(Santa Maria, Texas)-In District 16-2A DI, La Villa High School QB Brandon Felix took the kickoff from his own 8-yard line with :12 seconds left to play, trailing 35-28 and broke several tackles, found daylight, racing down the sidelines to tie the game at 35-34. “I want the ball, let’s go for the win,” that’s what Felix told me,” said La Villa head football coach, Danny Perez. “I said, then go do it.” Felix took the snap and plowed it in for the win, sending the Cardinals bench into a frenzy. The Santa Maria Cougars were shocked. As for the Cardinals, they are headed back to the UIL State 2A Division I playoffs.
Trailing 26-21, senior QB J.C. Serna stepped in and connected with WR Luke Serna for a 56-yard score to make it 28-21. Then, the Cardinal defense sacked Santa Maria QB Chris Ibarra for a huge loss, all the way back to the 50-yard line. The Cardinals defense forced the Cougars to two turnovers and held them to 113 yards, including five quarterback sacks. “This was a tough loss,” said Santa Maria head coach, Israel Gracia. The Cardinals improves to 6-2, 3-0 and will meet Premont next week (4-4, 1-2) while the Santa Maria Cougars will play Ben Bolt (2-6, 1-2) at home. With a Cougars win, they will clinch a playoff berth.