First Win or Second Loss
Rowe Warriors at La Joya Coyotes
Our Progress Times game of the week features the Nikki Rowe Warriors at the La Joya Coyotes. The Coyotes are coming off a 40-3 loss to the Rivera Raiders of Brownsville and in a game where they were only able to put up three points, we expect for things to take a different turn.
I asked Head Coach Reuben Farias about the loss last Friday, “If we limited our mistakes we would have given ourselves a chance.” The first half of the game was one that kept the game in reach for the Coyotes, but after starting the second half off by turning the ball over, the mistakes started piling up. A couple of turnovers and penalties later, we had a game that didn’t end in favor of La Joya. “Overall, the positives are that our kids kept on fighting and we saw the maturity in our quarterback…we saw our first string quarterback grow and play very confidently.”
Coyotes executing plays. Progress Times photo by Arnold Cadena.
The quarterback playing confidently is something that is definitely going to have to keep up, especially if the Coyotes want to find success in a new system in the offense that was implemented in the offseason. It was in full effect, so I asked Farias how his players are responding to it. ”The boys are picking it up, it’s been successful…they’re having fun with it.” The offense is designed to open up the passing game for the Coyotes and Farias was very happy with the way his team was able to respond.
Practice this week with the Coyotes. Progress Times photo by Arnold Cadena.
Junior wide receiver Andrew Rosales shared more about the system and how he’s doing with it. ”I think it’s going pretty well, there’s still some things that we need to fix, but I really like it. It’s way different from last year.” Since the offense is designed to where the quarterback is going to be throwing the ball more, targets are going Rosales’s way and he’s been able to make more big plays because of it.
Coyotes executing plays early this week. Progress Times photo by Arnold Cadena.
The Rowe Warriors are also coming off a tough loss this past week to the Sharyland Pioneers Diamondbacks, so both teams are looking to get their first win of the season. The Warriors have a very balanced offense as they were able to put up about the same number of passing yards as rushing yards. Their defense was doing its job against Pioneer’s offense but ultimately fell short. It’s going to be hard to run against the Coyotes defense so they should have the advantage in that area of the game so it’s going to be on the defense to stop the pass. I asked defensive lineman Jeremia Sandoval to share their game plan going into this game, “We plan on stopping the run against them by lining up correctly and making sure the guys with the ball don’t go through our defensive line and forcing them outside. Against the pass, we need to work more with our corners and safeties but we want to block the balls that pass through the defensive line.”
Overall, it’s shaping up to be a fun and competitive game. This is going to be the first win for either of these teams so it’s going to come down to who wants it more. The La Joya Coyotes are hungry for a win and if they can put it all together this week, they’re going to get it done.
Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 7:30 tonight at LJISD Pack Stadium.
