By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Emotions were high as Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Hanna squared off during their District 32-6A game.
It was a physical game that led to activities after the whistle at times, but it was Brownsville Veterans that came back and grinded out a victory, defeating Hanna 28-10 in The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week for Week 7 on Saturday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The Chargers scored 21 unanswered points — including two touchdowns from Carlos Garza — during the second half, and the defense shut down the powerful Hanna offense.
“Both teams are very proud and play very hard,” Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said. “Both teams are coached extremely well, and it’s pretty much what I expected. We had a great (defensive) plan from Coach (Larry) Vincent, but there were a lot of seniors out there making key plays for us, especially on defense. It was really a team effort, I’m just really proud of them.”
Brownsville Veterans got on the board quickly on its first drive. The Chargers drove down the field and quarterback Marcus Castillo scored on an 8-yard run to take a 7-0 lead.
Hanna went down the field on its ensuing drive, but the offense stalled and it had to settle for a 37-yard field goal from Andy Lopez to cut the deficit to 7-3.
The defensive units for each team kept their opponents in check until the Golden Eagles finally broke through in the second quarter. Jaime Gonzalez capped off a drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead that they took into halftime.
But that was all Hanna got against the Chargers.
“We playing good teams, we’re playing well, but we’re (off) a play here and (off) a play there,” Hanna coach Rene Medrano said. “It’s a tough district and everyone is pretty evenly matched. My hat goes off to (Brownsville Veterans), they made some plays when they had to and we let some slip through our hands. That’s just the way it is.”
During the second half, Brownsville Veterans’ defense limited the Eagles’ offense and finished with five sacks as they kept constant pressure on Lopez.
“That was the key, getting pressure on Lopez,” Cantu said. “Because when he sets his feet, I feel like he’s the best passer in the Rio Grande Valley. He’s absolutely amazing, and it’s beautiful to watch him play. (The) Hanna (offense) deserves a ton of credit.”
The Chargers’ offense took advantage of the defense’s prowess. During the third quarter, Castillo scored on a 17-yard run to give the Chargers their first lead of the game at 14-10.
In the fourth quarter, Garza scored twice within a two-minute span. He broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run and scored again on a 1-yard run to increase the Chargers’ lead to 28-10.
Medrano felt his team was a couple of plays away from changing the momentum and perhaps the game.
“I’m proud of our kids, I thought they manned up,” he said. “We played hard, but it just didn’t work out for us.”
The Eagles dropped to 0-3 in district, and they know they need to get on the winning track.
“There’s more to come, and we know we’re behind the eight-ball now,” Medrano said. “We’ll just have to see what happens. We have to play, we’re right there. We’re knocking at the door each time we play, it’s just a matter of knocking it down now.”
The Chargers improved to 3-0 in district, and the win kept them tied at the top of the 32-6A standings with Los Fresnos. Cantu said the team continues to get better as the season goes on.
“I feel like we’re improving every single week,” he said. “That’s the most important thing, that the improvement is there from week to week.”
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.