Lobos ready for first-ever game

LA JOYA -- La Joya Palmview coach Manuel Flores said he expected not to get much sleep Thursday night but admitted he hasn't gotten a lot of sleep in recent weeks.

"I haven't slept since July 21st," Flores said.

If Flores didn't sleep much last night, no one would blame him. Flores' Palmview Lobos play host to the Zapata Hawks at 7:30 tonight at La Joya ISD Stadium in the former's first official game in school history.

"We are pretty excited about (tonight)," Flores said. "This is our first official game and our first home game but the kids seemed pretty focused (Thursday). We finished our athletic period (Thursday), and the team looked ready. We will be ready."

Flores knows his players will battle some nerves once they arrive at the stadium but he is hoping they will overcome the butterflies for a smooth ride tonight.

"We just want to make sure the kids are focused on the special teams that they are on, making sure we don't have any miscommunication as far as who is supposed to be out there at certain times" Flores said. "The offense looked pretty good (Wednesday) and the defense managed to get through he gameplan.

"We are trying very hard to have things not go wrong tomorrow. But you know life."

Hawks coach Mario Arce said he expects his team to arrive to a lot of excitement in La Joya.

"I know they are going to be excited," Arce said. "I know their coaches have talked to them about the significance of it being the first game in school history. For us, we just got to approach it like it is our first game and hopefully we are able to execute and do the things we need to do and come out of there with little or no injuries. We just have to approach it as just a game."

A well-established Class 5A program would probably not schedule a Class 3A school as a non-district opponent but the Hawks should provide a test for Palmview, which does not feature a senior class and has only two players on the roster with legit varsity experience.

The Hawks come in with plenty of recent district success. They have made the playoffs seven of the last eight years, winning five District 31-3A championships during that span.

"(The Hawks) are a playoff team from last year," Flores said. "They have some big kids and are well coached. We expect them to come out here ready to play."

Peter Rasmussen covers District 30-5A for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448 or via e-mail at prasmussen@themonitor.com.