Memorial erupts in win over Palmview
LA JOYA — After being shocked last week by Rio Grande City, McAllen Memorial was on a mission against La Joya Palmview Friday night at La Joya ISD Stadium.
With six touchdowns and 595 offensive yards, sophomore Mathew Kaufmann and senior Ben Garcia put on a show as the Mustangs beat Palmview 49-30 in the District 30-5A contest.
Garcia had three touchdowns, 172 yards rushing and 77 yards receiving. He said after the loss to RGC, the team was not going to be denied Friday.
“We fought hard tonight as a team,” Garcia said. “Coming out and playing like this after a difficult loss last week to Rio says a lot about our team. We wanted to bounce back for the city and the fans.”
During the second quarter with the Mustangs (5-1 season, 2-1 district) up 21-14, the Lobos looked poised to tie things up but fumbled near the goal line for the second time in the half. Garcia answered with a 94-yard touchdown run, giving the Mustangs a 28-14 lead going into halftime.
“Ben had a great game,” Memorial coach Bill Littleton said. “He’s been capable of doing this. We’ve been waiting for him to explode and tonight he had a great game for us. I’m glad we got the win. The turnovers hurt them, and we were fortunate to convert.”
The Mustangs scored three minutes into the third quarter, which took the air out of the Lobos (3-3, 1-2).
“It was tough,” Lobos coach Manuel Flores said. “I’m proud of our kids fight though. When our execution was there we were able to put some points on them, but defensively we had a couple of breakdowns that cost us. We know we can’t commit mistakes against good ball clubs, or we’ll pay and that’s what happened tonight.”
Lobos junior quarterback Javier Fermat threw for a game-high 266 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 77 yards.
