By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Gustavo Vasquez admitted to being ill during Friday night’s game.
Just imagine how he must have made Rivera feel.
Despite vomiting before the Chargers retook the field after halftime, the junior still managed 205 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to give the Brownsville Veterans offense everything it needed in a 35-16 defeat of Rivera on Friday night.
Vasquez’s big night came during The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week.
“I scored the touchdown (before halftime) and came to the sideline and felt terribly sick. I didn’t make it to the locker room … I threw up a few times,” Vasquez said. “It feels great (to get the win). Being able to play multiple positions whenever they need me … just doing work for my team.”
Vasquez racked up 116 yards rushing with three touchdowns and added a 60-yard touchdown catch to his night. He also completed 3 of 5 passes for 29 yards.
Brownsville Veterans head coach David Cantu credited his offensive unit for helping Vasquez.
“There was a lot of people involved creating holes and seams for Gustavo,” Cantu said. “Fabian Roque played an unbelievable game … the offensive line (did its job). Isaiah (Solis) showed a lot of poise at quarterback. I’m excited about the playmakers we have.”
The 51 total points did little to reflect a defense-oriented first quart.
Both defensive units held strong for nearly the entire first quarter until Brownsville Veterans (2-0) broke through with 1:28 to go. During the Chargers’ series, Vasquez took a handoff and ran to the 1-yard line. Before he could break the plane, however, Vasquez fumbled, only to have the loose ball recovered by the Chargers. One play later, Vasquez found a hole and pay dirt to give Brownsville Veterans a 7-0 lead.
Rivera’s defense caused a fumble midway through the second quarter to give the Raiders good field position. The Rivera offense couldn’t take full advantage, however, and settled for a 45-yard field goal by Robert Melendez with 5:36 left in the first half.
After Rivera’s field goal, Vasquez and the Chargers struck again.
With just under a minute to go before the break, Vasquez caught a short screen pass from Solis, BVM’s quarterback, broke a couple tackles and found the end zone after a 60-yard sprint to give the Chargers a 14-3 lead at the break.
“The touchdown before the half – Isaiah to Gustavo – was a huge play,” Cantu said. “I think it (gave us momentum). Going in 14-3 instead of 7-3 was big. We felt the momentum and felt good about ourselves knowing if we did our thing, we’d be alright.”
The Raiders (1-1) kept it close for a while in the second half. After Rivera forced a fumble, Jesus Muniz scored on a 1-yard run to make it 14-9 in the third quarter.
But on the ensuing kickoff, BVM again answered when Abel Martinez returned the kick 95 yards for a touchdown to add to the Chargers’ lead.
“Luckily the football gods gave us a couple big plays,” Cantu added.
Rivera showed some resilience on its next series, driving down the field with the help of a few Brownsville Veterans penalties. With 2:41 left in the third, Anfernee Garcia scored on a 4-yard reverse to pull the Raiders within 21-16.
But Vasquez would help quell the Rivera rally with a 6-yard touchdown run with 11 seconds left in the third. After an interception by the Chargers’ Samuel Chapa set up a short field for the offense, Vasquez found the end zone again on a 2-yard scamper to seal the win.
The momentum shift would be the downfall for the Raiders, who had played the Chargers tough all evening.
“It just happened that way,” Rivera coach Tom Chavez said. “When you play against a good team and you get behind, it’s tough.”
Despite the loss, Chavez wasn’t down; he said his team just needed to get back to work.
“The defense played really well, we just have to keep on working. We need to grow up a little bit, keep fighting and play a little better,” he said. “We have a lot of young guys and they’ll get better with every game. They got better (Friday). We just have to keep getting better every week.”
Cantu was pleased his team was able to hold off a what he called tough Rivera team.
“The Rivera Raiders are a tough football team led by one of the best coaches that South Texas has ever seen,” Cantu said. “It feels good to beat a good football team.”
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.
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