BY GREG SELBER

LA FERIA – While it will not go into the record books as the most smoothly played game in history, or the quickest for that matter, the annual brawl between the closest of neighbors lived up to its hype in terms of physicality.

As La Feria dispatched Santa Rosa here Friday 30-6, the Lion defense slammed its way through the larger Warrior line all night, pounding away on the enemy ball-carriers with a vengeance. With linebacker Frank Arispe collecting 15 tackles and do-it-all Gilbert Jimenez picking off a pass and scoring a touchdown on the ground, the Lions rushed to 4-0 while the Warriors dropped to 2-2.

New La Feria coach Oscar Salinas has had the hot hand since joining the program, with a potent offense that came in averaging 40 points a night. Friday the Lions were turnover prone and faced a determined if depleted Santa Rosa bunch, so the defensive effort (147 yards total for the Warriors, down to their third quarterback now) came in mighty handy.

“We knew they would be looking ahead to this game, to come over here and take us on,” said Salinas, who arrived back at the school after an 11-year stint at Economedes in Edinburg; he had been a Lion assistant in the 1990s under Robert Valdez. “So we expected a tough game and we got it. I think after awhile our no-huddle tired them out a little. We played well in stretches, well enough to win.”

Always a big believer in placing focus on special teams, Salinas got a super play from his punt-cover team when Edward Cantu blocked a punt and Brandon Ramon pounced on it in the end zone. This bang-bang play at 3:44 of the first half made the score 23-7, Lions, despite a spirited performance by the Warriors through the first 20 minutes.

Jimenez, one of the best all-around players in the Valley, caught just one pass, for 20 yards, rushed eight times for 64 yards and had the INT. The pick came early in the game in front of a Homecoming crowd at the packed Lions’ stadium, and got the ball rolling for the program’s 16^th straight win over Santa Rosa. He is a supreme impact player.

Two plays after the turnover, Jimenez jetted in from the 10 and it was 7-0 La Feria at 7:18. But the Lions were just not sharp in the quarter, fumbling away a punt deep in their own territory and setting up the lone Santa Rosa tally of the evening.

In three plays from the 20 the Warriors went backward on an illegal block until Caleb Kent steamed across the middle to haul in a 30-yard TD strike from sophomore Adrian Canales at 4:26. The Warriors went to war without versatile senior Aaron Ramirez (hamstring) and junior Joe Mariscal (also injured) and the soph Canales struggled a bit against a quick and strong Lion D.

This is not the biggest group La Feria has ever had, but it is among the fastest, with linebacker/safety Daniel Cuervo (12 tackles, INT) running the show out there along with Arispe, who is stocky, aggressive, and a sure tackler. The Lions have some sizable tackles plus a speedy end in Jose Barbosa, and en masse the unit limited Santa Rosa to 115 yards on 40 carries. Warrior running star Aries Villanueva, whose name is almost as cool as his vision and cutting ability, ran hard all night, getting 90 on 19 trips before leaving late with a minor injury. It was that type of game, lots of good, legal headhunting and some ferocious gang-tackling.

One of the casualties was La Feria QB Chris Estrada, who had been off to a fine start in 2011. He came in with a 66.7 completion percentage and 12 TD, and Friday picked up 52 yards and two scores running and threw for 85 more before leaving on a stretcher with a painful dislocated shoulder in the second half.

Jimenez noted that last year the gutty passer went through the same ordeal, and only missed one week.

“That’s a tough guy right there,” said the curly-locked quickster, who was dinged up himself in the second half but seemed OK. “He’ll be back.”

The first of Estrada’s TD runs came from the 10 in the second period, after a 30-yard field goal from live-legged Alex Vazquez. Thus at 5:35 it was 17-6, with the special teams TD to come. To that stage, Santa Rosa was still in it, but the gimme six seemed to take the wind out of its sails. Moving forward, the visitor tired amid the charge of the onrushing La Feria D.

Conversely, the Warrior defense made a credible stand of its own after the break, yielding just one TD and 118 yards. The tough little Villanueva (5-6, 155) made eight stops going both ways, while star end Tyler Daul (10) and promising sophomore DB Arnold Galvan (10) were active all night. Linebackers Christian Flores (another sophomore for a relatively young group) and beefy Marc Hernandez, a junior, laid the wood consistently for Coach Josh Gonzalez’ crew, which has lost two in a two now with a much-needed bye week ahead.

For the game, La Feria got 298 yards, 78 off its 2011 average, but it gained the win and remains unbeaten heading into next week’s road game at La Villa. Salinas, who said he is having a blast with his old/new team, added that the Lions weathered a storm of turnovers to eventually show some good signs.

“I think we finished well, after we gave it away some early,” he said. “The kids have been working hard and they deserve to be undefeated. I love it here, it’s good to be back, and now I remember what I liked so much about a single-school town…there were a ton of fans here tonight! That’s good for the program.”

In 2010 the Lions were a middling 5-5, and several narrow losses kept them from making the playoffs for the fourth season running. So being able to seal the deal against a bitter rival, especially when they didn’t really fashion a top-notch performance, augurs well for the 32-3A campaign ahead.

Tags: la feria lions, santa rosa warriors