MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

Lopez catcher Lexi Castro spent 2018 nursing a knee injury, missing out on a bulk of her senior campaign and leaving the Lady Lobos without their top catcher.

Castro returned to the field for her senior season and cemented herself as the leader for the Lady Lobos’ defense from behind the plate and even in the infield as a shortstop, earning her the distinction as The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Softball Defensive Player of the Year.

Receiving the honor was special for Castro as she now shares the distinction with her twin sister Alex, who earned the award in 2016.

“I was really excited (to earn the honor) because it was my first time getting it and my sister won it her freshman year,” Lexi Castro said. “I was shocked because I didn’t think I would get this, but when my coach texted me I was, like, ‘Oh my God, I got it.’ I told everyone and they were really proud of me.”

Despite a fifth-place finish in District 32-5A and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016, Lexi Castro shined on defense with a .95 fielding percentage, 76 putouts, 38 assists and just six errors on 120 total chances this season. She even did some pitching this season, adding 21 strikeouts.

At the plate, she recorded a .542 batting average with 27 RBIs, six home runs and 31 runs scored.

She was selected as a unanimous all-district first-team catcher.

Lopez coach Jesse Martinez said he brought Lexi Castro back in the fold after the injury as a shortstop, where she also excelled. But when she was back to full health she took her stance behind the plate, where she was most effective.

“She’s a leader and she pretty much runs the defense,” Martinez said. “She’s gotten to the point where she knew exactly what we needed. She’s a kid we could rely on defensively at every single point. She knew how to control the pitchers, and understood the pitcher’s location, speed and knew hitters very well, too.”

Lexi Castro said she was timid at first, getting back behind the plate, but all her doubts were put to rest knowing the trust she had from the team in front of her.

“The beginning of the year it was scary for me being back and having to wear that knee brace,” Lexi Castro said. “I overcame that fear and started playing, and everybody was supporting me with it. It was an honor to let my coach and the whole team let me make the decisions and call what plays to make and what pitches to call. That showed they had a lot of trust in me even though I was out for a year.”

MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

After Port Isabel’s Allison Gonzalez made a big impact for the Lady Tarpons as a freshman, the Lady Tarpons’ jack of all trades took on the role of starting pitcher on a consistent basis as a sophomore.

Once again Gonzalez thrived, delivering several big performances in crucial moments this season and helping lead the Lady Tarpons back to the postseason.

For that reason, Gonzalez has been named The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Softball Pitcher of the Year.

Gonzalez, who is no stranger to the circle as she has pitched since she was 9 years old, didn’t pitch much during her freshman season as then-senior Christa Valdez held down the fort. But Gonzalez quickly became comfortable and gained the team’s confidence when called upon this season.

“It was a really big jump for me to go from a left-field freshman, to being a starting pitcher,” Gonzalez said. “I just tried to calm myself down and looked at my teammates, and knew they had my back and whatever I pitched or whatever I threw they could get the out.”

Gonzalez shined during the District 32-4A season, posting a 6-1 record in the circle with 50 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched. She also had a .386 batting average and 23 RBIs.

While all six wins were crucial, none was bigger than Port Isabel’s 2-1 win against Rio Hondo (its only district loss), during which Gonzalez tossed a complete game, allowing just four hits, one run and recording seven strikeouts.

The Lady Tarpons finished in third place with a 13-3 district record, and Gonzalez earned an all-district first-team nod.

Port Isabel coach Danno Wise said Gonzalez had the arm but quickly became an all-around pitcher as the season went on.

“(Gonzalez) really was a thrower,” Wise said. “She threw hard and had a changeup. As the season progressed, you saw less and less hard contact against her. She started being smarter and better with her placement. By the time we hit district, she really started coming into her own, and a prime example of that was that game against Rio Hondo. It was masterful, and she was the only pitcher in the district to beat them.”

With a breakout season in the circle has come confidence for Gonzalez, who feels she has the ability to hang with top-level pitchers in the area.

“I played summer ball, and I’ve seen a lot of upper-level pitchers,” Gonzalez said. “I know that I can hang with them, but I still need to work harder than them.”

With two seasons left, Gonzalez isn’t content with what she has already accomplished. She has set new goals to take her game in the circle to the next level and help her team hunt a district title.

“This just means I have to work harder,” she said. “My goal right now is to hit 60 mph accurate throws, and to perfect my throws. I also want to hit and field better, whatever I can do.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

Hanna entered 2019 as one of the underdogs in rugged District 32-6A.

The Lady Golden Eagles reached the playoffs for the first time in six years, and calling the shots was second-year coach Greg Larson. He pulled the right strings to get Hanna to the postseason and has been named The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Softball Coach of the Year.

Larson has been at Hanna for eight seasons. He spent time coaching baseball before he made the switch to softball.

“This was a solid district, and we knew what we had to do in order to make the playoffs,” Larson said. “We had a core group of seniors that really wanted to make the playoffs, and they led the way for us and they were the ones that made it happen.”

Hanna always felt it had the pieces in play to make the playoffs despite the tough district schedule. Mixed in with some veteran experience, Hanna added a few young pieces to its puzzle.

“By the time the tournaments were over, we moved people around and put them in a spot to where we thought would work,” Larson said. “Coach of the year, it is a team award, and it just goes to show how hard the girls worked and did the things they needed to do.”

Looking back on the 2019 season, Larson recalled that the week of preparation for the playoffs was a special moment for himself and the program.

“The week before the playoffs, the kids took it up a notch,” Larson said. “We really competed with (Edinburg) Vela and (Harlingen) South, they were two of the tougher teams in the (Rio Grande) Valley. We went toe-to-toe with Vela in the playoffs and had an opportunity to win those games, but I was happy and pleased with the way the kids went out there and played.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

In 1968, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Bob Gibson put together one of the most dominant seasons by a pitcher. Gibson pitched the entire season with mastery and was virtually unhittable.

Gibson’s ERA became one of baseball’s magic numbers at 1.12, and it is a record in the live-ball era. One of Gibson’s famous quotes was, “Half of that plate is mine. Now you have to figure out which half I’m coming after.”

That mentality and dominance are far and few in between.

In 2019, Brownsville Veterans Memorial senior pitcher Mia Anzaldua wrote her own story and broke records.

Anzaldua who is small in size, made up for it with a power left arm that helped fuel the Lady Chargers to a third straight district title and a bi-district victory.

Anzaldua posted a 19-3 season with a dazzling 0.46 ERA. Along with the wins and ERA, Anzaldua began an assault on five different school records, most notably her career strikeout total of 689, passing former Lady Chargers pitcher Cassie Valdez, who had 666 career punchouts.

With her record-breaking year, Anzaldua was named The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Softball Most Valuable Player.

“Winning this award felt like a relief to end my high school career, and I feel this just put a stamp on my career,” Anzaldua said. “I feel like this year and for us seniors, we finished the year better than ever, and this was our dream team this year and to be a part of it was incredible.”

Anzaldua broke the team’s career strikeout record, but before that she shattered its single-season strikeout record with 269. The previously mark was held by Valdez at 202. Anzaldua also broke the single-season wins record with 19, surpassing Valdez’s 14.

“This is pretty well-deserved,” she said. “Throughout the years, I have worked so hard and all of it has paid off. I got college paid for and won awards, and I’m thankful for that.”

Along with the strikeout and win records came the perfect games and no-hitters. The crafty lefty threw five perfect games and four no-hitters, finishing her career with eight perfect games. All are program records.

“I try not to have too much thought, I try and focus on each batter,” Anzaldua said. “I just go out there with a clear mentality, and if something needs to be fixed I won’t stress on it, I know I got it. I have to drink an orange juice before every game, that helps me get into the zone and gets me ready.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN—-The San Benito Greyhounds will have another opportunity to punch their ticket to the state 7-on-7 tournament in College Station later this month after falling just shy of a state bid at this past weekend’s Mission qualifying tournament.

The Hounds’ went 2-1 over the weekend with wins over Harlingen High and Brownsville Porter, with their only blemish was a loss to Laredo United South.

Incoming senior quarterback Smiley Silva will look to lead the way this summer.

Silva will be replacing Jacob Cavazos under center. The new QB and the offense has provided some fire power early this summer with soon-to-be junior running back Kyler Castilleja and wide outs Juan Constante and Jermaine Corbin.

“It wasn’t easy and we underestimated some teams this past weekend, but now, we are getting for the College Station tournament and we are ready to show that there is talent down here in the Valley,” Silva said.

Silva will look to Constante and Corbin, who look to make a splash through the air this fall, are taking in the summer work to get on the same page with Silva.

Silva, who will be a first-year starter, also sees the summer as an opportunity for himself to better his game.

“I need to work on my foot work and the timing with my receivers,” Silva said. “Those are some things we need to work on. I felt we fixed some of those things tonight with our win, we were able to put up 68 points.”

The Greyhounds haven’t been to the state tournament since 2007. Prior to that, the ’Hounds reached the state tournament in 2001 and 2006.

The ’Hounds will be in College Station for their second state qualifying tournament on June 14. The pools and teams are still to be decided.

“This is a goal that we set to hopefully make the state tournament,” Silva said. “Now that we have a qualifying tournament under our belts, that experience will help us when we go to our next qualifier in a few weeks.”

By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — Last summer, Raymondville reached new heights.

The Bearkats reached the state 7-on-7 tournament for the first time in program history behind quarterback Jacob Posas and running back Marcus Capetillo.

With Posas and Capetillo lost to graduation, the Bearkats’ veteran offensive weapons, Justin Cantu and Zaraivion Armendarez, are returning to the lineup.

In fact, four Bearkats return four players from last year’s state team. Along with Cantu and Armendarez are Ajay Sayas and Thomas Zombrano.

When the Harlingen 7-on-7 league got under way a few weeks ago, Armendarez who will be a junior this fall, took on a leadership role and gave the underclassmen advice and tips on what to expect throughout the summer league and at state qualifying tournaments.

“We know that we have to get better each and every week,” Armendarez said. “There are some guys that don’t have varsity experience, so it is a lot different. We have new guys and new faces on the team, but at the same time we have guys that have been here before so we are trying to implement that in the younger guys.”

With the McAllen state qualifying tournament approaching, Armendarez feels the ’Kats are where they need to be and that they continue to make progress as the summer progresses with a new quarterback at the helm in incoming freshman Jarod Cavazos.

“We are working, and each game we are going to have to fight,” Armendarez said. “We are getting better each week and each game.”

The veteran wideout has helped Cavazos get up to speed with the tempo and various routes the Bearkats run.

“The speed has been a lot different for (Cavazos) but he is getting better each game, and we can see that and we feel we will be up to speed once we head to our qualifying tournament. Overall, we just want to get better and be ready for the season. This 7-on-7 is important, but we are also getting ready for the season and we know there is a bigger picture.”

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

Roberto Palomo was more than up to the task as a center defender for the Hanna Golden Eagles this soccer season.

It was a challenge considering Hanna typically played a three-man defensive alignment instead of using four. That alignment helped the Eagles have more of an attack on the offensive end. On the other end of the field, more than ever, the Hanna defenders knew their job was to constantly stay alert and protect the goal.

Palomo, a junior, was a prime example of a top defensive player for the Eagles this season. He became someone who helped Hanna return to the regional tournament for the first time since 2013, the year the Eagles made it to state.

For his strong play during the 2019 season, Palomo is The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Defensive Player of the Year for boys soccer.

“It was a great feeling getting back there (to the Region IV-6A Tournament) after so many years of not making it,” Palomo said. “I felt it was a great accomplishment, but I’m still not satisfied with how we finished and hopefully none of my teammates are either. We want to do it again and hopefully go even farther next year.

“I believe this season gives us confidence on the field, not cockiness, that we can reach what we want to reach by being humble,” Palomo added. “I felt we could have done more (defensively) this season, but everything happens for a reason. I’m glad we did what we did (but I’d like to see us still do more).”

Hanna (17-6-6) advanced four rounds in the Class 6A playoffs this season before being eliminated during the regional tournament semifinals against San Antonio Reagan 3-2 on April 12 at Brownsville Sports Park.

Eagles coach Reyes Prado said Palomo was an important part of his team’s 2019 playoff run.

“He was the backbone of our defense,” Prado said. “With his playing leadership, he kept us in all of the games.

“He was a guarantee for the team to attack more and trust that he was going to be solid in the back,” Prado added. “When Palomo is on the field, the team feels strong defensively.”

Palomo, a member of the varsity since he was a freshman and starter since he was a sophomore, was named a first-team defender on the All-District 32-6A team this season.

“I’m not a captain on the field but I tend to act like one, and even more when we’re only three back there on defense,” Palomo said. “Since I’m the last one (besides the goalkeeper in the defensive alignment), I know a lot of people depend on me so I have to go full force. We can’t make mistakes as often as other (defensive) players. One mistake can cost a goal, so we have to be very careful.”

Palomo said he is glad to win the awards he has received. He’s happiest for his parents, Roberto Sr. and Dahila Palomo.

“My parents see the practices and the work that I’ve put in,” he said. “After all the sacrifices they have made for me, it just makes them happy to see me get an award, and that makes me happy, too.

“Of course, I see it as a motivation for next year,” he added. “It’ll make me go harder to prove to other people and my parents as well that I deserve it.”

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

It’s not that often a soccer team boasts a pair of 30-goal scorers during the same season.

The Porter Cowboys fielded such a duo in 2019.

They were senior Oscar Garcia and freshman Jose Mateos, both forwards. They scored 31 and 33 goals, respectively.

Actually, Mateos set a freshman scoring record at Porter with his 33 goals. He eclipsed the previous freshman record set in 2011 by Alan Cortinas of 28 goals.

Garcia is The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year, and Mateos is the All-Metro Newcomer of the Year. Both players played a key role in helping the Cowboys (22-7-2) return to the Class 5A playoffs this season as the third-place team from District 32-5A.

Cowboys coach Jose Espitia said each of the two players has made an impact on the varsity squad.

“We noticed Oscar’s potential as a freshman and moved him up to the varsity,” Espitia said. “He played only a few minutes as a freshman in 2016, but practiced and traveled with our varsity team, which was a good experience for him. He started as a fullback as a sophomore, and he became our utility player his junior year. This season he was our scoring threat (at forward).

“Oscar is very quiet, but he has leadership on the field,” the Porter coach added. “He will be greatly missed because players like him only come around every five years or so. I am glad and proud of him for getting his recognition. I want to see him playing at the next level (possibly at University of Houston-Victoria).”

Regarding Mateos, the Porter coach said, “Jose is one of a kind. He never missed a day of practice, and he’s an ‘A’ Honor Roll student who is very coachable, plus he knows how to read the game. He reminds me a lot of Alan Cortinas.

“I am excited to have Jose back for the next three years,” Espitia added. “I really hope we can develop his personality into a more outspoken/leader-type personality for the team. We need him to take a leading role.”

Both players have a lot of pride wearing the Cowboys’ jersey.

“Porter is an amazing school,” Garcia said. “The colors are proud colors to play for. It’s just a great school.”

Added Mateos, “I feel very proud to be on this team. It’s really hard to make it on the varsity (as a freshman) at Porter, and I’m grateful to the coaches for letting me play on the varsity. It was challenging to face the other Brownsville teams, and I felt a big responsibility to do well for my team.”

Also, the two players each said they appreciated the awards they’re received this season. For all-district, Garcia was the overall 32-5A MVP and Mateos was the 32-5A newcomer of the year.

“It means a lot to me to win these awards (for All-Metro and all-district),” Garcia said. “I gave it my all this season because it was my last year. I would like to thank our coaches for letting me be on the varsity team for four years, They’re great coaches.”

Added Mateos, “I’m very proud because my hard work was showing on the field (in getting these awards). Receiving them is motivating because I have another chance, actually three more seasons, to be at Porter. We’ll have a lot of seniors next year, and it will be another chance for us to do well.

“It was a great (2019) season, even though it didn’t finish like we wanted it to (as we lost in bi-district),” Mateos added. “I want to thank our coaches for the job they did this year.”

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

The success of the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers this season is evidenced by The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro selections for boys soccer.

The Chargers advanced five rounds in the Class 5A playoffs for the third straight year and finished with a 23-3-1 record as the runner-up team from District 32-5A.

As a result, Brownsville Veterans boasts some of the top All-Metro honorees for 2019, including Alberto Vasquez (coach of the year), Moises Navarro (goalkeeper of the year) and Diego Bernal (utility player of the year).

Vasquez just completed his ninth season guiding the Chargers. No team from Brownsville has his track record of success during the past three years. Brownsville Veterans has come within one victory of reaching the UIL state tournament three straight times.

“Getting coach of the year is a great recognition, but it’s not just something that I’ve accomplished (by myself),” Vasquez said. “We have great assistants, including Dante Ayala, my first assistant. The assistants help out so much in every aspect of what we try to put together. My junior varsity coaches always contribute and help develop the players.

“This (coach of the year) award is something I’m receiving, but it’s because of the team,” Vasquez added. “It is very important for all of our players to understand that any individual accolade — and we received a ton this year — is not necessary for what an individual accomplished, but rather what the team has done.

“It’s a great honor to be recognized as an All-Metro Coach of the Year because there are a lot of great coaches out there. Just to be considered for such an honor is amazing.”

One thing is certain. The players believe in their coach and his ability to guide the team.

“Coach Vasquez helps us and trains us to be ready for a lot of things, so it’s an honor to play for the Chargers,” said Navarro, a four-year member of the varsity. “I want to thank Coach Vasquez for especially helping me these last two years that I was the starter. He gave me a lot of trust, and I think I did my best job. It’s an honor being his player. I don’t really see him as my coach, but more like my friend. In difficult times he’s been there, and in beautiful times he’s been there.”

Added Bernal, a three-year varsity member, “It’s no coincidence that we’ve made it to the regional final three times in a row with our coach. It’s taken hard work and dedication. It’s been the whole team (working together) with Coach Vasquez always there to help us out when we need it.”

Bernal, who has signed to play at Texas College next school year, rotated between playing at center midfielder, defensive midfielder and midfielder on the wing this season. Many times he was the first player off the bench for the Chargers.

“First of all, if you’re on the bench you have to be analyzing the game so you can do what they want you to do when you’re called to go in,” Bernal said. “You do whatever the team needs.

“It’s like a whole different family playing for the Chargers,” he added. “When you’re on the field, you’re representing the whole school more than just the team, and when you’re in the playoffs you’re representing Brownsville.”

Vasquez said Bernal’s contribution was vital.

“Diego is a player who wasn’t a full-time starter, but he was a starter some of the time,” the coach said. “Whenever he was playing, he was someone we really counted on to give us a boost, especially when he came off the bench. He was someone who had the flexibility of playing three positions.

“Even though the positions were kind of similar, Diego was someone who could step in and create something out of nothing,” Vasquez added. “He has great vision and amazing passing ability, so he was that one who could come in and really help us when our midfield was struggling or we were struggling to create something.”

Navarro was also an important asset for the Chargers, Vasquez said.

“Moises gave us tons of confidence in the back,” the coach said. “I think in our district we’ve consistently had the best defense year after year after year. We’ve allowed the least amount of goals with a lot of shutouts. It’s not that we defend with just one particular player. It’s the whole team playing together, and Moises was a big part of that. That’s something we work on and try to implement in our system. It’s proven effective.”

Navarro knows the goalkeeper is always the one on the spot.

“It takes a lot of focus (to play goalkeeper),” Navarro said. “You can stop, like, 1,000 balls, and if you miss one of them, people will remember you for only that mistake. They won’t remember your saves, so it takes a lot of focus and training.

“It’s an honor to win an award (for being a standout goalkeeper),” he added. “I consider it a prize for working hard.”

As a parting comment, Bernal said, “I’d like to thank all our fans and everyone who has come out to support us, even when we went to Corpus Christi. These past three years have been great. Also, thank you to Coach Vasquez for putting up with us.”

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

Opposing teams know all too well what No. 10 from Brownsville Veterans Memorial can do on the soccer field.

They’ve come to see Mark Boswell as a dangerous player with superb skills and as someone they must always account for, especially when he has the ball.

Now they can also know him as The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro MVP for 2019 boys soccer.

“Mark is one of those players who can turn the momentum of a game at any moment,” Brownsville Veterans coach Alberto Vasquez said. “He has that ability to create something out of nothing. Mark is the type of player that the other teams worry about constantly. He can create a lot on and off the ball.”

Boswell, a forward who just completed his junior season, has started on the varsity since he was a freshman. During each of Boswell’s seasons with the Chargers, they’ve advanced to the Region IV-5A Tournament final. That’s going five deep in the playoffs three straight years.

This season was one of Boswell’s best. He finished with 18 goals and a remarkable 30 assists. If he wasn’t able to score himself, he found a way to get the ball to someone who could.

The team scoring leader for 2019 was center midfielder Albert Maradiaga, also a junior, with 21 goals and 12 assists. No one, however, came close to Boswell’s assist total.

Boswell tries to maintain his composure at all times.

“I don’t stress about the game we’re playing too much,” he said. “To me, it’s just another game. The most important thing to me is I always want to win.”

The Chargers finished second in 32-5A in 2019 and went 23-3-1 on the season.

“To play on this team is an honor, and it’s great,” said Boswell, who was named offensive player of the year in 32-5A this season. “The teammates that we bring in every year help us out a lot. It’s been a different challenge every season. We lose some players (to graduation), but the (high) aspirations we (always) have around here and with our coaching staff, it works out well.

“Everyone puts in the effort, and no one cuts any slack (for what we need to do),” Boswell added. “Everybody is looking for the best. Thank God we’ve been able to push through and go as far as we’ve gone.

“We accomplished a lot this season. The only thing that brought us down was not getting to state (as we lost to Valley View 4-2 in the regional final on April 13 in Corpus Christi). We didn’t follow through and reach the destination that we wanted (of going to Georgetown).”

There is going to be plenty of optimism again for the Chargers next season as Boswell, Maradiaga and several other experienced players will be back.

“Nothing changes (as far as our expectations),” Boswell said. “There are no doubts among any of us. We just want to make sure we can finally push through (and get to state).”

It would appear quite certain that Boswell will be one of the players leading the way for the Chargers in 2020.

“Mark is a very talented player, and he helps a lot when we need it most,” said Brownsville Veterans’ Diego Bernal, a graduating senior who was named All-Metro Utility Player of the Year. “He’s always there when we need him.”

When asked what it is like to be the All-Metro MVP after being chosen offensive player of the year in 32-5A, Boswell said, “It’s a blessing (to win these awards). Most importantly, all thanks and glory to God. I’m very grateful for the support I have from my family, friends and teammates.”