These kids are hungry. They understand we are 4 points away from being undefeated,” Garcia said. “We just got to keep doing what we’re doing and get better at what we’re doing and let the chips fall where they may.”