NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
The crucial games for La Joya Juarez-Lincoln keep coming. On Thursday, the Huskies will travel to face the Mission Eagles, who are also 1-1 in District 30-6A through two games.
The Huskies will likely turn to junior running back Albert Martinez, who is up to 564 yards rushing and five TDs on just 87 carries.
“He’s a little scatback — very agile and tough to tackle, and we try to get him in open space so we can utilize his speed,” Garcia said of his team’s leading offensive player. “He’s got very good vision, and you can’t teach that.”
Martinez’s versatility catching the ball out of the backfield and not taking every carry could prove vital as the season plays out.
Mission and Juarez-Lincoln will both look to establish consistency. For Mission, that means playing a clean game and reducing flags, which the Eagles did a solid job of with last week, with only four.
Juarez-Lincoln coach Tommy Garcia said that holding onto the ball and minimizing mistakes will be key. Against Rowe two weeks ago, the Huskies fumbled in a one-score game. Last week, they turned the ball over four times.
“We need to eliminate the turnovers,” Garcia said. “We’re lucky we got out of last Friday’s game with a victory.”
Juarez-Lincoln will go up against a hard-hitting Mission defense, which will want to be better after being gouged by McAllen Memorial’s line and rushing game last week. The Eagles allowed 443 rushing yards to the Mustangs.
Juarez-Lincoln ranks second behind McAllen Memorial in the district in rushing. Mission is fourth with 1,038 yards on the season, only 127 behind Juarez-Lincoln.
Steven De Leon left last week’s game with an injury but was itching to get back into the game, coach Koy Detmer said. The linebacker/fullback has barreled into the end zone for nine scores this year.