LA JOYA — La Joya Palmview fullback Kyle Bazan scored twice and the defense forced three takeaways as the Lobos defeated the Brownsville Lopez Lobos 42-27 during a non-district contest Thursday at La Joya ISD Stadium in La Joya.
The victory sends Palmview into the start of district with a 3-0 mark, picking up wins over PSJA Southwest (35-14), Roma (28-14) and Lopez.
“I think going 3-0 in non-district sends a message to everyone in district that we’re ready to play,” La Joya Palmview head coach Margarito Requenez said. “We’re going to line up against anybody. We’re not afraid of nobody.”
Bazan set the tone for Palmview from the opening drive, barreling into the end zone from 16 yards to put the Lobos up 7-0 just four minutes into the contest.
With Lopez clawing back into the contest with back-to-back touchdowns during the third, it was Bazan sparking Palmview again, breaking off a 42-yard touchdown run minutes into the fourth to put his team back up by two scores and never looking back.
“I just wanted to step up for the team and set the tone for this defense and offense,” Bazan said. “It went great tonight though. Shoutout to the defense and the line for stepping it up.”
Trailing 28-7 at the break, Lopez roared to life during the third quarter. A turnover on downs by Palmview opened things up for Brownsville, with wide out Diego Guerra taking it in from 11 yards out to make it a 14-point game.
A successful onside attempt gave the ball immediately back to Lopez, with senior running back Eddie Slovak punching it in from two yards to cut Lopez’s deficit down to seven.
Bazan’s long touchdown run put Palmview back up by 14, but the Lobos wouldn’t back down, making it a one possession game on a four-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Guadalupe Ramirez to Gabriel Rios with 22 seconds left.
That would be as close as they’d get, with Mario Blanco taking the ensuing kickoff to the house to seal Palmview’s victory.
“We knew that they were explosive,” Requenez said. “They’re a good ball club. Like I said, they’re explosive. We saw that the last two weeks on film, so we were ready for battle. We came out throwing punches, but I guess we turned off the light switches too early and it almost cost us. It feels nice to be 3-0 going into district play. We just have to make sure we correct our mistakes from tonight and we’ll be ready to play.”
Ramirez finished the game with 25-of-35 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Rios led all receiver with seven catches for 105 yards and two scores, while running back Eddie Slovak added 106 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries.
Bazan led Palmview with 11 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Joe Esparza and Cristian Martinez each added touchdown runs of their own, while Joseph Martinez and Max Solis each snagged one interception each.
Lopez (2-1) looks to bounce back at 7 p.m. Thursday against Grulla at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium in Rio Grande City.
Palmview (3-0) turns its attention to their first district game of the season, kicking off 16-5A DI play against McAllen Rowe (0-2) at 7 p.m. Friday.
English