By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers won their past four games and are prepared to begin their playoff run.
Their most recent victory came Tuesday over the Rivera Raiders. The Chargers (20-12, 9-5 in District 32-6A) were shorthanded, playing without Aaron Villarreal — one of their top players who was sidelined with a sprained ankle — but won 59-48 and are looking toward their bi-district matchup against the Weslaco High Panthers (22-11, 10-2 in District 31-6A) at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 in Weslaco.
Moving forward, Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson is pleased with the current state of his team.
“I think we’re playing really good, we’ve won four in a row going into the playoffs,” he said. “I think we can match up with anybody because we’re playing really good right now.”
In regards to Villarreal, Gibson is confident his player will be able to suit up for the Chargers during the bi-district round.
“He’s got a sprained ankle so he’s got a week to get it ready,” Gibson said. “He’ll be ready when we play next (Tuesday).”
METRO-AREA PLAYOFF TEAMS: This year’s playoff pool will feature four Metro-area teams in addition to Brownsville Veterans, two of which come from District 32-6A — the Los Fresnos Falcons and the Hanna Golden Eagles — and one team will come from District 32-5A, the Pace Vikings. Out of District 32-3A, the IDEA Frontier Chargers claimed the third seed and will face the loser of a game Friday between Santa Gertrudis Academy and Falfurrias.
After the final game of the district season, the Falcons (21-11, 10-4) and Eagles (20-7, 10-4) were tied atop District 32-6A with the Harlingen South Hawks (16-14, 10-4), and the No. 1 seed was determined via coin flip.
Los Fresnos was awarded the first seed and will play host to PSJA North (20-10, 8-4 in District 32-5A) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Hanna will play a neutral-site game against Edinburg North (18-14, 8-4) at 7 p.m. Monday at Weslaco East.
In District 32-5A, Pace spoiled Donna High’s perfect district record Tuesday with a 56-50 overtime win. Pace (19-12, 11-3) is the No. 2 seed in its district and will face Mission Veterans Memorial (27-7, 7-5) of District 31-5A at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Mission.
FINAL ASSESSMENT: The Rivera Raiders’ season came to a close Tuesday after their loss to Brownsville Veterans.
After a seventh-place finish in District 32-6A, Rivera coach Saul Villarreal looked back on the season with positivity in terms of experience gained for his younger players.
“Hopefully our young guys on J.V. that were picked up this year will be ready to step up next year,” he said. “They’ve had some varsity experience, so hopefully they’ll be ready to step up next year.”
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.