By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Rivera and Brownsville Veterans Memorial are headed in opposite directions this season.
But it’s still early enough to change paths.
The Raiders (0-4, 0-1) play host to the Chargers (4-0, 1-0) in a District 32-6A game during Week 6 at 7 p.m. tonight at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Rivera hopes to get on track, and Brownsville Veterans looks to continue its winning ways.
“We’ve had a tough time, but the kids are hanging in there and we’re working together and trying to win a game,” Rivera coach Tom Chavez said. “We have to keep working and get a little bit better. We got better against Harlingen (High), they’re a great team, and we’re going to face another one with (Brownsville) Veterans, and they’ve put some good numbers on the board.”
The Raiders defense isn’t as stout as it was last year but it still has the ability to slow down a good offense like Brownsville Veterans.
Rivera has allowed 360 yards per game and the Chargers’ offense averages 481 yards — the best in the district — so the Raiders will have their work cut out for them.
Brownsville Veterans knows that a winless Rivera team doesn’t mean much, especially with what they did last year in winning seven straight games after starting the season 0-5.
“This game against Rivera means the same as any other district game,” Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said. “It’s a district opponent, and a district win would be tremendous. This is around the time last year when Rivera got on a hot streak. They have the potential to do that because they’re coached by Coach Chavez, who always has his team believing and playing hard. They always improve every single week. We know that, so we definitely have a great deal of respect for that program.”
Despite the numbers, Cantu knows how good the Rivera defense is and can be against his offensive unit. Rivera knows the defense can’t do it all and that it has to get going on offense to keep up with Brownsville Veterans.
“Our defense has played well, but offensively we’ve struggled,” Chavez said. “We have to be able to run the ball and throw the ball, move the chains and make first downs. Not make mistakes; we can’t put our defense in tough situations.
“We just have to play better than we’ve been playing.”
Despite the differences in records, Chavez knows that sometimes doesn’t matter in a game like this.
“It’s a Brownsville school playing a Brownsville school, so anything can happen there,” he said.
The Chargers have trailed in three straight games, so they are hoping to get off to a quick start against the Raiders.
“We’re just going into the game with the mindset to play all four quarters,” Cantu said. “Regardless what happens at the beginning because we’ve already been in games when we’ve been down, that’s why we play four quarters. We’re not going to worry about the scoreboard until it’s all said and done.
“That scoreboard will take care of itself, and the better team will have won.”
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.