By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Football teams share a common goal of trying to get better every week, especially when a new season is just getting started.
The adjustments they make from their first game to their second contest with the intent of achieving improvement may be among the most crucial of the entire season when it comes to determining teams’ success the rest of the way.
Brownsville metro-area teams play their second games of the season this week, hoping the further fine-tuning of their strategies will translate into success on the scoreboard.
The upcoming schedule has two games on tap for 7 p.m. Thursday involving Metro-area teams as Brownsville Veterans Memorial plays host to PSJA North at Sams Memorial Stadium and Rivera goes on the road to play Edinburg North at Cats Stadium.
For Metro-area teams at 7:30 p.m. Friday, it’s Los Fresnos at Edcouch-Elsa, Porter vs. Lopez in the “Battle of Southmost” at Sams, Pace at Sharyland Pioneer, Hanna at Mission High, Rio Grande City at Port Isabel and St. Joseph Academy at Lyford.
SJA was the only team within Brownsville city limits to emerge victorious last week, and with a win, there’s often the sentiment of not needing to fix something “if it ain’t broke.”
That’s how the Bloodhounds, coming off a 38-34 triumph at home over Raymondville, are preparing for Friday’s game at Lyford.
“I’m sure it’s going to be another tough one (with Lyford),” said SJA coach Christian Putegnat, whose Bloodhounds outpointed the Bulldogs 64-40 last season in Lyford. “We’re still going to go with our same approach of keeping the tempo up (with our quick-strike passing offense).”
That fast-paced offensive attack helped the Bloodhounds rally from a 34-24 deficit during the final quarter to win by four points, thanks to a five-touchdown passing night by freshman quarterback Kai Money.
“I was impressed with the attitude and the heart of our players,” Putegnat said. “They kept fighting and they never quit.
“I thought our freshman quarterback handled things well,” he added. “Overall, we did pretty good. We’re hanging in there.”
Sometimes, particularly following a loss, the adjustments that are required seem fairly obvious. That’s the case for the Porter Cowboys as they prepare to go against the Lopez Lobos.
In a 7-0 loss to Progreso last week, the snap exchange between Porter’s QB and center became an adventure that led to a number of turnovers. Overshadowed by the defeat was a standout rushing effort by Porter running back George Gutierrez, who gained 158 yards on 14 carries.
“(It’s) take care of the ball, plain and simple,” Porter coach Tom Campos said his team’s primary adjustment for this week. “We are going to face great teams week after week, especially once we get into District (32-5A). I was pleased with our effort and overall performance (against Progreso), but you can’t give the other team eight more opportunities to score (due to your turnovers) and expect to win the game.”
This has been a week to refocus, fix things like the QB-center snap exchange and prepare for an important rivalry game, Campos said.
“’‘The ‘Battle of Southmost’ is definitely a big game for us and always will be due to the proximity of our schools,” the Porter coach said. “We need to remain focused on our purpose and process, and let the outcome take care of itself.
“I know (Lopez coach Jason) Starkey will have his boys prepared as will we, so it will be a battle of who wants it more and who makes the fewest mistakes,” Campos added. “Records, streaks, district, non-district (concerns) all go out the window when you play another Brownsville school. It’s about pride and bragging rights until next year. We’ll leave no stone unturned for this one. It’s an exciting game.”
For Brownsville Veterans, the adjustments to be made to ensure a better chance at winning are probably the same as many other teams. The Chargers came up on the short end of a close 28-24 battle at Donna High last week.
““(We’ve been working on) normal first-game adjustments such as being able to prevent big plays on special teams and not turning the ball over,” Chargers coach David Cantu said.
Cantu said he saw plenty of positives from his team’s first game.
“Overall, the team effort was outstanding,” he said. “Offensively, we ran the ball effectively for 5.5 yards per carry. We were hurt by a touchdown run of 40 yards by (QB) Marcus Castillo that was called back because of a holding call. Defensively, we made aggressive plays as we had two sacks, four tackles for losses, 13 pressures, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. The sacks were by outside linebacker Morgan Borland. I was pleased with what we did defensively and offensively.”
Rivera coach Tom Chavez said while there are adjustments to be made, he too, noted a number of positive facets of the Raiders’ game to build upon from the first game. The Raiders are attempting to bounce back from a 41-28 setback against Weslaco East.
““I saw lots of good things,” Chavez said. “There was good protection (for the QB) by the running backs. The quarterback (Danny Elizondo) threw the ball well and did a good job of running the offense.
“Yes, we’re making some adjustments,” he added. “We definitely need to improve our kicking game, and we need to get our defense to line up correctly. Those things plus other things are what we’re working on. We (as coaches) know what they are, and so do the players. We’re going to work on them and try to get better every week.”