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Mission High needed to come from behind to improve to 2-1 in District 30-6A and deny La Joya Juarez-Lincoln of their first win of the season, by beating the Huskies 16-14 on Friday night at La Joya ISD Stadium.
Mission kicker Rene Rodriguez lined up with 14 seconds left in the game and provided the winning boot to keep the Eagles in the hunt at the top of District 30-6A.
Mission High’s Damian Gomez hit Sebastian Gonzalez for two touchdown passes in the early going, but then adversity stuck the Eagles. Gomez was knocked out of the game and had to be stretched off the field after absorbing a big hit from Huskies defensive lineman Xavier Monreal.
“We had an injury in there and we just had a tough time keeping drives alive,” Mission coach Koy Detmer said. “We just had one of those out of rhythm types of deals. I was proud of the way the kids found a way at the end to put it together and go down and get the field goal.”
Juarez-Lincoln coach Tommy Garcia was upset about a call that he felt hurt his team. The Huskies thought they had forced a turnover on downs after a 4th-down pass went incomplete for the Eagles. The officials threw a flag, picked it up then changed their mind according to Garcia.
“Our two best players were out with injury, Efren Martinez out with a torn ACL and Albert Martinez hobbling with a high ankle sprain and we still won (the) game until the call was reversed and given to Mission.”
Freshman quarterback Jeremy Duran orchestrated the drive in the hurry-up offense that put Mission in for their first points since Gomez went down, and the most important score of the game.
After Week 7’s action in 30-6A there’s a logjam of teams with playoff and district championship goals very much alive. PSJA High is the only undefeated team reaming at 3-0. Mission is 2-1 with a loss to McAllen Memorial, Rowe is 2-1 with a loss to PSJA North. North is 2-1 with a loss to PSJA High. La Joya High is 2-1 with a loss to PSJA High.
Defending champion McAllen Memorial is 1-2 with losses to PSJA High and La Joya High.
“It’s that kind of district man,” Detmer said. “Every week is a tough game. You have to play well to win every week, if not you’re going to have a tough time.”
DISTRICT 30-6A
PSJA NORTH 38, McALLEN ROWE 22: At Pharr, the PSJA North Raiders didn’t have to take moral victories in their game against Rowe, they had the real thing. North even saved their fans the drama of a stressful game, winning 38-22 at home.
“We finally didn’t turn the ball over for a game,” Raiders coach Marcus Kaufmann said. “Our defense played a hell of a ball game. We had a scoop and score (fumble recovery) No. 90, Aaron Alvarez, had the score for us. They had a weird muff and Arturo (Beltran) recovered it for a touchdown on special teams.”
Beltran would get into the end zone three more times on offense, all rushing tallies to bring his total to four for the night. He now has 15 for the season to tie La Joya High’s Eddie Villarreal for the most in the RGV.
North found their success as they utilized more straightforward running-centric formations.
Kaufmann’s team had been slowed by turnovers entering Friday’s game. He said it’s a whole new experience when they win that battle.
“It’s a completely different ball game,” Kaufmann said. “I’m pumped for the kids, because they worked really hard, and they finally saw something positive at the end of the ball game.”
Rowe had touchdowns from running back Lorenzo Lopez and wide receiver Ruben Salinas.
DISTRICT 31-6A
EDINBURG HIGH 31, EDINBURG NORTH 14: At Edinburg, senior running back Hearlin Benavides got the ball moving early for the Bobcats (5-1, 1-1), and they never looked back against the Cougars (1-6, 1-2) on Friday night at Richard R. Flores Stadium.
Still, without senior quarterback Matt Cruz, EHS relied on the power run game to get it done.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 21-0 lead and led 24-14 at the half.
DISTIRCT 16-5A D1
MISSION VETERANS 56, DONNA HIGH 28: At Donna, the Patriots (5-1, 5-0) offense again thrived despite injuries to wide receiver Mikey Garcia and top running back Danny Cantu to defeat Donna High (4-2, 3-2) going away.
Senior quarterback Landry Gilpin ran for six touchdowns and threw for two in their first action in two weeks.
“We scored 55 and 56 points the last two weeks without one of the best receivers in the Valley,” Mission Veterans coach David Gilpin said. “We played a majority of the game tonight, and I pulled them into the fourth quarter. That was the first time we played that much since the opener. We’re not going to run up the score, but we need to find a way to play full games. We’re clicking offensively. There’s no doubt about it.”
DISTRICT 16-5A DII
SHARYLAND HIGH 47, EDCOUCH-ELSA 21: At Mission, Sharyland High (4-3, 3-0) wasn’t sure what to expect from the Yellow Jackets (1-6, 0-3) under interim coach Christian Navarro.
They faced an early 7-3 deficit in the second quarter, but the offense recovered. Senior quarterback Oscar Valdez threw two touchdowns and ran for two more in the Rattlers’ win.
DISTIRCT 16-2A DII
LA VILLA 34, AGUA DULCE 21: At Agua Dulce, La Villa (4-3, 1-0) went on the road after a bye to begin their district season, and the Cardinals handed a tough Agua Dulce team (5-1, 0-1) their first loss of the year, 34-21.
The Cardinals have become known for their spread passing attack, so when they came face to face with the Longhorns, the Cardinals’ power run game caught Agua Dulce off guard, and the Caridnals pounded the rock all the way to the win.
“Our guys played four full quarters,” La Villa coach Daniel Perez said. “We scored first with that power set, and they just couldn’t stop us. We just kept running it and running it.”
The Cardinals led 21-14 at halftime. The Cardinals got a rushing touchdown from senior quarterback Rey Felix. His brother, Damien, a sophomore, picked up two more touchdowns on the ground. Rey Felix connected with Orlando Vallejo on another touchdown, this one of the passing variety.
The score would have been more lopsided, as the Cardinals were at the goal line, looking at a sure touchdown scenario int he first half.
“It was one of those deals where three guys have him wrapped up and no one is moving, but they didn’t blow the whistle,” Perez said. “One of their guys ripped the ball out, and they returned it 99 yards. That score would have put us up 28-7. Instead, we go into the half up 21-14.”
The power running game was fueled by the Felix brothers, but they were not alone. Freshman Christian Ortiz was elusive, and senior Alexis Gonzalez rounded out the rotation that was so successful on Friday.
“Those guys ran the ball pretty hard, and it was tough for them to bring us down,” Perez said.
After the game, the players were tired, with a slightly subdued celebration, but the Cardinals know they are on the precipice of something special, and this big win is just the beginning.
“We have been playing good halves,” Perez said. “Against Three Rivers we were right there with them in the first half. Against Santa Rosa, we played a great second half. Tonight, we played all four quarters, and it showed on the scoreboard.”
NON-DISTRICT
PROGRESO 42, MMA 7: At Harlingen, the Red Ants (3-4) got rolling early and won big over MMA (2-4) in their final tune up before the beginning of their District 16-4A DII season next week.