By EDWARD SEVERN, Special to RGVSports.com
BROWNSVILLE — The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers defeated the Brownsville Pace Vikings 38-12 on Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The Chargers (7-3, 7-2) took their first drive, ran the ball every play and finished it off with an 11-yard touchdown run by Jose Moreno. The Chargers botched the extra point snap, but kicker Jose Medrano picked it up and threw a bullet on the run to find a Chargers player for the 2-point conversion.
A fumble for Pace (3-7, 3-6) on its first offensive play was recovered by the Chargers. Running back/linebacker Jorge Alvarado ran it in from 17 yards out after capitalizing on good field position to give Brownsville Veterans a 15-0 lead within six minutes.
Alvarado came up big for the Chargers again, this time on defense. Alvarado sacked the Pace quarterback, putting the Vikings into a third-and-39 situation and leading to a punt.
“It is all team effort, it is not just one person,” Alvarado said. “I had a good game, but we all put in hard work, we wake up. I have been putting in work, and I am glad I was able to have a good game.”
Mauricio Sampayo ran the complex running offense effectively. Not many passes need to be thrown if a team can move the ball easily on the ground. There were opportunities for the big shot downfield in the system, and Sampayo found Miguel Cepeda for a 28-yard touchdown, giving the Chargers a 21-0 lead.
A fumble by Brownsville Veterans when threatening on its next drive gave the Vikings hope as defensive lineman Kevin Garcia picked it up and took it to the house.
With a little more than one minute left in the half, Brownsville Veterans moved the ball into field goal range thanks to a 57-yard catch and run by Michael McHale. Medrano nailed a 20-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 24-6 lead at the half.
Brownsville Veterans’ defense came out and stopped the Pace offense after halftime. The Chargers went back to work on the ground, and Moreno punched in another touchdown from 2 yards out to give his team a 31-6 lead.
Alvarado provided another big play, this time an interception, after a good Pace drive, but Brownsville Veterans fumbled giving Pace the ball back with a goal-to-go situation. Quarterback Brandon Narvaez scored the touchdown on a 2-yard run, and Pace trailed 31-12.
Alvarado finished the scoring with a 24-yard run to put the Chargers up 38-12.
Brownsville Veterans coach Kelley Lee finished his first year at the school on a high note, and the focus now shifts to the playoffs.
“I love it (here), the kids have worked hard all year and have gotten better every week, I am super proud of them,” Lee said. “Last year the record was 2-5, and those seven teams we played were 7-0 in those games, so everybody we played last year we beat this year. I was really proud of them for that.
“The teams that beat us were all really good teams, so we are really young and I am proud of them for that. Whoever we get in the playoffs are going to be a really good team. We are excited for the playoffs.”