By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer

Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School came off its bye week looking for vengeance after a big loss to Edinburg Vela, and found its victim in a crosstown rival.

The BVM Chargers put away the Pace Vikings 42-14 to win their first District 32-5A game of the season Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.

The win came following a layoff between a 35-10 loss to the Sabercats and the opening week of 32-5A play.

“I’m proud of how our kids responded after losing two weeks ago and being shook a little bit,” Chargers head coach David Cantu said. “The kids understood the importance of this football game and just did a good job playing one play at a time and beating a good Vikings team.”

The Chargers’ offense returned to form and rolled off to a hot start in the first quarter and didn’t look back, ending the game with 408 yards and six scores from the rushing attack.

Quarterback Gustavo Vazquez capped a 12-play, 74-yard drive with a 1-yard leap into the end zone to put Brownsville Veterans’ first points and a 7-0 lead on the board less than five minutes into the game.

BVM (3-1, 1-0) followed a turnover on downs by the Pace offense with another touchdown from running back Abel Martinez, who found the goal line from 10 yards out carry to take a 14-0 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter.

Pace (0-4, 0-1) scored on the next drive when quarterback Randy Aguilar found wide receiver Victor Rodriguez for a 30-yard touchdown pass to cut its deficit to six less than three minutes into the second quarter.

The Chargers responded with a quick score, with Vazquez running 63 yards for his second TD of the night to push his team’s cushion to 21-7.

Martinez scored again, this time on a 45-yard run during the second half’s opening drive, to give the Chargers a 28-7 advantage.

Pace’s Gabriel Zapata threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Rodriguez early in the fourth quarter to trim BVM’s lead to 28-14, but a 7-yard run by Vazquez gave the Chargers a 21-point edge they’d never surrender.

Peter Rodriguez’s 25-yard touchdown run after a Pace interception iced the game for the Chargers.

Vasquez did most of the damage from the quarterback position, leading Brownsville Veterans with 211 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in BVM’s fast-paced offense.

He ran strong throughout the entire game, only taking a handful of plays off until the final two Charger possessions of the night.

“It’s the mentality of every time I touch the ball, I’m just wanting to score and (be able) to put us up on the scoreboard,” Vasquez said. “(I’m) just doing my job for the team.”

Martinez ran 12 times for 146 yards and the two touchdowns.

The Vikings had chances to add to their point total throughout the game, including a promising first-half drive that ended at the Chargers 10 after two straight incompletions.

“Obviously, it’s a disappointment,” Pace head coach Bill Deen said. “We expected to come in the game and win. We put ourselves in position, I thought, at the half. We were playing good on offense. Obviously we didn’t score a couple of times.”

Zapata had 85 all-purpose yards for Pace as well as two completions for 41 yards and a touchdown. Aguilar threw for 112 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 34 more.

Brownsville Veterans faces the Mercedes Tigers (1-3, 0-0) next Friday at home. Pace plays Porter (0-4, 0-1) at Sams Memorial Stadium, also next Friday.

Veterans opens 32-5A with win over Pace

By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer

Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School came off its bye week looking for vengeance after a big loss to Edinburg Vela, and found its victim in a crosstown rival.

The BVM Chargers put away the Pace Vikings 42-14 to win their first District 32-5A game of the season Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.

The win came following a layoff between a 35-10 loss to the Sabercats and the opening week of 32-5A play.

“I’m proud of how our kids responded after losing two weeks ago and being shook a little bit,” Chargers head coach David Cantu said. “The kids understood the importance of this football game and just did a good job playing one play at a time and beating a good Vikings team.”

The Chargers’ offense returned to form and rolled off to a hot start in the first quarter and didn’t look back, ending the game with 408 yards and six scores from the rushing attack.

Quarterback Gustavo Vazquez capped a 12-play, 74-yard drive with a 1-yard leap into the end zone to put Brownsville Veterans’ first points and a 7-0 lead on the board less than five minutes into the game.

BVM (3-1, 1-0) followed a turnover on downs by the Pace offense with another touchdown from running back Abel Martinez, who found the goal line from 10 yards out carry to take a 14-0 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter.

Pace (0-4, 0-1) scored on the next drive when quarterback Randy Aguilar found wide receiver Victor Rodriguez for a 30-yard touchdown pass to cut its deficit to six less than three minutes into the second quarter.

The Chargers responded with a quick score, with Vazquez running 63 yards for his second TD of the night to push his team’s cushion to 21-7.

Martinez scored again, this time on a 45-yard run during the second half’s opening drive, to give the Chargers a 28-7 advantage.

Pace’s Gabriel Zapata threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Rodriguez early in the fourth quarter to trim BVM’s lead to 28-14, but a 7-yard run by Vazquez gave the Chargers a 21-point edge they’d never surrender.

Peter Rodriguez’s 25-yard touchdown run after a Pace interception iced the game for the Chargers.

Vasquez did most of the damage from the quarterback position, leading Brownsville Veterans with 211 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in BVM’s fast-paced offense.

He ran strong throughout the entire game, only taking a handful of plays off until the final two Charger possessions of the night.

“It’s the mentality of every time I touch the ball, I’m just wanting to score and (be able) to put us up on the scoreboard,” Vasquez said. “(I’m) just doing my job for the team.”

Martinez ran 12 times for 146 yards and the two touchdowns.

The Vikings had chances to add to their point total throughout the game, including a promising first-half drive that ended at the Chargers 10 after two straight incompletions.

“Obviously, it’s a disappointment,” Pace head coach Bill Deen said. “We expected to come in the game and win. We put ourselves in position, I thought, at the half. We were playing good on offense. Obviously we didn’t score a couple of times.”

Zapata had 85 all-purpose yards for Pace as well as two completions for 41 yards and a touchdown. Aguilar threw for 112 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 34 more.

Brownsville Veterans faces the Mercedes Tigers (1-3, 0-0) next Friday at home. Pace plays Porter (0-4, 0-1) at Sams Memorial Stadium, also next Friday.

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JOSHUA McKINNEY, Special to the Herald

Pace High School had several chances to extend its night and fight for win No. 1, but they couldn’t seize the moment.

The Vikings had the final possession of regulation but failed to capitalize, losing their final non-district game of the season to the La Joya Palmview Lobos 21-14 on Friday in Brownsville.

The Vikings had the ball at the Palmview 29 with 1.6 seconds left of the clock. Pace senior quarterback Randy Aguilar took a snap out of the shotgun and rolled right to avoid the Lobos’ tremendous pass rush.

Palmview’s defense closed on Aguilar as he tried to avoid taking a sack while looking downfield and was chased out of bounds to end the game.

Second-half turnovers helped flip a balanced game to one where the Lobos were firmly in control during the fourth quarter despite a one-touchdown lead.

“Turnovers killed us flat out,” Pace head coach Bill Deen said. “We can’t throw three interceptions and expect to win.”

The Vikings started the fourth quarter tied at 14 in a promising with the ball on their 7-yard line. Palmview defensive back Andrew Puente picked off a pass and returned it to the Lobos’ 23.

The turnover set up a touchdown drive capped by a 3-yard score from Palmview running Joel Pina, which gave the Lobos (1-3) a 21-14 lead with 7:30 left in the game.

Pace (0-3) had three tries to tie the game after the pick and moved the ball to its 44-yard line the following drive but an interception thrown to senior linebacker Marcos Mora ended the drive.

A fumbled snap on Palmview’s next offensive possession gave Pace hope yet again, but Aguilar was picked off by Mora for a second time.

The Vikings’ defense stepped up and stopped the Lobos’ clock-chewing ground game, forcing a punt and getting the ball on their 25 with 1:44 to go.

Palmview had a chance to end the game on fourth-and-3 on their 42 with 7.7 seconds left on the clock. Pace drew a pass interference call on a deep pass to give their offense one last chance with less than two seconds on the game clock.

The offense had been efficient until the fourth quarter. Deen thought his offense was trying to force the big play, which compounded mistakes.

“I just think we started pressing too hard,” Deen said. “The kids wanted to win. Their effort was phenomenal. We can’t press. We just have to keep doing the things we’re doing. We have (run-pass options) and things like that, things that were working. We started panicking and thinking we had to move the ball fast when we had plenty of time on the clock.”

Aguilar finished the game with 250 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. Zapata had 13 catches for 135 yards and a score to lead Pace.

The win gives Palmview mometum heading into the start of District 30-6A play.

“It’s big. It’s big for the program right now,” Palmview head coach Margarito Requenez Jr. said. “Starting 0-3, it’s kind of hard to keep these kids motivated and hopefully with this win, we get that energy back that we’re known for. Hopefully we can build of this.”

Joel Pina helped get Palmview’s ground game going by gaining 129 of the team’s 233 rushing yards to go along with three touchdowns. Sophomore fullback Jose Avalos rushed for 65 yards on eight carries and senior running back Mark Salinas carried the ball five times for 39 yards.

By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Special to the Herald

Inexperience on both sides of the ball made it difficult for Porter to keep pace with a quick-draw offense.

The Porter Cowboys lost to the McAllen Rowe Warriors 42-9 on Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.

Porter (0-3) strung together several long drives during the game but were undone by penalties and other mistakes expected from a team that lost a horde senior talent from last year’s playoff team.

“Our intensity’s picking up (but) it’s the same things that held us back the last two weeks,” Porter head coach Tom Campos said. “We’re picking up on one side of the ball and dropping on the other. Have a good quarter then have a bad quarter.

“When we get things together we’re a good team, a real good football team. We just have to put it all together for four quarters. We have yet to do that.”

The Warriors’ offense reeled off 35 points on its first five drives of the game, matching its up-tempo pace with explosive plays.

Rowe wasted no time getting on board during the game’s opening drive by scoring on a 59-yard touchdown run by junior wide receiver Hector Ramirez just two plays in to go up 7-0.

Porter’s ground-and-pound running game moved the offense into Rowe territory on the next drive but failed to move any farther than Rowe’s 49-yard line before punting.

Rowe junior quarterback Jesus Sanchez connected with junior receiver Adrian Bernal on a 51-yard pass during the next drive to get the Warriors into the redzone. The duo paired up two plays later to score on a 13-yard throw to make it 14-0 for Rowe.

A fumble on Porter’s next drive gave the Warriors the ball in Cowboys territory and Sanchez’s second touchdown throw of the night, this time to senior receiver Mark Hernandez for 19 yards, made it a 21-0 game with less than four minutes left in the first quarter.

“The key is our quarterback and our offensive line gelling (together), making sure that we are set and that we’re running the plays that are called effectively against the defense that we’ve seen,” Rowe head coach Robert Flores said. “We’re working together and getting up to the line quickly, hopefully getting them caught off guard a little bit helps us in our tempo of what we’re trying to run.”

Porter put its first points on the board during the second quarter on a drive that took the Cowboys deep into Rowe territory

A 15-yard personal foul took an 11-yard carry from Ulises Guzman from the 1-yard line to the 16. Porter had a false start penalty called on a wide receiver two plays later that pushed the drive back out of the red zone.

The Cowboys ended the drive with a 38-yard field goal by senior Angel Silva for their first points of the game.

“The inexperience kicked in,” Campos said. “We have some outstanding wideouts, hellacious athletes, but they’ve been playing basketball the last three years … they’re still learning where to line up and the cadences. Those 5-yard penalties hurt us, especially with a team like we have and the running game that we have. Those five yards are a big deal. If we clean up those things, we’ll be great.”

Porter’s other score came on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by senior running back Johnathan Gonzalez on the team’s final offensive drive of the game.

Gonzalez led Porter with 30 carries for 145 yards and a touchdown. Ramiro Martinez ran for 36 yards and sophomore quarterback Benjamin Ekersley threw for 25 yards.

Sanchez had 188 total yards of offense and two touchdown passes for the Warriors. Raudel Garcia ran for 47 yards and two scores on nine carries, and Bernal led Rowe’s receiving corps with four receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Gustavo Salazar also had a touchdown run.

By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer

Port Isabel’s District 32-4A campaign got off to a rough start Tuesday night.

The Port Isabel Lady Tarpons fought their way through early deficits in the final two sets and the loss of one of their top players in a four-set loss to the Raymondville Lady Bearkats, 25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-12, in both teams’ 32-4A opening match at Port Isabel.

The two teams split the first two sets, and Raymondville took advantage of unforced errors and strong serves from Celeste Salazar and Briana Garcia to take 10-1 lead at the start of the third.

Raymondville had Port Isabel at a 15-3 deficit, but the Lady Tarpons’ started to climb their way back into the set.

June Ochoa set up Clara Christensen for a strong kill that touched off an 11-point streak that eventually tied the third at 19-19.

An errant serve gave the Lady Bearkats the lead, but an error and two kills by Olivia Soliz put Port Isabel ahead by two. Raymondville erased Port Isabel’s lead with two straight points and ended the match on a 5-1 streak to kill the Lady Tarpons’ momentum.

“We got to learn that once we make that push, we have to stay up there,” Port Isabel coach Julia Breedlove said. “In the same game, we had a little server up there (Sabrina Garza). She made a run for that and put us in a pretty good position. We just had too many little mistakes, and it’s the little mistakes that are getting us right now.”

The Lady Tarpons suffered a major blow on the set point when Soliz collided with another Port Isabel player and fell to the ground with a knee injury. She was not able to return to the match.

The Lady Bearkats rolled out to a 7-1 lead in set four, a deficit Port Isabel wasn’t able to erase. The Lady Tarpons came within four points of Raymondville, but an 8-3 surge by the Lady Bearkats put them away.

Soliz had 11 kills to lead the Lady Tarpons. Simone Harry had eight kills and five digs, and Carolina Guevara had 19 assists. Garza had four aces, including three in the third set.

Breedlove said Port Isabel’s bench had a strong night, which will help with the rest of the district slate still ahead.

“They came in and made some key plays, and that was good to see, the kids coming in off the bench and having to step in and fill in for an injury where that’s maybe a position they’re not playing a lot,” she said. “That was promising. I know we have a little bit of depth on the bench now.”

Mireya Cervantes led Raymondville with eight kills and two blocks. Audrey Zavala had seven kills, six digs and three assists. Libero Ashly Cantu had 11 digs.

“My girls played really well today,” Raymondville coach Norma T. Rodriguez said. “They’ve been doing well the last few games. They finally came together as a team, and they’ve been doing well.”

Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.

Port Isabel High School defended its home turf in a game originally not on the schedule.

The Tarpons defeated the Tomball Christian Warriors 34-7 in its first game at home Friday night at Tarpon Stadium in Port Isabel.

Port Isabel (2-0), without quarterback/running back Omar Silva due to injury, had complete control of the game in the first half. The offense gained 236 total yards in the first half and put up 28 points.

Penalties were all that could stop the Tarpons’ momentum in the first half. P.I. was tagged with 50 of its 90 total penalty yards in the opening half, with a holding call negating a 21-yard, second-quarter touchdown catch by Jorge Escobar.

“We played hard (but) we have to cut down on the mistakes,” Port Isabel coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “Mistakes cost us scores. We have to quit doing those things. The kids are playing hard, that’s one thing I’ll say. They play hard and they play for each other. We were out some kids out tonight, other kids stepped up and I was really pleased with their effort.”

Running back Ricky Gonzalez put Port Isabel’s first points on the board with a 21-yard run in space up the middle to cap an 89-yard drive with four minutes to go in the first quarter.

Defensive back Jeremy Martinez caught his first of two interceptions on the following drive, returning it 17 yards to give Port Isabel the ball in Warriors territory.

A 35-yard pass from Cesar Aguilera to tight end Jesus Saldivar on the first play of the Tarpons’ following drive help set up Orduna’s three-yard flip into the end zone as time ran out in the first quarter. P.I.’s failed two-point conversion made it a 13-0 ballgame.

“Kids always step up,” Stumbaugh said. “Someone always steps in. (Orduna) always comes in, just like he did last week. We moved him to J-back. He runs tough. I think he did a good job.”

Aguilera was involved in every one of the Tarpons’ 15 points in the second quarter. The quarterback scored on a 1-yard run and followed the score with a pass to Daniel Martinez for the two-point conversion. Aguilera threw a 31-yard pass to Daniel Martinez on Port Isabel’s final drive of the half to push the advantage to 28-0.

Tomball Christian (0-2) scored its only points of the game when cornerback Christian Vaughn picked off a pass and returned it 75 yards to the end zone.

Aside from that lone blemish, the Tarpons owned the night.

Port Isabel’s young offensive line cleared holes for a rushing attack that finished the game with 306 yards.

Orduna led P.I.’s run-happy offense with 143 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries against the Warriors. Travis Camacho had 77 yards on six carriers.

“The main thing was blocking,” Orduna said. “Getting our keys and executing the run.”

Aguilera and Brian Chavez combined for 133 passing yards and two touchdown passes, both caught by Daniel Martinez.

The Tarpon defense held the Warriors to 146 yards and forced four turnovers.

The Warriors braved a seven-hour trip to answer Stumbaugh’s call to fill in an extra open week his team had on its schedule.

“I thought (my team) played really hard … they fought tough,” Tomball Christian head coach Jack Frey said. “That’s something I always appreciate about guys is when you’re down 28 to nothing at the half and you come out and play hard in the second half. We put more points on the point board in the second half than they did. I’m happy that our guys didn’t quit.”

Tomball Christian quarterback John Hilley threw for 25 yards and ran for 23. Garret Harlan was the Warriors’ leading rusher with 25 yards on seven carriers.

Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.

BY JOSHUA MCKINNEY, Staff Writer

Hanna faced all the resistance Lopez could manage, but the home team held out in the end.

The Hanna Lady Golden Eagles defeated the Lopez Lady Lobos in a non-district match, 25-14, 27-25, 23-25, 25-14 on Tuesday at Hanna.

“(We had) ups and downs,” Hanna head coach Ansgar Hagemann said. “Game 1 and 4 we had strong moments. The rest were a little bit shaky tonight, but it also had to do with an injury-related line-up change we had to do.”

Libero Melina Morales went down in the third set, causing Hanna to mix and match the personnel on the court.

“We wouldn’t really adjust to the game,” Hagemann said. “We tried, and they did. Unfortunately, Lopez had a strong moment. They did an awesome job of putting pressure on us.”

Lopez battled back to win the third set and held the momentum heading into the fourth, sporting a 12-4 lead.

Back-to-back kills by Xitlali Montes de Oca started a 10-point streak that gave the Lady Eagles the edge at 14-12.

Yazmin Martinez had a tip to end the surge but Lopez’s intensity wasn’t there, and Hanna responded with an 11-1 run to end the match.

“I think that’s what killed us,” Lopez head coach Jacquelynn Touchet said. “I think that fourth set we kind of hit a slump and they didn’t come back out fast enough. I think that’s something we need to consider heading into the district season. We can’t let that happen.”

The Lady Eagles were in control in the first set, getting nine kills and four aces to keep the Lady Lobos’ defense off balanced.

The teams battled tightly in the second and traded leads throughout the set.

Lopez had a chance to put the set away twice, but an unforced error and a kill by Alexa Herrera kept Hanna in it.

Halle Penrod had eight kills to lead Hanna. Elyani Perez had 18 assists, and Ryan Wood had four kills and three aces.

Kassandra Alaniz had seven kills and Carla Lopez had six to spearhead Lopez’s attack. Noemi Gallardo had 17 assists and two aces.

Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.

By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer

It all came down to a play the Chargers drew up over the week.

Abel Martinez’s 38-yard touchdown run off a reverse capped a second-half comeback and gave the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers the go-ahead score in a 17-14 season-opening win against the Edinburg North Cougars on Friday at Brownsville Veterans Stadium.

The do-it-all junior took a pitch from running senior running back Fabian Roque and cut his way to the right sideline, where he found a hole and took the ball to pay dirt.

“I was kind of nervous that it wasn’t going to work,” Martinez admitted. “In the end, I saw the opening hole — a big hole — and knew I was going to score.”

The game-clinching TD came on a play Brownsville Veterans’ coaching staff pulled out of its back pocket to give the home team its first lead with 6:35 left in the game.

“(Running backs coach) Joe Martinez wanted to run what we call 29 Z Reverse,” BVM head coach David Cantu said. “That was the one that gave us the lead. I just kissed him on the head right now, told him, ‘You called the winning touchdown Pope,’ so awesome play call by him.”

The Chargers came out of the locker room trailing 14-0 after a first half full of penalties and other mistakes that showed signs of a young team that only returned five starters from last season.

A 30-yard field goal by Jose Luis Zarate capped a nine-play, 66-yard scoring drive that cut the Cougar lead to 11.

On North’s next series, the Cougars missed a 42-yard field goal that gave the Chargers the ball at their own 25. BVM then drove down the field on eight plays and scored on a six-yard run by junior quarterback Gustavo Vazquez to trim its deficit to 14-10.

Vazquez finished the game with 141 total yards and a score for the Chargers, and senior quarterback Isaiah Solis completed 11-of-16 passes for 108 yards.

Junior Ethan Vela led North with 115 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Senior quarterback Cristian Espinoza threw for 42 yards and senior receiver Justin Guerra had four receptions for 27 yards.

The Cougars outgained Brownsville Veterans in total offense 114-80 in the first half, but couldn’t get it going over the final 24 minutes of play. North’s missed field goals from 40 and 42 yards were the Cougars’ closest chances to points after halftime.

“I was super proud of them,” Edinburg North coach Rene Saenz said. “It wasn’t from a lack of effort. I think the first half was an indicator of that. They came out and really dominated physically on both sides of the ball. Championship teams have to put teams away when you have it that way. When you have a 14-point lead and the opening drive of the third quarter, you have to put it away.”

Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.

By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer

A young Rivera team had its hands full when dealing with one of the Rio Grande Valley’s strongest attacking teams.

The Rivera Lady Raiders lost to the McAllen Rowe Lady Warriors in three sets, 25-18, 25-13, 25-12, Tuesday at Rivera.

Rowe’s hitters kept finding the holes in Rivera’s defense, with Jackelyn Alaniz leading the way. Alaniz had a team-high 14 kills in the match and kept the Lady Raiders off-balanced with powerful shots.

The Raiders youthful backline is still growing, and Rivera head coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra thinks facing a strong team that attacks with multiple types of shots will help them handle the pressure later in the season.

“We’re young, especially our defense,” Avelar-Guerra said. “The defense is very young. (These ladies) need to learn why I’m trying to tell them to do and see it. All you ladies need to do is learn how to do it. The girls played well. They got frustrated.”

Rivera fought back from a 5-0 deficit in the first set and kept it close, until Rowe went off on a 9-2 surge with the set tied at 14.

A run of 10-2 early in second set gave the Lady Warriors a nine-point lead that put Rivera in a hole, and Rowe’s 11-2 start to the third set gave the team a comfortable lead to close it out.

No one likes to lose home matches like this, but schedule tough opponents early in the season should have Rivera up to speed once District 32-6A play rolls around in September.

“It’s a good way for them to see and learn and get prepared for district, because if they can play against them, they can do well in district,” Avelar-Guerra said. “That’s my schedule. You’ve got to step up and learn. It’s okay to lose. There’s no problem with losing as long as you’re learning, getting better and you learn not to get frustrated. That’s what I was telling them. You can’t worry about the score, you just play every point as hard as you can. Don’t worry about the score. If you lose, you lose. As long as you give the best you had, (because) if you give it the best you have and you lose, walk off the court proud.”

Stephanie Garza led Rivera with seven kills and also had an ace, and Kourntey Shears finished the match with eight assists, two kills and an ace.

McAllen Rowe is looking for options from the attacking side, but having a big hitter like Alaniz helps while the rest of the team comes along.

“Sooner or later, the other teams are going to find out that Jackie’s the one putting the ball away,” McAllen Rowe head coach Magda Canales said. “We want to be able to rotate the lineup one way or another where she comes in at a different time.”

Alaniz also had a team-leading three blocks for Rowe, Vanessa Lopez had 18 assists and Amanda Martinez had six kills.

Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.

By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer

Brownsville Veterans Memorial had the momentum going into the fifth and final set.

But the Lady Chargers’ streaky play didn’t allow them to capitalize.

Brownsville Veterans (7-4) lost to the Mission Veterans Memorial Lady Patriots in five sets, 22-25, 25-17, 25-17, 8-25, 15-8.

Brownsville Veterans showed signs of growing pains that come with having a young team.

“I’ve been telling the girls they just can’t come and play one game, relax the next two, then beat someone 25-8 and go into a fifth game because now, wait, we have to win because if we lose that fifth set,” Mares said. “It made you give yourselves that pressure in the fifth game. Basically, it’s no consistency with the team yet. That’s what tournaments, non-district’s for, to try and get that consistency, especially with a young and new team.

“I feel like that’s what we are, even though I do have some seniors but they didn’t quite get a lot of playing time last year. I basically told them, they can’t be like a roller coaster … it has to be all of the people on the court at the same time to be successful.”

The Lady Chargers forced a fifth set after dominating the Lady Patriots in the fourth, ending the set on a 12-3 streak.

Their hot streak continued at the start, with Brownsville Veterans jumping to a 4-0 lead after a Cassie Valdez kill.

Mission Veterans roared back and tied the set on a kill by Alex Jimenez.

Both sides battled back and fourth, but a pair of unforced errors started an eight-point surge the Lady Patriots carried to the win.

“I think they relaxed a little bit and took control of the game,” Mission Veterans coach Marina Carillo said. “We were having trouble just setting the ball up and our defense wasn’t where it was supposed to be. I think they pulled it through at the end.”

Defense was the bright spot for Brownsville Veterans in the match, which will help carry the team while the attack comes together in the early season.

“I think that’s one of our advantages, the defense,” Mares said. “Defense wins championships but if the hitters can’t put it away, the defense has to do all of the work. I did think we struggled there toward the end with the passes. Taking away the defense, there are some rotations I really, really like and some I want to work on.”

Valdez led Brownsville Veterans 14 kills and 34 assists. Marian Villarreal had 27 digs and Paola Villarreal had 25.

Carillo said Jimenez stepped it up on the front line for Mission Veterans, and it showed in the final stats as she led the team with 12 kills. Jimenez also had two blocks, Andrea De la Garza had 19 digs and Valerie De la Fuente had 13 assists.

Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.

By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer

The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers look to pick up where they left off last season.

Brownsville Veterans (7-3) finished the McAllen High Poundfest as the gold bracket’s consolation champions after a 7-2 finish in tournament play.

The Lady Chargers picked up wins against three of the Rio Grande Valley’s top 10 teams (Edinburg North, Sharyland High and Edinburg Vela) while earning the consolation trophy against a team that beat them in their season opener, PSJA Memorial.

They did it all while missing a middle blocker and one of their setters.

“I was surprised. I think it came down to defense, passing and we served well in those games we won,” coach Lisa Mares said. “There was a game where we had a lot of errors but we still came out with a win. The movement and the desire to win were there.”

Mares said junior Cassie Valdez had to play virtually every minute of the tournament as the team’s lone setter, and senior libero Paola Villarreal did an excellent job of “taking charge and being a leader in the back.”

Sophomore Pamela Sanchez was a surprise player for the Lady Chargers in the tournament. She filled in as a middle blocker in junior Bridget Himes’ absence.

“We had a couple of injuries to (our middle blocker and setter), so we basically had to run the whole tournament with one setter,” Mares said. “I thought we did pretty well. It’s always a goal to get in the top bracket. … I saw a lot of fight in them, (they were) aggressive and defensively (we did well),” Mares said.

Winning hardware

Rivera also continued its hot start with a silver bracket championship in the McHi Poundfest.

The Lady Raiders (7-3) lost only three of their nine matches, beating PSJA North, 25-23, 25-21, in the bracket final and playing a close match against Sharyland High in the semifinal, 25-21, 25-21.

“They did a great job the first and last day,” coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said. “They were a little flat on the second day, but they sure came back strong today. I am so proud of how they never lost confidence (on Saturday). They kept fighting even when they fell behind.”

Rivera has a tough week ahead with a road date against RGVSports.com’s preseason No. 1 McAllen High and a trip to the three-day Mission Tournament.

Fostering depth

Another BISD team found success in the silver bracket.

The Pace Lady Vikings (4-6) finished third in the bracket after beating Sharyland for their fourth win in nine tournament matches.

“We played up and down this week, a little inconsistent at times,” coach Gavin Rudder said. “(We) got the girls in some pretty important spots who are inexperienced but got some learning to do. That’s what this preseason is for before we get to district play. (We) will be a lot better once we get there.”

Depth will help elevate the game since the team returns five starters from last season’s playoff team. Rudder said senior libero Ebony Casanova and sophomore Stephanie Saenz had great performances in the tournament.

“Ebony did a great job of stepping in front of some of the big hitters and digging their spikes this weekend,” Rudder said. “Stephanie had some good swings but was a bigger part of the blocking game, getting lots of touches and blocks.”

Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.