Eagles survive bad start to down Coyotes in first round

MISSION — It was hard to tell whether Mario Peña was screaming because he had to be heard over “We Are The Champions” or whether that’s what he had been doing all Friday night and couldn’t stop.

Whatever the reason was for his raised voice, Peña and the Eagles beat Alice 30-27 in a Class 4A, Division I bi-district game and will face Gregory-Portland next week in the area round. Talking loudly through the cliché victory song celebrating just one playoff win, Peña’s pride in his team came through clearly.

“I told them, dating back to our 7-on-7, we showed that we had the no-quit attitude in us,” Peña said. “We came back in the past and I told them, ‘There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to come back. If we have faith, we’re going to come back and win.’”

The Eagles (10-1) had to overcome maybe their worst 20 minutes of the season to advance and win their first playoff game since 2002. Alice scored just 18 seconds into the game when Emilio Garcia returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a 7-0 lead. The Coyotes (7-4) then took a 20-6 lead with 3:53 left in the half when Angel Longoria hit Garcia for a 3-yard TD pass.

At that point, the completely-filled Mission side was as quiet as it had been all season. A year that had been the program’s return to prominence looked to be 28 minutes away from ending with a disappointing first-round loss.

But, as Peña said, the Eagles rallied.

On a 4th-and-15 with 29 seconds left in the half, Eagles quarterback Gilbert Gonzalez hit George Niño (five catches, 121 yards) for a 23-yard TD pass to cut the deficit to 20-13. Niño’s score was set up his 58-yard gain on a screen that got the Eagles to within scoring range with 1:03 left in the half.

“That was a big one because it was 20-6 at that point and momentum was on our side and it shifted and we never got it back,” Alice coach Chris Soza said.

After that sequence, Mission played like the team that went 7-0 in district play. The defense held the Coyotes to only seven points the rest of the way, while the offense scored 17 points in the second half, including Gilbert Gonzalez’s 30-yard run that put Mission up 27-20 with 4:12 remaining in the third and completed the rally.

“We never quit. We played Mercedes and we were down and never gave up. We played Weslaco East and we came back again,” said Joaquin Rios, who rushed for 95 yards and two TDs. “And now we’re bi-district champs.”

Brian Sandalow covers District 32-4A football for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4436 or via e-mail.