LA JOYA — On a cold, rainy and windy night, the playing conditions were simply perfect for the La Joya Palmview Lobos.
None of the Lobos was complaining about the weather Friday because Palmview clinched a trip to the playoffs.
The Lobos turned loose their vaunted rushing attack, built a 14-0 first-quarter advantage and went on to capture a 28-10 District 16-5A Division I victory at La Joya ISD Stadium against the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers.
“We knew this win was coming, baby, we just had to believe,” said David Flores, Palmview’s senior quarterback. “We’ve been believing all season and we completed it tonight. Our goal (now) is to go to Corpus (Christi for the bi-district playoffs) and kick some butt.
“We didn’t do anything different tonight,” Flores added. “We used the same motivation we’ve been using all season long, and we knew if we played like we did against (district champion) Mission Vets (the week before), we were going to clinch that playoff spot tonight (by winning).”
As it turned out, the Lobos and Chargers both made it to the postseason because PSJA Memorial defeated Donna High 17-14 in another 16-5A Division I game Friday.
It meant Brownsville Veterans and Palmview move on to the postseason along with Mission Veterans and Pace. The Patriots and Vikings clinched playoff spots prior to Friday.
It was a big night for Lobos senior running back Mario Chapa on Friday. He rushed 25 times for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
It all began with the Palmview offensive line, and Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu gave the Lobos credit for their strong play.
“Palmview won the line of scrimmage, and they beat us in the trenches,” said Cantu, whose team came into the contest already hampered by injuries. “We had a few key injuries tonight that also made things more challenging.
“The injuries included middle linebacker Mauricio De La Garza and quarterback Liam Longoria,” Cantu added. “We hope that both of them will be back next week for our playoff game.”
During the final weekend of the regular season, Palmview improved to 6-4 overall and 6-3 in district. Brownsville Veterans slipped to 7-3 and 6-3.
First-quarter touchdown runs by Palmview running backs Freddy Pena of 8 yards and Chapa of 40 yards accounted for the Lobos’ 14-0 lead, which included a pair of extra points by Saul Delgado.
The Chargers narrowed it to 14-7 at the 10:46 mark of the second period when running back Guadalupe Moran went into the end zone from 1 yard out and Israel Barron added the extra point.
Moran led the Chargers with 132 yards rushing on 19 carries.
The Lobos scored on their first possession of the second half and boosted the lead to 21-7 on an 8-yard run by Chapa with 6:07 showing in the third quarter.
Brownsville Veterans responded on its following possession by getting a field goal as Barron converted a 36-yarder with 1:04 left in the third.
It became 28-10 with 2:48 remaining when Chapa broke loose and sprinted 55 yards down the left sideline to the end zone. Delgado then added his fourth extra point of the night.
Earlier, both teams failed to convert a field goal during the second quarter. Delgado missed an attempt of 34 yards against a stiff wind from the north with 3:14 left until the half. With 17 seconds to go before intermission, Barron had a 33-yard attempt blocked.
The Chargers are content in knowing they have another opportunity to play this season and will have a chance to bounce back.
“Making the playoffs for the fourth year in a row was one of our preseason team goals,” Cantu said. “We knew accomplishing that this year, being that we’re in a 10-team district, would be a great achievement. As a coaching staff, we’re extremely proud of our team.”
The Chargers found out after Friday’s game they’ll go up against Corpus Christi Veterans in bi-district at 7 p.m. Thursday at Buc Stadium in Corpus Christi.