PHARR — Brownsville Veterans needed just one offensive play to showcase the skill that led them to last year’s state semifinals.
The Chargers’ started the season with a bang as junior fullback Cesar Belmontes broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run on their first snap against PSJA Memorial and Brownsville Veterans never looked back in a 34-3 victory Thursday at PSJA ISD Stadium in Pharr.
“The kids came out and executed and did a great job with the challenge that we had in front of us. We didn’t get to scrimmage anybody this year, completely out of our hands, but it was our first chance to go against a different colored jersey and it showed,” Brownsville Veterans head coach J.C. Ramirez said.
Despite it being their first action of the 2024 season, Brownsville Veterans had it going early with 24 first-half points off touchdowns by Belmontes, a 9-yard run by senior fullback Alvin Trevillion and a 1-yard sneak by senior quarterback Storm Montoya that capped off a 91-yard scoring drive for a 24-3 halftime advantage
Montoya went on to toss a 38-yard touchdown to Calvin Trevillion in the second half as the junior back caught a pass over the middle and broke two tackles to hit paydirt.
Chargers’ kicker Roman Reyna aided the scoring with a pair of successful field goals from distances of 48 and 28 yards out.
“Execution-wise, we have the benefit of having, in my eyes, the No. 1 player in the Valley without a doubt in Storm Montoya. He does what he needs to do to run our system and we’re extremely blessed to have him,” Ramirez said.
The junior Belmontes led the Chargers’ offense with 122 yards on 12 carries, Alvin Trevillion had 66 yards on seven carries and Calvin Trevillion finished with one touchdown catch for 38 yards and added 48 rushing yards on just two carries. Montoya finished with 37 passing yards, 14 rushing yards and two scores.
PSJA Memorial made a push to get in the endzone late but the Brownsville Veterans defense held strong inside their own 5-yard line to keep the Wolverines out.
Their only points came off a 50-yard Omar Garcia field goal midway through the first quarter after recovering a Chargers’ fumble in plus territory. Running back Emi Colunga led the Wolverines with 42 rushing yards, while quarterback Ryan Reyna threw for 35 yards and ran for 23 more.
The Brownsville Veterans defense finished with two takeaways on an interception by Tyson Rios and a fumble recovery by Mickey Rodriguez, and only surrendered two first downs across the game’s first three quarters.
“We’re lucky to have two coordinators right now that have a wealth of experience and it shows. Defensively, coach Benny Ellison comes in and has been around some really good programs, so we’re lucky to have him and the kids have bought into his style of our 3-3-5 stack,” Ramirez said.
Brownsville Veterans will aim for a 2-0 start to the 2024 season as the Chargers host Brownsville St. Joseph at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Brownsville Veterans High School in Brownsville.
PSJA Memorial, meanwhile, will look to bounce back in Week 2 with a non-district game against McAllen High scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen.
