Anna, TX — The Anna Coyotes opened district play with a statement, defeating Lovejoy 45–14 Friday night at Coyote Stadium. On a night that began with a last-minute venue change and a packed house of more than 5,000 fans, Anna made sure their home crowd left happy behind a balanced attack led by quarterback Ziondre Williams.

Fast Start

Quarterback Ziondre Williams wasted no time lighting up the scoreboard, hitting Roaen Nylander for a 47-yard touchdown strike midway through the first quarter. Kicker Desmar Marroquin tacked on the extra point for a 7–0 lead.

Moments later, Anna’s defense swung momentum again. Kaiden Banks jumped on a Lovejoy fumble, setting up a 33-yard Marroquin field goal to push the lead to 10–0.

By the end of the first quarter, the Coyotes had seized full control.

Answering Back

Lovejoy briefly closed the gap in the second quarter when quarterback Jacob Janecek found Kellen Gibson for a 25-yard touchdown. The PAT made it 10–7.

But Williams responded with a long run deep into Lovejoy territory before capping the drive with a touchdown strike to extend Anna’s lead. By halftime, the Coyotes were up 23–14.

Pulling Away

The third quarter belonged entirely to Anna. Williams tossed two more touchdown passes — including another to Nylander and a 34-yarder to Jayden Thomas — while Jones powered in for a rushing score. A two-point conversion pushed the advantage to 38–14.

By the time Marroquin’s third extra point of the half split the uprights, the Coyotes had built an insurmountable 45–14 lead.

Parr’s Perspective

After the game, head coach Seth Parr reflected on what made this year’s matchup different from last year’s heartbreakers against Lovejoy — losses of 66–62 (district) and 52–49 (playoffs).

“Every team is always different between one year to the next, but they graduated a lot of kids,” Parr said. “These kids [Lovejoy] are pretty young. They’re going to be a good football team in the near future. But it was like us last year — we were young on defense, and we’ve kind of flipped it. That just happens with maturity and years of experience.”

When asked about Anna’s offensive explosion, Parr kept it simple:

“Just knowing what to do and having more time to do it, and getting stronger and faster throughout a year — that helps.”

And while fans are already looking toward next week’s district showdown with Melissa, Parr stayed grounded:

“I’m not going to say [this is a warning for Melissa]. We just come back and play next week. It’s been a tough four games in a row, so we’ll see if we can bounce back and get one more.”

Player’s Perspective

For the players, the revenge factor loomed large after last season’s two defeats to Lovejoy.

“Oh, it makes it 10 times better. So much better. Revenge is great,” one Coyote said after the game.

Asked if the blowout was expected, the same player added:

“We’d consider it an upset, but we knew we were going to win by a lot today. We just knew we had more energy. We knew that we were going to play more physical. We just knew we were going to win today.”

Looking Ahead

With the win, Anna opens district play at 1–0 and improves to 3–0 overall, while Lovejoy falls to 2-2. The Coyotes entered the night ranked No. 23 in Texas, and while they surprisingly slipped a few spots during their bye week, Friday’s statement victory puts them right back in the mix to climb again in the coming poll.

Up next, the Coyotes turn their attention to a pivotal matchup against Melissa. The rivalry game will not only test Anna’s resilience after an emotional win but also give them a chance to prove themselves against another state-ranked opponent. With Williams leading the offense and the defense forcing turnovers at will, Anna looks every bit like a contender with championship aspirations.

The Anna Progress would like to thank Colton Roper for providing the game photography used in this coverage. (@shots_by_ropier)