Football Preview: La Joya Community Fighting Lobos vs. Independence Patriots
The La Joya Community Fighting Lobos will face off against the Independence Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. La Joya Community is out to stop a four-game streak of losses at home.
La Joya Community is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Gila Ridge on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. La Joya Community came up short against Gila Ridge, falling 35-14.
La Joya Community might have lost, but man, Jayden Quick was a machine: he picked up 103 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The bulk of those receiving yards came from one huge play: a catch that gained an incredible 87 yards.
La Joya Community didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Nasir Smith and Bryce Johnson.
Meanwhile, Independence entered their game against Sierra Linda on Thursday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Independence and Sierra Linda were almost perfectly matched up, but Independence suffered a 22-21 defeat. The Patriots gained 88 more yards on the day, but it was the Bulldogs that made the best use of them.
Armani Cruz put forth a good effort for the losing side as he threw for 206 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown. A healthy portion of Cruz's aerial production (83 yards to be exact) went to Daniel Rodriguez.
La Joya Community's loss dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Independence, their defeat ended a five-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 5-3.
La Joya Community came up short against Independence in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, falling 20-7. Can La Joya Community avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
