By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers are going to run the football.
It’s what they do.
Through six games this season, the Chargers have amassed 1,839 yards from their ground game, an average of 307 yards per game.
Two running backs, senior Derrik Rodriguez and junior Carlos Garza, and junior quarterback Marcus Castillo have accumulated the majority of those yards. The trio has amassed 1,636 yards and 20 touchdowns through six games this season.
“We knew as a coaching staff that all three of them needed to be effective in the run game for us to be successful,” Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said. “It’s that simple. You do what your strengths are, what the defense is giving you. That’s what you have to do, figure out who your personnel is and take advantage of the strengths you have.”
Brownsville Veterans certainly has taken advantage. The Chargers are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in District 32-6A.
The triple threat for the Chargers, or ‘three-headed monster’ as Rodriguez likes to refer to the group, has helped carry the offense this season. With each on the field at the same time, opposing defenses haven’t been able to key on just one player. They’ve had to worry about all three.
Rodriguez has 652 yards on 84 carries (7.8 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns, Garza has 505 yards on 56 carries, (7.4) and seven touchdowns, and Castillo has 479 yards on 66 carries (7.3) and six touchdowns. The players rank second, third and fourth in the district for rushing.
None of the three careabout the individual accolades or setting personal goals, they just want to win.
“It’s more for the team,” Rodriguez said. “We want to win every game and try to get the district (title).”
Castillo agreed.
“It doesn’t matter (to us),” he said. “Coach tells us to forget about stats and just play our game, that’s all we care about.”
While Rodriguez and Castillo were slated to be starters, Garza was not. He was a backup to Omar Rodriguez, Derrik’s younger brother. The younger Rodriguez held a starting spot until he was injured during the non-district portion of the schedule and is now out for the remainder of the year.
Garza was injured last year and didn’t play football. But he has stepped into the starting spot almost seamlessly and played well.
“As long as my teammates are satisfied with me,” the soft-spoken Garza said. “I don’t want to be a letdown.”
Everybody has done their part to help the rushing attack, including the offensive line and receivers.
“The offensive line has done an amazing job, they’re pretty special,” Cantu said. “I feel we have the best blocking receivers in the district, if not the Valley. They never stop working because of Coach (Michael) Moore. Its 11 guys all doing their job.”
That is similar for the running backs. Each blocks for the others on runs.
“What a lot of people don’t see when (one of them) breaks a run, (another one) will be doing a beautiful job blocking out front,” Cantu said. “If you focus on the blocking, you’ll see some beautiful football. These kids are very unselfish.”
The chemistry between the three players is as strong on the field as it is off the field as friends. That chemistry has been aided with experience and the trust of the rest of the offense to put up the numbers they have thus far.
“I feel confident this year. I feel confident in my team,” Castillo said. “We have a great team this year.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.