By Roy Hess | The Brownsville Herald
Practicing with confidence and setting high goals is all part of the normal routine for the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers.
They believe it prepares them to win championships in football.
That approach seems to be working quite well as the Chargers have captured District 32-5A titles during each of the past two seasons. Now, they’re aiming for a District 16-5A Division I crown this season.
“I think the players on this team have a confidence in themselves and they believe in their abilities,” said Chargers coach David Cantu, who is entering his seventh year at the helm. “They’re great competitors, so that’s always going to give us a chance to compete. That’s all we ask.”
The Chargers opened workouts on Monday with 125 players participating in drills.
There are six returnees on offense (three linemen and three receivers) plus two starters back on defense. Overall, 18 lettermen are returning.
Brownsville Veterans is coming off last year’s 10-2 season that included a 7-0 mark in 32-5A competition. The season before, in 2016, the Chargers went 8-3 (6-1 in district) and shared the 32-5A title with Mercedes.
Now comes the challenge of competing in 16-5A Division I, a 10-team district.
“We’ve got a lot of hard work and dedication on this team,” said Alex Villarreal, a 6-foot-1, 250-pound junior tackle who is one of two returning starters on defense. “We had a good showing (for volunteer workouts) throughout the summer. Only a few people missed a couple of days, so very few days were missed.”
Added teammate Jose “JoJo” Solis, a 5-9, 235-pound senior offensive guard and returning starter, “It’s a pretty good feeling to be back on the football field. We trained during the offseason in the spring and had workouts during the summer, and now we’ve got the feeling of getting our helmets back on and being out here. The memories (of last season’s success) are coming back. Hopefully, we keep working hard and do well this season, too. We’re getting good things done.”
Workouts continue through Aug. 17 when the Chargers scrimmage at 7 p.m. at Hanna. Brownsville Veterans’ second scrimmage is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at Weslaco High.
The regular season opener for the Chargers will be against non-district opponent Rivera at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 31 at Sams Memorial Stadium. District 16-5A Division I competition begins on Sept. 7 at Sams against the Lopez Lobos.
Among the key departures due to graduation for the Chargers are quarterback Gustavo Vasquez and running back Abel Martinez.
The Brownsville Veterans players are eager for the games to start.
“It feels good to get back playing football and being out here catching balls with my team,” said Carlos Galindo, a 5-10, 150-pound senior inside receiver who is a returning starter. “I think the most important trait for the receivers on this team is to block well so we can have our ball carriers break loose (for a big rushing gain).
“I have the same confidence in this team that I’ve had for our other teams,” he added. “I believe our passing game will be even better this year and the running game will be the same (and be pretty potent). Every year, our goal is to win district.”
Added Tony Medrano, a 5-11, 175-pound senior free safety and a returning starter on defense with Villarreal, “We’re all here humbled, ready and focused for the season. We’ve been waiting for this a long time.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess