ALICE, Texas — Although the Alice Coyotes moved up from UIL 4A-DI to UIL 5A-DII, that's not stopping them from reaching their goal of trying to become back-to-back disrict champions. In week 8 Alice's junior quarterback Lucian Cruz led the Coyotes to a 57-32 victory over Sharyland, earning Game Changer of the Week honors.
"Just made a lot of plays, a lot of big runs, a lot of big throws, great decisions, took care of the football and put us in really good situations," Cameron Cox, Alice offensive coordinator, said.
Cruz connected on 25 of 31 passes for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"You know my two wideouts are fantastic," Cruz said. "Especially yards after the catch. You can give those guys a screen pass and they'll take off with it."
Cruz did more damage on the ground rushing for 157 yards and 4 touchdowns on 21 attempts. When asked about his 6 total touchdowns...
"I have not. This is the first time, so this is big for me I feel like," Cruz said. "I'm real proud of myself, my family is proud of me and my team is proud of me. All I can give to is Glory to God."
For the first time all season the junior also played a few snaps on defense. He added 2 tackles to his stat sheet.
"Like coach J.R. Castellano says I'm a football player. Not just an offensive player," Cruz said. "I like to contribute whenever my team needs me, so when my team needs me on the defensive side of the ball then I'm going to play some defense and hit some guys."
This Friday the Coyotes travel to Mission Veterans Memorial. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Alice is two wins away from winning a district championship in back-to-back seasons.
