WESLACO — Weslaco East continued its dominant run through the District 16-5A Division I East Zone as the Wildcats stayed perfect on the year with a 49-0 victory over Brownsville Veterans on Monday afternoon at Bobby Lackey Stadium.
Over its last two games, Weslaco East has outscored opponents 91-3, and 135-37 on the year.
Weslaco East has clinched the top spot in the District 16-5A DI East Zone with a 3-0 zone record.
“It’s our third game of the season; it’s rough not being able to practice full-time, but the effort from the kids is second to none. They’re trying to carry the East tradition along,” Weslaco East head coach Mike Burget said. “I think we’re getting better each game and that’s big because I want to be rolling by the time we get to the playoffs. I feel like we got some good weapons and our defense is starting to play like the old East defense.”
Avery Bowen, Weslaco East’s Swiss Army knife, pulled off a trifecta of touchdowns to lead the Wildcats — he threw for one score, ran for one score, and caught one score.
“I think (Avery’s) one of the best players in the Valley. He works hard, he never says a word,” Burget said. “I move him around from tailback to quarterback to receiver, he also plays defense which we haven’t seen yet. He’s a good team player.”
And for an offense known for its ground and pound rushing attack, which they showed with 250 rushing yards against Brownsville Veterans, the Wildcats showed they can throw the rock around the gridiron, too.
Quarterback Javi Garza threw two touchdown passes on the day, while Avery Bowen had one as the pair combined for a season-high 170 passing yards on 12 completions. Garza also ran for one touchdown, as did running back Gio Guerra and Ashton Guajardo.
The recipient of Avery Bowen’s touchdown pass happened to be his younger brother, Omari Bowen, who was left uncovered on a 14-yard touchdown pass.
The Wildcats defense surrendered just one first down to Brownsville Veterans through the first 37 minutes of a 48-minute game.
The Wildcats’ defensive line won in the trenches, the linebackers made stops in the backfield, and the secondary blanketed receivers in a dominant performance.
The Chargers finished with more 3-and-outs (6) than first downs (4), finally moving the chains on the Wildcats’ second defensive unit a few times late during the fourth. Even then, the Wildcats second defense stopped the Chargers with a late interception by Carlos Roman.
“They’ve been like that for 13 years since I’ve been at East. Our defense under coach (Rene) Guzman and his assistant coaches do a great job and always have,” Burget said. “We’re always one of the best defenses in South Texas, and I’m very proud of them and the kids. They love to hit at East.”
The Wildcats (3-0, 3-0) have a chance to finish zone play unbeaten with one more road win against Brownsville Lopez (1-3, 0-3) which is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.
The Wildcats will then face McAllen Memorial (3-1, 3-0) in the District 16-5A Division I championship game the following week, tentatively set for Dec. 5.
Meanwhile, Brownsville Veterans (2-3, 1-2) will wrap up its season at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon with a rivalry game against Brownsville Pace (2-1, 2-1).