Reprint from the Progress Times - December 7, 2007
©Progress Times 2007 - All Rights Reserved

La Joya’s 2007 football season comes to a close after 34-16 loss

In the postseason for the fourth consecutive campaign, the La Joya Coyotes saw their 2007 season come to an end falling 34-16 in the Class 5A Division I regional finals to Converse Judson.

Playing at the Student Activities Center in Laredo, La Joya battled Judson to the very end. The Coyotes, who end their season at 6-7, trailed 14-10 at halftime.

The Coyotes lost to Judson 43-14 in 2004 in the Division I regional championship game.

"I was proud of the way the kids played," said Head Coach Leonel Casas. "They played hard and that’s all you can ask of them."

Two fourth-quarter interceptions proved hard to overcome.

After falling behind 7-0 after the opening 12 minutes of play, La Joya tied the game with 7:37 remaining in the second period. Sophomore running back Jose Bocanegra hauled in a 7-yard touchdown pass from Stephen Ramirez. Sergio Castillo booted the conversion attempt.

The Rockets went up 14-7 just before halftime as Rio Grande Valley record-setting 58-yard field goal by Castillo cut the advantage to 14-10 at intermission. The boot cleared the crossbar by some five yards with the aid of a strong wind.

La Joya didn’t score again until the fourth quarter. Junior Lorenzo Garcia darted into the endzone on a 2-yard run. A pass fell incomplete on the extra-point attempt with 11:54 left in the contest.

Bocanegra concluded the game with 85 yards rushing on 27 carries and also grabbed three passes for 35 yards. Garcia had 33 yards on 10 attempts. Ramirez was 11-21-2 passing for 175 yards. Justin Villarreal went 1-6-1 for nine yards. Matt Jones led the receiving corp catching nine passes for 149 yards.

Defensively, the Coyotes allowed 296 total yards, 263 rushing and 33 passing.