The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers entered Friday’s District 16-5A Division I opener against Brownsville Porter with something to prove.
The young squad, working under first-year coach Kelley Lee, stumbled in a season-opening loss to Harlingen South last week. They lost this rivalry matchup to the Porter Cowboys last season. And they were heavily picked against by the RGVSports.com Pick-It Line.
None of that mattered when the Chargers (1-1, 1-0) stepped on the field at Sams Memorial Stadium. They used a blowout second half to earn a commanding 45-14 victory over Porter (1-1, 0-1) and start the vigorous district season on the right foot.
“I think we learned a lot from our mistakes last week. It’s a credit to our kids, how hard they practiced to get better, so I commend them. They dedicated themselves to what we needed to do and that showed today,” Lee said. “It’s good to start off on a fresh note. It’s a new season, we’re starting 1-0, now we’re on to next week.”
Brownsville Veterans’ opening drive stalled out, but the Chargers quickly got momentum back as Gilbert Trilo snagged an interception to end Porter’s first possession. They cashed in on the turnover with a 20-yard rushing touchdown from sophomore Storm Montoya.
The Cowboys didn’t take long to respond. After a 7-yard tackle for loss by Chargers sophomore defensive lineman Israel Yanez, Porter was left in a third-and-17 situation from its own 14-yard-line. That didn’t stop senior quarterback Kyle Aguirre from finding receiver Gunnar Williams. The junior juked his coverage and outran the defense to score an 86-yard touchdown.
Porter faked the PAT and failed to convert the 2-point attempt, but a penalty gave sophomore kicker Ricky Leal a chance to complete the PAT kick, making it 7-7.
Brownsville Veterans added back-to-back scores during the second quarter. Senior kicker Jose Medrano nailed a 28-yard field goal, then junior running back Jay Valdez busted through Porter’s defense on the goal line to finish a 7-yard touchdown run.
The Cowboys ended the first half on a high note, putting together an efficient, 65-yard scoring drive. Williams had four catches on the drive and showcased his abilities with each. He stutter-stepped to get around defenders and tiptoed the sideline on two grabs — one to keep the drive alive at midfield and another to score on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Aguirre, cutting the deficit to three with three seconds on the clock.
“I felt like we played a really good first half, but that No. 1, Williams, is a really good player, and he got them out of third-and-long and scored before halftime. We all knew they were throwing it to him, but he still made a play,” Lee said.
Porter had all the momentum after the late score and the ball to start the third, but penalties and ball control issues throughout the second half gave the Cowboys fits. They were playing without junior linebacker Giovanni Suarez, who played well in Week 1 and had a solid first half. Then they lost another defender after an altercation early in the third quarter between the teams that had coaches pulling kids out of a tussle and resulted in one ejection for each squad.
“We just didn’t execute. We’re not very deep, so any time we lose a starter that’s not going to help. We’re just not deep and can’t afford to make mistakes,” Porter coach Carlos Uresti said.
The Chargers, on the other hand, played lights out during the final 24 minutes. On the first play after a lengthy delay due to the altercation, junior quarterback Reece Sampayo found Valdez, who showed his speed to break away for a 44-yard score. Sampayo threw his second touchdown pass 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, hitting a wide-open sophomore receiver, Miguel Selvera, in stride in the end zone from 22 yards out.
Brownsville Veterans added two more scores during an eight-minute span in the final quarter. Valdez notched his third touchdown of the night on a 9-yard carry, then senior running back Jose Moreno capped a long, clock-eating drive in which he carried the load with a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
“It feels amazing. I’m grateful to be here, thanks to Coach Lee for giving me the chance. People don’t believe in me because I’m short and stuff, but you just stay quiet and you show them what’s up,” Valdez said after his stellar outing in his first varsity win. “I felt good. It’s just the beginning. We still have way more to go, just have to keep our heads up and keep going.”
Senior Jorge Alvarado, a defensive standout in the contest from the linebacker position, had several strong runs to aid the Chargers’ offense during the second half and helped set up Moreno’s touchdown. Trilo and senior linebacker William Wassen racked up big plays to anchor Brownsville Veterans’ defense. Wassen recovered a Porter fumble in the fourth. Junior running back Michael McHale contributed big runs to help the Chargers move the ball during the first half.
Arath De La Torre, Isai Hernandez, Chris Ortiz and Adriel Trevino put in good effort for Porter’s defense, but the short-handed unit couldn’t contain the Chargers as the contest went on. Offensively, the Cowboys struggled to find a rhythm due to penalties and an impressive performance from BVM’s run defense.
“We shot ourselves in the foot one too many times, and at the end of the day they won,” Uresti said. “We know it’s a tough district, it’s a long season for us. It’s the first game of district, we just have to make the corrections to get better and move on to the next game.”
Next Friday, the Chargers will face Weslaco East at 7 p.m. at their field, and the Cowboys will battle Brownsville Pace at 7 p.m. at Sams.
