Donna escapes with victory over fired-up La Joya

LA JOYA — No need to look good at this point.

Donna moved a step closer to a playoff spot by coming up with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to secure a tougher-than-expected 24-21 victory against a fired-up La Joya Coyotes’ squad.

The Coyotes (1-8, 0-6 District 30-5A) held Donna to 278 total yards, but the Redskins made the plays when they needed them.

“You take them when you get them,” Donna coach Manny Moreno said. “We’ve lost games like that before and when you win games like that, you have to enjoy them.”

The Redskins (6-3, 4-2) moved into sole possession of third place following McAllen Memorial’s loss to Sharyland. Donna and Memorial play each other next week. Memorial sits in fourth place with Rio Grande City at 3-3.

Receiver Estevan Garcia came up with two huge plays on what turned out to be the game-winning drive. Garcia had a 14-yard carry on a reverse that took the Redskins to La Joya’s 32. Two plays later he hauled in a 20-yard fade from Alahn Yanez at the 7:37 mark of the fourth quarter.

La Joya led 14-10 at halftime before engaging in a see-saw battle in the second half. Donna took a 17-14 lead on a 25-yard TD pass from Yanez to Erin Perez. La Joya answered with a 1-yard sneak by Victor Leanos on the first play of the fourth quarter that capped a 12-play 72-yard drive and gave the Coyotes a 21-17 lead.

“They did a heck of a job against us,” Moreno said of Coyotes coach Leonel Casas’ team. “Coach Casas had them ready to play, and they took it to us. We were blessed to come out with a victory.”

The Coyotes had 294 total yards. Running back Lee Ramirez did the most damage with 167 yards on 22 carries. He had a 40-yard TD scamper that tied the game at 7 in the first quarter.

La Joya recovered nicely after Donna turned an interception on the game’s third play into a 6-yard touchdown run by Joey Chapa.

The Coyotes answered by scoring touchdowns with Ramirez’s and then, following a fumble recovery, La Joya marched 79 yards to take a 14-7 lead when Allen Hernandez hauled in a 15-yard pass from Leanos early in the second quarter.

La Joya pulled to within 14-10 on a 35-yard field goal by Fernando Sanchez.