Comeback win over rival Slaton meaningful for Post football's John Wright, Landyn Garcia
SLATON — There was no yelling, hooting or hollering in the Post football locker room at halftime of Friday night's rivalry showdown at Blake J. Boyd Memorial Stadium.
The Antelopes may have been trailing Slaton 7-0 at the break, but head coach John Wright liked what he saw from the team. That included the play of sophomore quarterback Landyn Garcia, despite two interceptions. Wright wasn't about to give Garcia an ear full. He knew young player would make a difference in the end.
"My message to him at halftime was, look, I'm not gonna throw the baby out with the bathwater because you had an interception," Wright said. "I told him we have to use every inch of this field. We've got to use our speed."
Garcia made his coach's confidence in him pay off. Connecting on a pair of 50-plus yard throws to receivers Keyandre Jefferson and Sean Ramos, Garcia used Slaton's insistence on shutting down running back Ian Vergara (30 carries, 147 yards) to his advantage.
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Trailing 20-7 midway through the third quarter, Garcia scored three rushing touchdowns and was bestowed the honor of kneeling out the final play, capping off a 27-20 triumph over the Tigers.
"I've never beaten Slaton," Garcia said, "so this is my first win over Slaton, so it feels pretty good."
Garcia's "never" isn't quite that long. He came up short in eighth grade and last year as the JV quarterback. It was during the 2023 campaign Garcia got a chance to show his stuff, throwing for 335 yards in his first varsity start. That experience has propelled him into being the guy this season for an undefeated team.
"It's a lot faster," Garcia said. "The players are a lot bigger and strong, so it made me build myself up so I can compete and just kept doing my thing."
Garcia finished with 152 yards passing and added 53 on the ground, the majority of both coming as the Antelopes (4-0) mounted their comeback.
Added incentive is rarely needed for rivalry games such as Post-Slaton, but the victory was all the more sweet for Wright. Not just because of how it happened, but where it happened.
"This was a special win for me tonight," Wright said, "because this is the place where I won my first game as a head football coach two years ago. It was a special win. I'm just so proud of our kids."
Slaton football's hot start falls short of recent historyClint Conkin inherited a team that went winless the season before he took over as Slaton football coach. The Tigers (3-1) managed to get a pair of wins in 2023 and eclipsed that mark through the first three weeks this year.
A victory on Friday would've been the first time Slaton won four straight games since 2006, but Conkin will have to settle for the setback being a learning opportunity.
"We knew Post was going to be tough coming in," Conkin said, "so I just told them to keep their heads up. This won't define our season. It hurts, but we're going to keep plugging away and see what we can do in district."
Since 1994, the Tigers have had just four seasons where they finished with a winning record. Early returns say Conkin and his team have plenty more to play for the rest of the way.
Post 27, Slaton 20Post 0 0 13 14 — 27
Slaton 7 0 13 0 — 20
SCORING SUMMARYFirst quarter
SLA — Zamion Davilla 5 run (Eduin Perozo kick), 10:37
Third quarter
SLA — Jacob Lopez 9 run (Perozo kick), 9:02
POS — Ian Vergara 3 run (Mason Wright kick), 7:23
POS — Landyn Garcia 27 run (pass failed), 2:12
SLA — Davila 63 run (kick failed), 1:47
Fourth quarter
POS — Garcia 3 run (Wright kick), 10:27
POS — Garcia 1 run (Wright kick), 45.6
TEAM STATISTICSFirst downs: (P) (S)
Rushes-Yards: (P)(S)
Passing: (P)(S)
Comp-Att-Int: (P)(S)
Punts-Avg: (P)(S)
Fumbles-Lost: (P)(S)
Penalties-Yards: (P)(S)
RUSHING: Post, Ian Vergara 30-147, Landyn Garcia 8-53, Draven Gonzales 2-(-)3; Slaton, Zamion Davila 18-185, Jacob Lopez 5-23, 2-19, Z'Qedrian Whaley 2-11, Antwone McKinney 2-(-)2, Jayven Lovato 1-3.
PASSING: Post, L. Garcia 7-17-2—152; Slaton, Lopez 3-12-1—12; Darion Palacio 0-1-0—0
RECEIVING: Post, Keyandre Jefferson 4-96, Sean Ramos 2-80, Vergara 2-9, Alek Garcia 1-17; Slaton, Jayven Lovato 1-6, Whaley 1-4, Davila 1-4, Jacob Luna 1-2.
RECORDS: Post 4-0, Slaton 3-1
What's next? Post will try to keep its undefeated season going when the Antelopes host Farwell in Week 5 while Slaton will hit the road to take on Morton.
