By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
Desi Najera is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks to play high school football in Brownsville.
He was a three-year starter for the Brownsville High Golden Eagles from 1967-69, leading the team to a 10-2 record, a district championship and the regional round of the playoffs as a senior in 1969.
Najera will be enshrined into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday along with eight other individuals, including Brownsville’s Frank Parker Sr., at the organization’s 32nd annual induction banquet.
The event at Pharr Events Center begins with dinner at 5 p.m., scholarship presentations at 5:30 p.m. and the program at 6 p.m. An informal reception for the inductees is scheduled at 4 p.m.
For more information, visit www.rgvshof.net
The hall of fame honor comes as somewhat of a surprise to the standout former QB, whose exploits are still remembered by many longtime Brownsville football fans.
“I never really expected anything like this,” said Najera, who was a dual-threat signal caller running and passing the ball. “It’s so humbling. I’m looking forward to it, and so is my family.
“Playing sports and being involved in the games was always something I really enjoyed,” Najera added. “I just enjoyed playing. Now I’m being recognized above and beyond what I ever expected. I appreciate people still remembering those days (when I played). It’s incredible to me.”
Still, Najera and the Eagles didn’t have the best of starts.
Najera was part of a team that went winless his sophomore season with Joe Rodriguez as the first-year coach. Brownsville High then went 6-4 when the 24 sophomores from the 1967 team were juniors the following season.
There was a big turnaround by the time Najera and his teammates became seniors under Rodriguez. The Eagles won the District 26-4A championship and finished with a 10-2 record in 1969 after reaching the Class 4A regional round of the playoffs.
A 27-22 setback against PSJA High marked Brownsville High’s only regular-season loss in 1969. The Eagles rebounded with victories against Edinburg High (36-7) and San Benito (48-0) to take a 9-1 record into the playoffs. Najera, playing at 6 feet, 175 pounds and wearing jersey No. 11 as a senior, guided the Eagles to a come-from-behind 25-15 victory in the bi-district playoffs before a packed crowd of 10,000-plus fans at Sams Memorial Stadium. Miller had a talented team with three future NFL players. Brownsville High’s season ended at 10-2 the following week with a 47-14 loss to Sequin.
“I’m happy that we were able to provide entertainment for the whole town on Friday nights,” Najera said. “I would like to accept this honor on behalf of our whole team. My teammates were the ones who helped me do well. It’s hard for me to accept that I was ever that good.
“I think we made Brownsville proud in 1969,” he added. “I’m so glad that I was a part of it.”
Najera quarterbacked a team in 1969 that averaged 37.2 points per game during the regular season. The Eagles ranked as one of the state’s top-scoring squads. Najera tied for the individual scoring lead in the Valley with 118 points. He was named second-team all-state as a senior after passing for 1,300 yards and 19 touchdowns, and rushing for 1,000 yards and 12 scores.
Najera and 10 of his teammates from the 1969 team went on to play college football. Najera received 26 scholarship offers and chose Texas A&I University, where he played two seasons after graduating from Brownsville High in 1970.
As a sophomore QB for the Javelinas in 1971, Najera started against Trinity University and passed for 192 yards and rushing for 141 yards. His combined offensive total of 333 yards set a school record at the time for a single game by an individual player. It earned him recognition in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” section. The magazine awarded him a golden bowl, which has become a prized possession from his playing days.
The standout QB’s football career at Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville) was short-lived.
Najera returned to Brownsville in 1972, married Carmen Guerra, his high school sweetheart, and started a family. He became a Brownsville fireman, just like his father, Israel Najera. His career with the fire department in Brownsville spanned almost 20 years before he went to work as a manager for Cameron County.
In 1995, Najera earned his college degree from the University of Texas at Brownsville with a degree in kinesiology and a minor in history. He retired in 2015 and continues to work from time to time as a substitute teacher in Brownsville ISD.
He and wife Carmen have a family that includes six grown college-educated children.
“I’m very grateful to the Lord for blessing me to be able to perform like I did in football,” Najera said. “I believe He kept me from injury. I’ve been blessed throughout my life.”