By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
A few weeks ago, Brownsville Veterans Memorial was sitting atop the District 32-6A standings.
But the Chargers have fallen hard in the past two weeks.
Losses to San Benito and Harlingen High have dropped Brownsville Veterans to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in district, tied with three other schools for second in the District 32-6A standings.
The only clear difference is a lack of consistency on both sides of the ball. During a loss to the Greyhounds, the offense put 57 points on the board on more than 600 yards of offense, but the defense allowed 67 points and nearly 700 yards of offense.
During last week’s loss to the Cardinals, the offense sputtered, gaining just 81 yards and failing to take advantage of a few extra possessions. The defense held Harlingen High to two touchdowns in between two pairs of field goals, forcing a pair of fumbles and recording three sacks.
“We’re just looking to put a game together, where both offense and defense plays well,” Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said following the Chargers’ defeat in Harlingen. “(Against San Benito) we played really well on offense and (against Harlingen High) we played, in my opinion, very well on defense. We’re going to be optimistic and hope that we can put it together (against Los Fresnos).”
HOT STREAK
Rivera started the season winless, including an 0-2 mark in district. The Raiders (3-5, 3-2) have since won three straight to get in thick of things, pushing toward a possible postseason berth.
Rivera’s defense has stepped up in those wins by allowing 12 points per game, and the offense has scored 26 points per game — a two-touchdown differential.
“There’s still two games left, and we’ll take it one game at a time and see what happens,” Raiders coach Tom Chavez said. “We can’t control what everybody else does. We can only control what we do.
“Never count the Raiders out.”
IMPRESSIVE SHOWING
The Harlingen High defense has steadily improved during the past two weeks, and it has made all the difference. With those improvements, the Cardinals are now second in defense behind Rivera and third in points allowed behind Los Fresnos and Rivera.
Harlingen High (4-4, 3-2) is coming off a stellar performance in which it held Brownsville Veterans, one of the top offenses in the district, to a mere 81 yards and six points. Those weren’t surrendered until late in the fourth quarter of a 26-6 victory.
Even Harlingen High coach Manny Gomez was slightly surprised, but nonetheless impressed, with the defensive effort.
“I knew we were going to slow them down,” he said. “I didn’t know we’d be that dominant.”
CLEAR AS MUD
When the dust settled after Week 9, nothing was settled or decided in District 32-6A.
Just two weeks of district play remain, and every postseason spot is up for grabs.
San Benito (6-2, 5-0) is in the driver’s seat to most likely claim a playoff berth, if not the district title. The Greyhounds take their unbeaten district record on the road against Harlingen South and play host to Rivera to finish out the regular season.
Here’s where it gets murky. Four teams, Brownsville Veterans (5-3, 3-2), Los Fresnos (5-3, 3-2), Harlingen High (4-4, 3-2) and Rivera (3-5, 3-2) are all even.
Brownsville Veterans faces Los Fresnos in Week 10 before finishing against Lopez. The Falcons play host to the Chargers before ending the season against Hanna.
Harlingen High finishes with Lopez and crosstown rival Harlingen South, and Rivera takes on Hanna and faces a road game at San Benito in the season finale.
Hanna (3-4, 2-3) likely has to win out and Harlingen South (2-6, 1-4) has to win out to have a chance at a playoff berth with only two games remaining this season. Lopez (0-8, 0-5) is out of playoff contention.
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.