SAN BENITO — It is no secret what San Benito wants to do on offense. Why would it be when they have arguably the top running back in South Texas in their backfield in senior Fabian Garcia?
Add in bulldozing senior Aaron Garza, and the Greyhounds are built to run it down defenses’ throats.
The real question is how to stop San Benito’s ground-and-pound offense.
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers didn’t have an answer to that question Friday night, with Garcia and Garza combining for 235 rushing yards and four touchdowns to lead the Greyhounds to a 28-21 victory in the RGVSports.com Game of the Week at Bobby Morrow Stadium in San Benito.
“I feel like it was a big tone-setter for us,” Garza said. “We know where we want our team to be at this year. I feel like we need to work on little things, but we can be that perfect team we want to be. We just need to come out at practice, work hard in the weight room and just keep this going.”
Trailing 14-0 at the break, Brownsville Veterans flipped a switch during the second half, opening the third quarter with a nine-play, 85-yard drive ending in a 22-yard touchdown run by Marc Samano.
A quick three-and-out by the Chargers’ defense kept the momentum on Brownsville Vets’ side, with Alvin Trevillion breaking a 43-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive to make it a one-point game.
With momentum swinging to the Chargers’ side, San Benito’s running back duo went to work during the fourth.
Garcia kick-started San Benito’s offense, breaking a 56-yard run for his second touchdown of the game. He scored his first touchdown on his first carry of the night, a 58-yard burst down the sideline.
Garza added to the lead just three minutes later, barreling into the end zone on a 22-yard run down the middle to give San Benito a 28-13 advantage with eight minutes remaining.
Garcia finished with a game-high 174 yards and two scores on 19 carries. Garza added 12 carries for 61 yards and two touchdowns.
“When they scored and almost tied it, it just got to me,” Garza said. “I just told myself to keep going, put my head down and keep driving. We go against the best defense in the Valley at practice, so we take pride in that. We’re the upperclassmen, so we have to set the standard. The standard at San Benito is really high for our running backs. We set it high every year for this group. We expect this from our running backs.”
The Chargers weren’t done fighting, however, clawing within one score after a 4-yard touchdown run by Storm Montoya.
Montoya finished with 15 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown, while Trevillion added a team-high 94 yards and a score.
A forced three-and-out by the Chargers set them up for the tie, but San Benito’s defense buckled down, with Christian Garza coming up with a huge sack to all but seal the win.
“We knew we were giving them too much momentum, and momentum is big in this game,” San Benito defensive tackle Karmyne Castilleja said. “Once you get it, it is hard to stop. We knew we needed a stop to cut it out. That final drive was just about stopping them. That is all we were thinking, is stop them and don’t let them get in the end zone. It wasn’t the prettiest win, so we need to get back to work. We’re not satisfied.”
The Greyhounds (1-0) continue non-district play on the road at 7 p.m. Thursday against Brownsville Pace at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.
The Chargers (0-1) return home for a non-district contest against Brownsville St. Joseph at 7 p.m. Friday at Charger Stadium in Brownsville.
