By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Rivera started the season on an emotional high.
Now the former District 32-6A foes meet to determine who can maintain its winning edge in a non-district contest in The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Last week, the Brownsville Veterans Chargers trailed Edinburg North by 14 points at halftime before regrouping in the second half. BVM stunned the Cougars with 17 unanswered points to take the victory in front of the Chargers’ home crowd.
About 24 hours earlier, the Raiders put to rest a long losing streak that included a winless 2015 campaign.
Brownsville Veterans hopes to maintain that momentum, but knows it needs to get off to a better start.
“We hope it carries over,” Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said. “We know Rivera is the type of team with tenacity that you don’t want to get behind. We’ve stressed getting off to a better start.”
Rivera didn’t change much preparation for Week 2, but the Raiders were too sloppy against Porter.
“Working a little bit harder, a little bit smarter because we had a lot of penalties last week,” Rivera coach Tom Chavez said. “That hurt us a little. We have to clear that up. We can’t withstand something like that and try to win games.”
The Chargers were quite balanced on offense in Week 1, gaining 156 yards on the ground while passing for 171. Against the Raiders, however, that may change depending on the defensive scheme.
“We expect a lot of pressure,” Cantu said. “Rivera prides themselves on pressuring the backfield and the quarterback.”
Rivera was more run-heavy with its offense against Porter. The Raiders hope to run against the Chargers’ defense, but they may be forced to throw more.
“They know we’re a two-back team and we run a lot,” Chavez said. “They may put an extra guy in the box. We’ll grind it out and see what they give us offensively and try to take advantage where they put their guys (on defense).”
The key for Brownsville Veterans last week against Edinburg North was using skill players in multiple positions. The Chargers think that trend could be here to stay this season with a variety of players that can make plays when they need them.
“These guys play selfless roles,” Cantu said of Isaiah Solis and Gustavo Vasquez. “They’re not worried about individual (stats), they’re worried about what can they do for the team to make us better. I think we’re going to be a team like that.
“We’ll continue doing that to hopefully give us an edge.”
Rivera, on the other hand, is sticking with what worked in Week 1.
“(Brownsville Veterans is) a good balanced team,” Chavez said. “But we have to do what we’ve been doing. It’s going to be a tough game. It’s Brownsville vs. Brownsville, so that’s always tough and intense.”
Expect a game that is determined by which team runs the ball better and which defense gets a key stop, either in the first half or at some point down the stretch. PREDICTION: Brownsville Veterans 23, Rivera 21.
JOSEPH ACADEMY AT LYFORD
WHERE: Bulldog Stadium, Lyford
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
RECORDS: St. Joseph Academy (1-0) at Lyford (1-0)
GAME NOTES: St. Joseph Academy routed Grulla 64-35 in Week 1. … The Bloodhounds’ offense totaled 611 yards last week, with junior quarterback Kai Money leading the way with 199 yards on the ground and three touchdowns and 174 yards and three more through the air. … The St. Joseph defense made its mark with a scoreless second quarter last week and forced a fumble and an interception. … Lyford won big over Progreso 59-6 in Week 1. … The Bulldogs’ offense totaled 464 yards last week, 169 from their rushing attack and passed for 295. … Lyford’s defense will have its work cut out for them against a potent Bloodhounds’ offense. … Both teams can move the ball, but St. Joseph can win any shootout with a high-powered offense.
PREDICTION: St. Joseph 48, Lyford 28
— Andrew Crum
TOMBALL CHRISTIAN AT PORT ISABEL
WHEN: Friday at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Tarpon Stadium
RECORDS: Port Isabel (1-0); Tomball Christian (0-1)
GAME NOTES: Port Isabel started its season with a 15-14 overtime win over Class 5A program Lopez … the ground game carried Tarpons in the game, with senior ATH Omar Silva (174 yards, 1 TD) and senior running back Carlos Orduna (124 yards, 1 TD) leading their 338-yard effort on the night … senior defensive end Chris Bode had three of Port Isabel’s sacks in the game … The Tarpon defense limited Lopez to 141 total yards last week … Tomball Christian dropped its first game of the season against Houston Pro-Vision Academy, 26-16 … the Warriors’ offense was balanced in Week 1, attempting 31 passes and running the ball 31 times … senior quarterback John Hiley threw for 92 yards and caught a 28-yard touchdown pass.
PREDICTION: Port Isabel 35, Tomball Christian 7
— Joshua McKinney
PACE AT
SHARYLAND PIONEER
WHERE: Richard
Thompson Stadium
WHEN: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
RECORDS: Brownsville Pace (0-1); Sharyland Pioneer (1-0)
GAME NOTES: Each team is coming off a loss. Brownsville Pace fell by 20 at PSJA Southwest and Pioneer fell by 13 at McAllen Memorial. … The Diamondbacks are in an adjustment period without starting running back Brandon Casas, who tore his ACL and MCL in a scrimmage two weeks ago and is out for the season. That means on-the-fly training for Michael Benavides and Christian Rivera. … Pioneer does have a heck of a receiver in Bobby Acosta. Acosta had 109 yards and two touchdowns on five catches last week. Expect more of him and QB Jacob Rosales as the Diamondbacks figure out their running game. … Pioneer will have a chance to check out the run game, too. PSJA Southwest ran all over Pace for 41 points last week. This game is as good as any for Pioneer to see what it has in the backfield.
PREDICTION: Sharyland Pioneer 38, Pace 13
— Mario Aguirre
LOPEZ AT EDINBURG HIGH
WHERE: Richard Flores Stadium, Edinburg
WHEN: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
RECORDS: Brownsville Lopez (0-1); Edinburg High (0-1)
GAME NOTES: Brownsville Lopez fell to Port Isabel 15-14 in overtime last week. … It was a moral victory of sorts for the Lobos, who aren’t returning much this season but fared well against a program that has traditionally been a powerhouse in the Valley. … Edinburg High fell to McAllen Rowe last week, 30-14. It spoiled the debut for head coach J.J. Leija. … The Bobcats managed 175 total yards, 104 rushing. They surrendered 328, 186 passing. … This is the home opener for Edinburg High.
PREDICTION: Edinburg High, 21, Lopez 13
— Mario Aguirre
Saturday’s Game
Non-District
PORTER AT HANNA
WHERE: Sams Memorial Stadium
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
RECORDS: Porter (0-1); Hanna (0-1)
GAME NOTES: Porter lost to Rivera 21-14 last week. … The Cowboys moved the ball well on the ground, 234 yards, but without a passing game, didn’t capitalize on a few scoring opportunities against the Raiders. … Porter’s defense looked stout, but made a few mistakes that proved costly. Hanna will be similar to the Rivera offense, so the Cowboys will know what they need to do this week. … Hanna lost to Edinburg Economedes 41-10 on the road in Week 1. … The Golden Eagles’ offense started well with a field goal on their first drive, but fumbled on their second possession and started a long night that yielded just one touchdown late. … Hanna hurt itself move than anything and should have got the kinks worked out in practice. … The Eagles’ rushing attack, which had 254 yards last week, needs to get keep going against Porter. … Hanna will be able to out run Porter in this one and get coach Mark Guess his first win as the Eagles’ coach.
PREDICTION: Hanna 28, Porter 17
— Andrew Crum
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