When looking at the uniforms of the Valley’s final four boys soccer playoff teams during this weekend’s regional tournaments, observers might notice something similar between them.
No, the teams don’t all share the same color or mascot. Instead, pay close attention to the team’s badge. One will notice a star integrated in or around the crest.
In soccer, most teams add a star to their team badge or crest to symbolize a big accomplishment for the club. In most cases, it serves as a token earned from a championship season.
For Brownsville Lopez, Brownsville Rivera, Hidalgo and Sharyland High, the star on their crest represents the same thing — a state title.
“It brings a lot of responsibility,” Brownsville Lopez head coach Amadeo Escandon said. “In a way it is a good. I believe all the Brownsville schools, and the Valley really, don’t aim for district championships anymore. It is about regionals and above. … It is a little bit of pressure, but I feel like it is motivation, too. It gives us that motivation to keep working and moving towards that goal.”
State titles in soccer are nothing out of the ordinary for the Valley. The RGV has captured six state championships in UIL boys soccer since 2000, the most of any team sport since the turn of the millennium.
Brownsville ISD has been the hotbed of soccer success during that span, with four of the six champions coming from the district.
Brownsville Lopez was the first to bring home a state soccer title to the RGV. Led by Escandon, the Lobos defeated Brenham 2-1 during the 2004 Class 4A state championship game.
Escandon leads a new group of Lobos on a state title hunt this weekend, with Lopez set to face off against Leander Rouse in a Region IV-5A semifinal at 7 p.m. at Brownsville Sports Park.
“I think it changed the mental aspect of Valley schools,” Escandon said. “Once they saw we could do it, they started saying if Lopez could do it, so can we. The demographic is pretty much the same throughout the Valley. So everyone started to believe if the team from Southmost could do it, they could, too. To me, I agreed that sure we all could. Thanks to that mentality we’ve had five more champions.”
Escandon and the Lobos’ victory set a fire ablaze across the RGV, with state titles becoming the new standard for the area’s boys soccer teams.
With the new mindset, it only took two years for another RGV champion to emerge, with Brownsville Porter capturing its first state title in 2006.
Three years later, then-head coach Zeke Morales led Hidalgo to the Class 4A state title, defeating Mesquite Poteet 2-0 in the championship game. The Pirates were the first Upper Valley team to win a soccer state title.
The Pirates are without Morales this season, but they still remain a state title contender. Hidalgo has cruised through district play and the first three rounds of the playoffs, and seemed headed on a collision course to a rematch against reigning back-to-back state champion Boerne in the Region IV-4A final.
In 2012, it was Sharyland High’s turn. The Rattlers, led by legendary head coach Reveriano Hernandez, marched to the Class 5A state title game and took down Katy Morton Ranch in penalty kicks to win the championship.
Current head coach Jorge Guerra wasn’t around during the Rattlers’ state title run, joining the club as an assistant the following summer. He did, however, spend the next eight years learning the ropes from Hernandez, serving as his first assistant. Guerra took over the program last season following the retirement of Hernandez, leading the Rattlers to a regional semifinal before falling to state semifinalist Dripping Springs.
Guerra has the Rattlers’ program back in the regional tournament this year, revving up for another state-title run.
He’ll lead the Rattlers into battle at 4 p.m. Friday, taking on San Antonio Southwest in the Region IV-5A semifinals at 4 p.m. Friday at Brownsville Sports Park.
“Coach (Reveriano) Hernandez was my head coach in high school, and then I was able to work with him as his first assistant,” Guerra said. “I feel like I learned a lot from him. From how to handle situations, the preparations it takes for a game to watching film. It is a lot of little things that maybe are not talked about, but having that knowledge and expertise from these guys, it helps a lot.”
After a nine-year state title drought by BISD schools, Brownsville Rivera ended it in dominating fashion in 2015, marching into the Class 6A state title game with a 28-0-0 record in tow.
The Raiders capped their perfect season with a convincing 2-0 victory over Katy Cinco Ranch to become the third BISD school to win a state championship. The 2015 Rivera team is dubbed by many as the greatest soccer team in RGV history.
Salvador Garcia coached the team to its state title in 2015 and hopes to do the same this year. The Raiders take on 2021 state champion San Antonio in a Region IV-6A semifinal at 5 p.m. Friday at Comalander Stadium in San Antonio.
In 2016, Brownsville Porter became the first RGV program to win two state championships, defeating Coppell 2-1 in overtime for the title. The Cowboys’ hopes for a third championship came to an end last Friday against Sharyland High.
A second team with two championships could be on the horizon, however, with the Valley’s “Final Four” all locked in on the same goal – adding a second star to their team crest.
