By STEFAN MODRICH
Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial held its first Red-Blue spring football game Thursday night, and the Red team edged the Blue team 13-10.
The game is slated to become an annual event from now on.
“It was good to split up like we did,” Chargers head coach David Cantu said. “Obviously we had very little depth both ways but my goodness, we were able to see some things that otherwise we wouldn’t have.”
Several players got in on the action at quarterback for both squads, including defensive end Thomas Edge and Nathan Fernandez for the Blue team and wide receiver Marlon Montelongo and Liam Longoria for the Red team.
Cantu said the main objective for Brownsville Veterans during spring practice was to shore up its offensive and defensive line after losing several key players to graduation. Several Chargers showed in spurts on Thursday that the team has potential to develop its line play this season, particularly on defense.
Linebacker Jason Ambriz picked off Red team quarterback Liam Longoria to set up the Blue team at the Red team’s 11-yard line, but the Red defense held firm and forced a 28-yard field goal from Pablo Perez to get the Blue team on the board 3-0 with 29 seconds to play in the first quarter.
The game was a defensive struggle early on, and featured four turnovers. But the offenses for both sides had moments to shine.
“I’m really proud about how competitive it was,” Cantu said. “We had a lot of different playmakers step up, so we have a lot of things to be encouraged about.”
One of those two-way stars was Blue team defensive end/quarterback Thomas Edge.
With 12 seconds to go in the first quarter, Edge recovered a fumble by the Red team wide receiver Jackson Rodriguez. On the last play of the quarter, defensive lineman Thomas Peña forced and recovered another fumble, giving the Red team the ball to start the second quarter at their own 25.
With 6:48 in the second quarter, Longoria connected with wide receiver EJ Masten for a 10-yard touchdown to put the Red team up 7-3.
Marlon Montelongo found Masten for a big gain from their own 33 to the Blue 25 with 2:57 to play in the first half, capping the drive with a 25-yard field goal by Jose Medrano to put the Red team up 10-3 with 2:16 to play in the half. Medrano also drilled a 41-yard field goal to give Red a 13-3 advantage with just under seven minutes to go in the third quarter.
Cantu said the play of Ambriz and Alex Villarreal up front caught his eye Thursday night. The Red team defensive tackle batted down several passes in the trenches and Villarreal intercepted a pass from Edge on the opening possession of the third quarter. The Blue team drew within three points with two minutes to go in the fourth quarter on Fernandez’s keeper from three yards out.
“Those are the type of guys that we need to make big plays for us,” Cantu said. “And they did.”
Cantu said he has seen maturation from his players, but added that the team still has plenty of room to grow heading into the summer.
“We saw a lot of that, every day improving and maturing,” Cantu said. “We’re still not where we need to be, and without spring ball, I’m not sure we would be as close as we are.”