BROWNSVILLE — It is a new era in Brownsville Veterans Memorial football, but with familiar faces.
The Chargers balled out in 2022, going 10-3, but lost a head coach, members of the coaching staff and key players. However, they elevated JC Ramirez, their defensive coordinator and longtime Brownsville football coach, and return some of the best players in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Chargers are No. 6 in the RGVSports top 10 poll.
“As a member of the Chargers football program, my expectations are the same as every other member of the Charger program,” Ramirez said. “That is to go out and compete at a very high level, play a very physical brand of football and make sure that at the end of the game we can look at film and be extremely proud of what we put on film.”
There is no shortage of talent on the Chargers’ 2023 roster. The experienced Storm Montoya is likely to take over at QB. The junior has 1,300 rushing yards during his first two seasons.
Montoya, or the team’s Swiss Army knife, Sergio Sosa, will look to find one of the Valley’s best returning receivers, Gerry Gomez. As a junior, Gomez caught 36 balls for 783 yards and seven touchdowns.
Linebacker Jaime Martinez had 130 tackles and three interceptions as junior. Martinez is joined on defense by Gomez, as a corner, and standout safety Gilbert Trillo. The safety had 129 tackles in 2022 and has seven career interceptions.
Trillo picked up touches offensively in 2022, and if given the carries, he could easily go for more than 1,000 rushing yards with returning lineman Matthew Pinion leading the way.
Pinion was a 2022 RGVSports All-Valley selection.
“I think we are doing pretty good,” Pinion said. “We started off a little rough, but we picked up the pace and now we are doing very good.”
The Chargers have a great core in 2023, but they will need players like Sosa and defensive end Miguel Selvera to step up when needed.
“Wherever they have me, I know that I am going to step up and help,” Sosa said. “It is not necessarily taking that starting spot, so we are just trying to help the team overall get back to where we were last year and maybe even further.”
Selvera is set for game time at defensive end, with last year’s starters gone.
“It is a lot of pressure, but I think I can do it,” Selvera said. “I think we got it. I think I can do some things to help the team out.”
The Chargers meet San Benito in RGVSports.com’s Week 1 Game of the Week at 7 p.m. Friday in San Benito.
By EDWARD SEVERN
STAFF WRITER
