La Joya Survives PSJA Shootout, Clinches Playoff Berth

PHARR, Texas — In a game that refused to slow down until the final horn, the La Joya Coyotes outlasted the PSJA Bears 48–40 on Thursday night at PSJA Stadium to clinch a playoff spot in one of the wildest finishes of the 2025 season.

It had everything: a 21–7 PSJA lead, a goal-line stand, a safety, punishing runs, trick plays, a missed kick, and one last defensive stand that finally shut the door.

For La Joya quarterback Owen Benoit (5), it was the payoff to months of work.

“Excited, man, I’m just proud of everybody in that locker room,” Benoit said. “Last year we came up short. We had a lot of seniors, but this year the junior class and everybody really, we took accountability in the summer and we got in that weight room and hey, we grinded it out, and so that’s what we showed tonight.”

PSJA looked ready to run away with it early, jumping ahead 21–7 behind an aggressive passing attack and a swarming defense that forced the Coyotes into long fields. But La Joya settled in behind its identity — the ground game.

Running back Mauricio Mendoza (2) pounded the Bears between the tackles all night, ripping off chunk gains and dragging defenders deep into the second half. La Joya cut it to 21–14 and marched to the doorstep before halftime, only to be denied on fourth-and-goal at the one as the Bears’ defense delivered a massive stand with three seconds left.

Instead of folding, the Coyotes came out of the locker room and answered.

After a PSJA fourth-down stop early in the third, La Joya punched in the tying score to make it 21–21. From there, the game turned into a track meet. Mendoza’s power runs and timely option looks, paired with Benoit’s control of the offense, kept the Coyotes trading blows with a PSJA unit that continued to find success through the air and on delayed draws.

“Number 2, he’s special,” Benoit said of Mendoza. “Playing with him, it’s an honor, really, it’s an honor. We faced a tough opponent and he kept fighting.”

PSJA briefly regained control with a fourth-quarter drive capped by a sharp throw from Dylan Rodriguez to Devin Hernandez, pushing the Bears ahead 38–35 with just over five minutes to play. La Joya needed an answer and got it instantly, springing Alex Garza on the edge for another explosive score to retake the lead 41–38. A missed extra point, however, kept the door open.

When PSJA’s deep shot was intercepted at the goal line with just over three minutes remaining, it appeared the Coyotes only needed to bleed the clock. But pinned at their own 1, La Joya was tackled in the end zone for a safety, cutting the margin to 41–40 and handing the ball — and momentum — back to the Bears with 2:40 left.

The Coyotes’ defense, pushed to the brink all night, delivered when it mattered. A surge of backfield pressure forced PSJA into a fourth-and-long heave down the sideline that fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs with under two minutes to play.

La Joya then slammed the door the way it had been knocking all night: with Mendoza. The senior back barreled through the line for a late touchdown to extend the lead to 48–40 with 43 seconds left. PSJA mounted one last push but ran out of time as the clock expired before the Bears could get off a final snap.

For Benoit, the finish summed up who the Coyotes have become.

“We don’t quit. We play to the fourth quarter — that just shows our character,” he said. “We’re not a team to just put our head down and just take the loss. We’re here to battle and that’s what we showed tonight again.”

Looking ahead to the postseason, his message is simple.

“Just take it one day at a time, one day at a time,” Benoit said. “I know we’re gonna play a tough opponent in playoffs, and so energy is gonna be high, but hey, one day at a time.”

For PSJA, it was a bitter end to a fearless effort. For La Joya, it was survival, statement, and a playoff berth earned the hard way under the lights in Pharr.