BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville Veterans Memorial standout athlete Gilbert Trillo had only one man to beat at the goal line, and the Weslaco East defender went low.
Trillo went high for the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes remaining in the game, and the Chargers defeated the Wildcats 25-20 on Friday night in a District 16-5A DI meeting at Brownsville Veterans High School after giving up a 16-point halftime lead.
“Storm (Montoya) threw me a good ball, and I just jumped; that is all I remember,” Trillo said.
Brownsville Veterans quarterback Storm Montoya completed four passes for 82 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown to Trillo on the final drive for the Chargers (4-2, 2-0). Montoya also hit receiver Gerry Gomez and tight end Nick Tovar with long passes on the drive.
“Storm was putting it on the money. I can not thank him enough for that. That was all Storm’s drive right there,” Trillo added.
Brownsville Veterans head coach JC Ramirez also praised his quarterback’s poise, especially after the Wildcats adjusted to the run in the second half.
“We knew they were going to have some wrinkles for us in the second half and we came out and said let’s get the ball to our playmakers,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez said it was a team effort against what he said is one of the best programs in the Valley because of their continued success under head coach Mike Burget.
“He has kind of set the standard for what the rest of us in the Valley want to accomplish, which is be a consistent winner,” Ramirez said.
The Chargers’ defense forced the Wildcats to turn the ball over on downs with two minutes left to see out the game. It was a nervy final drive. The Wildcats came back to life through the passing game.
“We figured they came out with something different, and they did,” Ramirez said. “But, our defense stood their ground and we got the stops when needed.”
Weslaco East quarterback Alex Martinez helped orchestrate the Wildcats’ second-half comeback. The Wildcats (3-4, 1-2) were down 19-3 at the break but went up 20-19 with only four minutes remaining in the game.
Martinez, Margarito Pompa and two 34-yard field goals by Pedro Espinoza gave the Wildcats a 20-19 advantage.
Trillo was cooking in the run game, pass game and on special teams with sizable returns. Trillo scored a 52-yard rushing touchdown to put the Chargers up 19-3 in the second quarter.
“It was mainly the blocking, I can’t thank them enough,” Trillo said. “It was exciting and a total team effort.”
Montoya scored two rushing touchdowns to put the Chargers up 12-0 early before the Wildcats responded with Espinoza’s first field goal.
Chargers linebacker Jaime Martinez set the tone early with a tackle for a loss. The linebacker was all over the Wildcats along with Miguel Selvera, Eroz Pineda and Andrew Quintero.
Brownsville Veterans takes on Brownsville Pace at 7:30 p.m. next Friday in Brownsville, and Weslaco East takes on Donna High at 7:30 p.m. in Weslaco.
