At the end of a successful season the team made it to the Area round of playoffs despite the loss of quarterback Steven Montez to a season ending injury. Before his injury he led his team in district.
“He’s doing an excellent job, probably best quarterback in the city,” varsity offensive coordinator Ariel Famaligi said prior to the injury.
After Montez’s injury sophomore Eric Lopez stepped in, his first game as a quarterback was against Canutillo High School.
“I was nervous but felt like we had the talent and the heart to win and we did,” Eric Lopez said.
Star players like Matt Vasquez, Steven Savedra, Esteban Martinez, Jose Rascon, Anthony Rubio and Alex Lopez are also making the team strong.
“Here at Del Valle we like to have the best defense and this year is no exception, we don’t rebuild, we reload,” varsity defense coordinator Kevin Butler said.
There are several sophomores on the varsity team.
“Their expectations are to perform at great level, just like everybody else,” Butler said.
Great senior leadership and a unified team are some of the reasons this team is special. They train about two and a half hours almost every day.
“They are hard workers,” Famaligi said.
“The expectations are to win, I fully expect to win,” head coach Jesse Perales said.
Varsity football brought home a bi-district championship, and stand 7-1 district and 8-4 overall. Their win against Andress High School was a tough one. They also advanced further into the playoffs to play against Frenship on Nov. 23, but took a loss ending their season.
Jv is also doing a great job winning 7 games, losing one to Montwood High School with a score of 20-6.
“Jv has worked all year to get a district championship and we’ll continue to work until we get there,” Jv coach Ivan Rangel said.
“Team First,” coach Orlando Hairston says. The freshman team had a perfect season winning all their games including an 8-2 win over Montwood High School, they beat El Dorado High School 39-14 and took the last game against Canutillo High School with a score of 22-7.
“[It’s a] special group of young men and a extraordinary season. They just get it done,” freshman coach Danny Simental said.