LA JOYA — Rio Grande City and La Joya Palmview took turns making plays all night like a game of H.O.R.S.E. in their District 16-5A DI opener Friday at La Joya Stadium, but in the end, the Rattlers couldn’t be matched.
RGC outlasted the Lobos for a 43-36 victory as the two teams combined for 877 yards of total offense and 11 touchdowns.
Rio Grande City’s Angel Galvan led the way for the Rattlers with four rushing scores on 15 carries for 133 yards. Galvan also brought in four catches in clutch situations, which kept the chains moving for Rio all night. Mario Garza completed 23 of 39 passes for 225 yards and one touchdown pass to Aaron Marroquin, the fourth touchdown of the year for both the wideout and QB.
Rio jumped out to a 28-14 lead in the first half, but a 30-minute lightning delay halted the game with 3:35 to play in the second quarter. After the break and a shortened halftime, La Joya Palmview surged back to knot the game at 28-28 in the third quarter.
Palmview’s Carlos Peña finished the game with an eye-popping 332 rushing yards on 18 carries with touchdown runs of 80, 92 and 62 yards. Fullback Adrian Vasquez scored the Lobos’ two other touchdowns as he had 56 yards rushing on 12 attempts. As a team, Palmview totaled 493 yards of offense.
A Galvan touchdown gave Rio a one-score lead with 3:28 remaining in the game, and Palmview began to put together a last-minute drive. With the ball in Rattlers territory, the Lobos took to the air, but an interception by RGC’s Allan Garcia with :07 left on the clock brought and end to the game. Garcia also had seven catches for 99 yards on the night.
The win sends the Rattlers to 2-0 on the year and 1-0 in district play, while the Lobos fall to 0-2 and 0-1 in 16-5A DI action.
Next up for Rio Grande City is a home game against Brownsville Lopez (0-2, 0-1) at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 13.
La Joya Palmview will pay a visit to Brownsville Porter (1-0, 0-0) at 7:30 p.m. on the same night.