SAN PERLITA — The Intensity level was palpable throughout the San Perlita gym Wednesday afternoon. The fast-paced Trojans will look to keep that intensity going into their Class 2A area-round matchup against Falls City tonight.
Intensity, in fact, is something that has been preached since day one by coach Nataniel Garza.
“Bringing the intensity is huge for us because of the style of play we have,” Garza said. “I think there is no other way to play but with a high intensity. With the way we play, we can’t afford to come out flat because of our style. We need to bring the intensity.”
The Trojans are hot off a district and bi-district title, and are now hungry for more when they face FallsCity tonight at Alice High School. Tipoff scheduled for 7.
In their bi-district win against Benavides on Monday, the Trojans dropped 108 points in the win with Tige Johnson scoring 30 points and E.J. Nieto finishing with 19. San Perlita is hoping for a mirror-image performance tonight.
Seniors Victor Galvan and Jaime Zallar have played a key role in the Trojans’ success this season. Both Galvan and Zallar have been in this spot before as last year the Trojans reached the third round and bowed out to Port Aransas.
“This is the most fun we can have as a team,” Galvan said. “It’s the greatest feeling to be a part of this team, and winning a district title and making a playoff run. On Monday, I thought we passed and shot the ball well. We have to bring everything we have tonight and I know we’re ready. We went three deep last year and that experience is helping us this year.”
San Perlita will face a strong and physical Beavers team that is coming off a 48-41 win against a tough GervinAcademy squad.
“I’m having as much fun as I can with such a great group of guys,” said Zallar. “We have done a lot since the start of the season. The offseason and non-district was tough, but it prepared us for the playoffs. This year we’re hoping to make a deeper playoff run. We have had a good week of practice, but at first we thought we were playing Friday but that didn’t happen. Either way we’re ready.”
