The La Joya High Coyotes needed all the time on the clock to secure a 15-13 win against Roma on Thursday at La Joya ISD Stadium in La Joya, remaining undefeated through two games for the first time since the early 2000s.
The winning play was a slant pass caught by Irvin Zamora. Coach Reuben Farias credited the perseverance of his squad.
“The kids showed a lot of character toward the end of the game to get enough points to finish the ball game,” Farias said.
A La Joya field goal marked the only points of the first half, and Roma spent most of the second half on top.
McALLEN HIGH 35, PSJA MEMORIAL 21: At McAllen, the Bulldogs kept from dropping to a dreaded 0-2 at home. After the teams went into the halftime break tied 7, the Wolverines ran into numerous problems on special teams. Short returns and short punts allowed McHi’s defense and offense to work with favorable field position.
Coach Kevin Brewer commended his team for weathering the storm and making the opposition pay.
“Really proud of the way our kids hung in there,” Brewer said. “We had a lot of adversity. Really the first three quarters, we put ourselves in a lot of poor situations. Our defense did a great job keeping us in the game.”
Eventually, the offense got the job done, and it happened mostly on the ground.
Roy Gutierrez punched in three rushing TDs, while Gunnar Henderson also added a TD to his total.