PHARR — Throwing the ball Elias Gutierrez’s direction is playing with fire. PSJA Memorial spent a lot of time getting burned on Thursday, as Gutierrez picked off three passes in La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s 34-7 beat down of the Wolverines.
Gutierrez led from the defense but also got involved as a running back with a TD on the ground. He wasn’t the only player who made a two-way impact. Joseph Valdez, a starting linebacker, powered into the end zone as a fullback.
Coach Tommy Garcia talked about his embarrassment of riches when it comes to capable runners.
“That’s the luxury that we have right now,” Garcia said. “We have Adonis Barillas, and then we have Albert Martinez that are pretty good runners right now.”
Harley Vargas also scored for Juarez-Lincoln, returning a kickoff to open the second half.
LA JOYA HIGH 20, RIO GRANDE CITY 7: At La Joya, the Coyotes flipped the script from last season’s 12-7 Week 1 loss against the Rattlers. This time, La Joya gave Rio Grande City a taste of its medicine with a suffocating defense.
La Joya used a strip on a long completed pass to stop RGC in its tracks. The defense even got on the scoreboard with a long fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Eddie Villarreal had 37 carries for 153 yards. Quarterback Irving Garcia ran 16 times for 92 yards.
“Overall, it’s a good win for the program,” Coyotes coach Rueben Farias said. “The young men, they’ve been working hard, and I’m excited for them.”
“We capitalized on some mistakes early on them,” Farias said. “That gave us the lead. Then, defensively, our guys played real good.”
Farias gave a lot of credit to the Coyotes’ opponents for playing a tough game despite the two-possession margin they won by. They’ll hope to carry momentum and rise as a dark horse in an improved 30-6A.