BY GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Entering 2014, Freddy Villarreal and the rest of La Joya Palmview’s 30 seniors had never had a winning season. They’d never been to the playoffs, much less won a playoff game. They’d never even beaten sister school La Joya Juarez-Lincoln.
Now, the Lobos have crossed each of those items — and many more — off the to-do list. Behind a stout defense and the three-headed running attack of Villarreal, Jose Bernal and Abel Torres, Palmview upset Laredo LBJ to set up this week’s 6A Division II Area Round game against Weslaco East.
“It feels good just going from a negative season to come to this positive season,” Villarreal said. “It feels great to be a senior here at Palmview.”
The Lobos finished 1-9 last year, a mark that was overshadowed by coach Manny Flores leaving the team via a rare midseason reassignment. Coach Margarito Requenez stepped in and established a new system and a new culture. The atmosphere around Palmview football has changed substantially.
“It’s really amazing how it just changes the whole campus,” Requenez said. “It’s just something that had never been experienced here. The vibe is great.”
Villarreal, who has run for more than 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, is even playing a new position.
He had worked at both running back and linebacker from youth leagues up until the start of his sophomore year, when he started playing linebacker full time. He also started at linebacker last season, until Requenez took over coaching duties and decided to give him a look on the other side.
“I forgot how to play running back for a bit,” Villarreal said. “It was tough.”
With very little feel for the position after time away, Villarreal relied exclusively on his power. His only options were stiff-arming a defender or running through him. As the season has gone on, he’s started to add to his game.
“He’s actually cutting more,” Requenez said. “He’s seeing the holes a little bit better, instead of just trying to run over you.”
The Lobos have a second power back in Bernal, who has also eclipsed 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns for the season. A shoulder injury has limited his role the past few weeks — a painful blow for a senior who missed time to injury last season, as well.
“He’s probably dying in there right now because he’s not out here practicing,” Requenez said. “Hopefully we can have him Friday night.”
With Bernal hurting and Villarreal nursing an ankle during the latter portion of the season, Torres has stepped into a larger role.
For the first six weeks, Torres wasn’t even on the roster. He had played a key role on Palmview’s lower-level teams as a freshman and sophomore, but ultimately left the sport midway through each season.
“It touched my heart knowing that I let them down for two years in a row,” Torres said. “It just clicked in my head that, ‘It’s time, Abel. It’s time.’”
So, Torres came out for his junior year, and Requenez put him on a tight leash. Torres jokes that Requenez has him “as a dog.” One slip-up with class or grades, and Torres will be off the team.
After being let down by Torres, some of the Lobos were hesitant to allow him back on in the first place.
“It took a while for him to earn the respect,” Requenez said. “It took a while for his teammates to really trust him. … As weeks go by, they do respect him.”
Torres knows earning that trust is a process. He said he’s been winning his teammates over “little by little.” His play on the field has helped. He ran four times for 94 yards and two scores in his first action against McAllen Memorial, added another 105 yards against McAllen High and scored against Laredo LBJ.
Just like the Palmview program, Torres is finally hitting his stride.
“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, man,” Torres said. “My freshman and sophomore year, it was horrible. I don’t even want to go back to that time. Right now, I’m doing awesome. I’m getting back on track.”