CORPUS CHRISTI — As meaningful as last week’s victory was for Rio Grande City, Rattlers coach Jesus Lozano admitted the celebration only lasted through the night. Hours removed from the Rattlers’ win against La Joya coupled with Donna’s stunning rally over McAllen Memorial, which sent RGC back to the postseason since 2006, Lozano says it was back to the drawing board last Saturday morning.

Rio Grande City coach Jesus Lozano said his team is treating its game with Donna at 7:30 tonight at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium as a playoff game.

The winner of the game will hold sole possession of the fourth and final playoff spot in District 30-5A.

“I know this game is as important to Donna as it is for us,” Lozano said. “We have been telling the kids to stay focused and to make sure to play football on both sides of the ball.”

LA JOYA — With less than 2 minutes remaining in Friday night’s game against Rio Grande City, La Joya Palmview quarterback Javier Femat started moving the ball the way he did the whole game, down the field. But this time Femat and company fell short at the 1-yard line, enabling Rio Grande City to hang on for a 48-45 victory in a District 30-5A game at La Joya ISD Stadium.

“The defense came through when they had to,” RGC coach Jesus Lozano said. “I know we had a hard time with number 10 (Femat) cause he’s a good quarterback.”

The Rio Grande City-La Joya Palmview game at 7:30 Friday night at La Joya ISD Stadium is by no means a must-win for either team but the losing team would be in the position of having to win its final three games of the year to make the playoffs.

“Every game is important,” Rattlers coach Jesus Lozano said. “By all means it is not a must-win but we want to win our last four games. We want to go out (Friday night) and execute.”

After Rio Grande City’s 42-35 win over a-then fifth-ranked McAllen Memorial last week, Rattlers coach Jesus Lozano wanted to make it clear that it wasn’t an upset.

Lozano carries high expectations for this year’s team and some predicted RGC to win District 30-5A. Lozano said the team’s 2-3 overall record is not indicative of the team’s talent and experience. The coach said injuries have also played a factor.

RIO GRANDE CITY — While Freddy Lopez watched his teammate Justin Ortega being carted off the field with a season-ending injury in Week 1 against Brownsville Pace, he realized it was a stunning blow.

Ortega was supposed to be one of the top running backs in the Rio Grande Valley but Lopez, a senior fullback with Rio Grande City, didn’t see why the injury had to be detrimental to the team’s success.

RGC plays host to third-ranked Sharyland in The Monitor’s Game of the Week on Friday at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium.

RIO GRANDE CITY — The performances displayed by No. 5 McAllen Memorial and Rio Grande City Friday night are performances that will be remembered for a long time.

Unfortunately for the Mustangs, their performance is one that will be overshadowed by the Rattlers’ resiliency that drove them to another thrilling 42-35 upset victory of Memorial at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium.

McAllen Memorial, which in the past was known more for its ground game, has become a balanced offensive squad.

Memorial has 757 yards rushing and 738 yards passing. Through four games in 2008, quarterback Matthew Kaufmann had 374 yards passing and one touchdown. After four games this season, he has nearly doubled last year’s tally with four TDs.

“We have a lot of skill people with a lot of talent,” Mustangs coach Bill Littleton said. “We are trying to get the ball in those people’s hands so they could make things happen. It has turned out pretty balanced by doing that.”

Rio Grande City’s loss of running back Justin Ortega hurt a little less two weeks ago.

Despite losing Ortega for the rest of the season and dealing with a slew of injuries, the Rattlers managed a 30-29 win over Weslaco High in Week 2.

“It felt real good to get that win,” said Jesus Lozano, whose team takes on McAllen High at 7 tonight in the first District 30-5A game of 2009 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.