J.ust D.eadly

LA VILLA — J.D. Cisneros is just having fun, and it shows.

In fact, he has so much fun that La Villa head coach Eugene Garza says his quarterback sometimes is a little too relaxed.

But when Cisneros and the Cardinals are on the field, it’s all business.

That’s the best way to explain Cisneros’ 448-yard, seven-touchdown pass outing last week in the regular season finale against Benavides.

It was the fourth-best single game passing yardage total all-time in Valley history. And it also helped clinch a second consecutive District 32-A title for La Villa (8-1).

For his magnificent efforts, Cisneros is the Valley Morning Star’s Player of the Week for Week 10.

“It felt good knowing I had those stats,” Cisneros said. “But I want to give all the credit to my linemen and my receivers. They were able to get open and find creases in the defense. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now.”

Garza described Cisneros as a key component to the La Villa offense who knows how to perform when the lights go on.

“He’s a great kid and sometimes he jokes around too much,” said Garza, who’s in his first season at La Villa. “But when it comes down to working, he gets after it and gets things done.”

Cisneros has got it done in every game this season. Through nine regular season games, Cisneros has 2,827 yards and 42 touchdowns passing.

And he thanks that O-line.

“Besides being big physically, they’ve been a big help for me and a big key to our success,” Cisneros said. “They’ve given me so much time back there. I’m just barbecuing like the coaches joke.”

Last week’s performance was the second time this season Cisneros passed for seven touchdowns in a game. He did it against Santa Maria in Week Seven.

On both occasions, Cisneros tied the feats of former Mission QB Lupe Rodriguez. The Eagle legend had two seven-TD games on his way to a Valley record 50 TD passes in 1987.

Yes, Cisneros is within striking distance of Lupe Rodriguez. Not bad for a kid from one of the Valley’s smallest high schools.

“What makes it feel a lot better is that we got the ‘W’ in those two games,” Cisneros said.

So, where are these record-threatening numbers coming from?

After all, Cisneros has been the La Villa signal-caller throughout his time in high school and wasn’t as much of a household name as he is now.

Last season, La Villa claimed a district crown thanks to a running game featuring Rey Perez and Rey Cantu, who both rushed for 1,000 yards. So, Cisneros hadn’t exactly been filling the Delta Area air with footballs prior to this season.

Enter Garza.

Upon the former Edcouch-Elsa assistant’s arrival, Garza implemented a spread passing scheme. And Cisneros was instantly smitten. Like a Cardinal given the chance to spread his wings and fly.

“I had to adjust to his (Garza) philosophy of football,” he said. “I feel like I’ve adjusted pretty good. We all get along just fine.”

While Garza wasn’t exactly sure how the change would turn out, the coach now knows it was probably the first of many good decisions he’s made at La Villa.

“We figured we were gonna struggle a little bit,” Garza said. “But man, he (Cisneros) got accustomed to the offense pretty quickly. And he’s got the receivers to help him out.”

As the Cards prepared Monday at Cats Stadium in Edinburg for their Thursday playoff tilt with Flatonia, Garza said he’s anxious to see how his QB will respond in the postseason.

“He’s improved so much through the year,” Garza said. “It’s gonna be nice to see him the playoffs and see what he can do.”