By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers have several goals in mind for the basketball season.

One of them is to be the best team in Brownsville ISD.

The Lady Chargers took a step toward that goal Saturday by getting the better of a solid Hanna squad 47-29 during a non-district game at the Brownsville Veterans gym.

Brownsville Veterans improved to 5-8. Hanna slipped to 12-3, so defeating the Lady Golden Eagles was quite an achievement.

“We want to be the premier (girls) basketball program in BISD,” said Lady Chargers coach Valentin Paz, whose squad is the defending District 32-5A champion. “One of the things we talked about was beating this (Hanna) program and every one of the other BISD schools.

“We play all the other five BISD schools, and we knew about Hanna’s record,” Paz added. “Even though our record doesn’t look all that great, we’ve played everyone in the (Valley’s) top 10. Every team we’ve played so far is either going to win its district or be No. 2 in its district, so we’ve played some hard games. Our goal is to do well and prepare ourselves for the task at hand (which is successfully defending our district championship).

“The biggest thing is our girls want to prove they’re one of the elite programs, if not the best, in BISD.”

The Lady Chargers took control from the outset Saturday to go up 5-0 and lead 19-9 by the end of the opening quarter. Brownsville Veterans was ahead 26-13 at halftime. The Lady Chargers took a 35-26 advantage into the final eight minutes before outscoring the Lady Eagles 12-3 during the fourth period for an 18-point victory.

The Lady Chargers just seemed to be the team more in sync Saturday. They helped themselves by hustling for rebounds and getting numerous second-chance shots on the offensive end. They were pretty strong on the defensive end, too.

“Veterans came out and played us very well,” Hanna coach Luis Gonzalez said. “They held (standout scorer) Mia Paz to a low total in points (11), maybe the lowest in her four-year (varsity) career, so they were very well-prepared defensively. I think that was the difference. They played her very aggressively (on defense). Combine that with (the fact) we weren’t hitting our (other) shots, either.

“Veterans was very well-organized on the defensive side today, and I was impressed with their pressure,” Gonzalez added. “Out of the 15 games we’ve played, this was not a bright spot. We’re still busy preparing for District 32-6A, so I feel we’ll be OK.”

During the second half, the closest the Lady Eagles came was five points, 31-26, when Paz scored on a reverse layup with 2:56 left in the third quarter.

The Brownsville Veterans lead increased to nine points, 35-26, by the end of the period, and quickly went up to double digits during the final quarter. The Lady Chargers’ biggest advantage of 20 points, 47-27, came when Bri Buitureira scored from underneath with 1:01 to go.

Paz sank a pair of free throws with 21.7 seconds remaining to account for the final score and 18-point margin of victory for the Lady Chargers.

The two late free throws prevented Paz from finishing with single-digit scoring, which would have been a rare occurrence. She led Hanna with 11 points, while teammates Odalys Gonzalez and Ariana Arceneaux added nine and eight points, respectively.

Brownsville Veterans was led by Destiny Contreras’ 13 points, which included one 3-pointer. Teammates Caitie Esquivel and Lizzie Garza each added 11 points.

The Lady Chargers next play host to Edinburg Vela at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Hanna next plays at McAllen Rowe at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.

By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

BEEVILLE — A football season filled with numerous highlights suddenly came to an end Friday for the Raymondville Bearkats.

The Bearkats suffered a 35-27 second-round playoff loss to the Geronimo Navarro Panthers at Beeville’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.

It was a tough way to end the season for the Bearkats, who built a 17-0 lead and were ahead 17-7 at halftime. But the Panthers got their ground game going during the second half and couldn’t be stopped. They scored four times in the second half and went ahead for the first time, 28-24, with 10:13 remaining.

“This is a tough one,” Raymondville coach Frank Cantu said. “We came in here wanting this game. We thought we could get it. Navarro came out and ran the ball like they had been doing before. We couldn’t get the stops when we needed them (during the second half). They scored on a fake field goal (to pull within 24-21), and that was crucial.

“I’m just so proud of every single one of our guys,” Cantu added. “They believed (we could do it). This group went 9-2 and did a super job. They set a high standard for the guys coming up after them. We got a little taste of it tonight, and we just want to keep it going. We want some more. We’ll be back.”

The Bearkats built a 17-0 lead during the first half on a 19-yard pass from Jacob Posas to Xavier Ledesma, an 8-yard run by Posas and a 35-yard field goal by Saul Garcia. Those scores gave them a three-score advantage with 7:01 showing in the second quarter after Garcia’s field goal.

The Panthers’ Moise Sims ran around the left side and into the end zone with 39 seconds left in the half to make it 17-7 at intermission. Teammate Euler DeLeon scored on a 1-yard run at the 7:17 mark of the third quarter to pull his team to within 17-14 of the Raymondville lead.

The Bearkats went ahead 24-14 less than one minute later when Zaraivion Armendarez caught a short pass from Posas and sprinted down the right sideline to the end zone on a play covering 87 yards.

Geronimo Navarro holder/quarterback Bryan Butler rushed for 8 yards to the end zone off a fake field goal to make it 24-21with 2:49 to go in the third period.

DeLeon broke through the line and sprinted 42 yards for a TD with 10:13 remaining as the Panthers took their first lead of the game, 28-24. Butler’s 6-yard run with 3:43 to play made it 35-24.

The Bearkats scored on a 30-yard field goal by Garcia with 2:31 left, but came no closer, even though they moved the ball to the Panthers’ 39-yard line during the final seconds.

The Class 4A Division II area-round victory advances the District 13-4A Division II runner-up Panthers (9-2) to next week’s third round of the state playoffs to face Rockport-Fulton or Crystal City. It was the third win in a row for the Panthers, who last lost to district foe Cuero 42-7 on Nov. 2.

District 16-4A Division II champion Raymondville (9-2) ended its season, as the Bearkats’ nine-game winning streak was halted. Prior to Friday, Raymondville’s last setback was 17-7 against La Feria to open the season Aug. 31.

In the bi-district playoffs last week, Raymondville beat Orange Grove 48-16 and Geronimo Navarro defeated Devine 34-30.

By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald

Different offensive styles of basketball come and go, but playing solid defense never gets old.

The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers displayed their defensive skills Tuesday during a 48-37 non-district victory against the Rio Grande City Rattlers on the Chargers’ home court.

The victory improved Brownsville Veterans to 7-2 on the young season. The Rattlers, who have yet to play in a tournament, evened their record at 1-1.

There were two differing viewpoints regarding the game and what transpired.

Rio Grande City coach Juan Aldape said his team shot very poorly, especially at the beginning of the game. Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson said his team played super defense.

The truth of the matter was probably somewhere in between. Either way, the Rattlers managed only 37 points and were stuck on having only three points until the final minute of the first quarter, which ended 10-6 in the Chargers’ favor.

“Without a doubt, it was our defense (that stood out),” Gibson said. “The last game they played (and won), Rio Grande City scored 77 points. I just thought we played excellent defense. We still didn’t shoot the ball all that well, and we missed too many easy shots, but we did play well on defense.

“We tell our players that if they can play (solid) defense, they can be in any game,” Gibson added. “Rio Grande City is a very good team. I think we just wore them down in the fourth quarter (with our defensive pressure). I think we’re a very good team, too. If we can keep other teams close, I think we can wear them down (and win).”

Leading 10-6 after one quarter, the Chargers went up 19-16 by halftime before taking a 34-30 edge into the final quarter.

It was not at all a good start for the Rattlers.

“We shot the ball just horrible,” Aldape said. “We couldn’t hit the basket. I think we might have shot something like 3-for-30 with our 3-point attempts today.

“It also hurt us that this was only our second game (of the season),” Aldape added. “We haven’t played a tournament, and we had just one game last week, so the (team) chemistry is not there yet, and we’re not jelling like we should be right now.

“My hat is off to Brownsville (Veterans). Their guys play hard, and they don’t give up, either.”

Rio Grande City outscored the Chargers 10-2 to start the third quarter to take its biggest lead of five points, 26-21, when Aaron Marroquin scored on a drive down the lane at the 5:08 mark of the period.

The Chargers came on strong near the end of the third quarter and regained the lead to take a 34-30 advantage into the final eight minutes.

Brownsville Veterans was up by double digits during the final three minutes of the game. The Chargers’ largest lead of 13 points, 48-35, came with 1:34 left when Kelly Davis scored an uncontested basket from underneath thanks to a quick pass inside by a teammate.

A pair of free throws by the Rattlers’ Jaime Covarrubias with 1:21 to play accounted for the final score and 11-point win for the Chargers.

Brownsville Veterans was led by Justin Anaya’s 12 points that included three 3-pointers. Teammates Damian Maldonado and Mathew Maddox added 10 and eight points, respectively, with Maddox making a pair of 3-pointers.

Marroquin was the only player for the Rattlers to score in double figures. He had 14 points. Covarrubias came next with eight points, including one 3-pointer.

Brownsville Veterans next plays at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Rivera. Rio Grande City next plays in the Mission Tournament on Friday.

Before he left the gym for home, Gibson said he wanted to pass along a positive holiday message.

“My team is jelling (so I’m happy), and I’d like to wish all the people in Brownsville and the whole, wide world a happy Thanksgiving,” the Chargers coach said with a smile.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

LYFORD — The Thanksgiving break is going to be a little more enjoyable for the Port Isabel Lady Tarpons after Monday’s 56-36 non-district basketball win at Lyford.

Actually, the outcome was fairly predictable.

The Lady Tarpons (8-3) are an energetic team on the rise with some experienced players. Their goal is to make the playoffs after finishing 13-16 overall last season and winding up fifth in District 32-4A. The Lady Bulldogs (4-7) are rebuilding after graduating all 12 players from their District 32-3A squad of one year ago.

“Any time you can get a win on the road I think it’s a good thing for the program and good for the girls,” second-year Lady Tarpons coach Hannah Burleson said. “Going into the Thanksgiving break and having all the girls play, and having all but one of them in the book (as scoring), was very good. We have one who is coming off an injury.

“We really worked our offense well,” Burleson added. “We were more patient with our offense than we have been lately, so it was good. Just having the constant effort, being patient with the ball and controlling the tempo throughout the game, I thought the girls did a pretty good job in those areas.”

Port Isabel was up 17-8 after the first quarter and led 33-18 at the half. The Lady Tarpons took a 48-23 advantage into the final period before being outscored 13-8 by the home team to account for the 20-point difference in the final score.

“We need to take better care of the ball, and we need to shoot when we have the opportunity,” Lady Bulldogs coach Teresa Gutierrez said. “We’re still a little tentative. We’re scared to miss, so a lot of the players won’t pull the trigger. When they’re open, I tell them to just shoot it, and we haven’t been doing that.

“This year we have no returning players, and sometimes it shows,” Gutierrez added. “I graduated all 12 seniors (on the team) last year, and we’re going through some injuries right now. We’re just trying to see who works better with who team-wise (on the court), so this year is definitely a learning experience for all of them. There are four freshmen on the varsity. It’s going to be a learning season for sure.”

Sabrina Gonzalez, Port Isabel’s sophomore point guard, gave the Lady Tarpons their biggest lead of the first half of 19 points, 31-12, when she made a 3-pointer from the right side with 3:05 to go before intermission. It soon became 33-18 at the break after the Lady Tarpons outscored the Lady Bulldogs 16-10 during the second period.

It was more of the same during the third quarter. Port Isabel outpointed Lyford 15-5 during the third period for a 48-23 edge going into the final eight minutes.

The Lady Tarpons’ largest lead of 27 points, 48-21, came with 50 seconds remaining during the third quarter when Janessa Espinoza made a jump shot from the right side.

The Lady Bulldogs outscored the visitors 13-8 during the final period, but it was not enough.

Sabrina Garza led the way for the Lady Tarpons with 16 points. Gonzalez and Whitney Zaloski added 15 and 10 points, respectively, with Gonzalez netting three 3-pointers and Zaloski making two.

For Lyford, Alyssa Garcia, Sam Delgado and Destiny Gonzalez scored 10, nine and eight points, respectively.

Burleson sees plenty of positives for her team as it moves forward with the season.

“Last year we won 13 games, so to be 11 games into the season and already have eight wins is pretty good for us,” the Lady Tarpons coach said. “I’m proud of the girls. They’re working hard. We’ve got to keep this thing going all the way through district.

“These girls work hard every play,” she added. “I’m pretty intense, and I get on them pretty hard. They take it and they look to improve every game. They remain positive and most of the time are giving 110 percent effort. We want to be in the hunt for the playoffs.”

Both teams are open the rest of the week and next play at home at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 27. Los Fresnos is at Port Isabel and Brownsville IDEA Frontier is at Lyford.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.

By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

For its first year of having a format change, the annual Brownsville ISD Boys Basketball Tournament enjoyed quite a fantastic finish.

This year, bracket play was scrapped and the three-day tournament became a round-robin event for the six participating Brownsville ISD teams with each squad playing the other. The team with the best record was the winner. All games except one on Thursday were played at Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

Saturday’s last game on the round-robin schedule matched the two teams that had 4-0 records during round-robin play. They were Pace and Brownsville Veterans.

The Vikings were the ones to emerge from the tournament undefeated thanks to a 69-66 victory over the Chargers.

It wasn’t easy.

Pace, now 5-1 on the young season, led by 17 points, 40-23, at halftime before seeing the score tied at 47 by the end of the third quarter. Then the Vikings fell behind by as many as eight points twice (58-50 and 60-52) during a frantic fourth period.

It was one to remember for Pace coach Jose Luis Ramirez.

“This was an instant classic to me,” said Ramirez, whose team is the defending champion in District 32-5A. “Every time we play Veterans it’s going to be a classic. We’ve had our battles, Coach (Larry) Gibson and I. It’s a great program that they run, and he’s a great coach.

“To come in here (and play the Chargers), we knew we would have our hands full,” Ramirez added. “You could see the excitement in the fans and the players. It went both ways. In the end, somebody had to win, and we feel blessed and lucky that it was us this time.”

Pace was up 18-11 at the end of the first period and led 40-23 at the half as the Vikings came alive near the end of the second quarter to make four 3-pointers in a row and turn a 25-21 lead into 37-21. It soon became 40-23 at the half.

Brownsville Veterans scored the first 15 points of the third quarter to pull to within 40-38 after Justin Anaya’s fastbreak layup with 3:57 showing in the period.

The Chargers went ahead for the first time, 45-44, when Damian Maldonado hit an inside turnaround jumper with 1:23 left in the third quarter.

Following a deadlock at 47 to enter the final quarter, the Chargers gradually gained momentum and went ahead by as many as eight points twice, 58-50 on a Maldonado free throw, and 60-52 on a jump shot from the side by Kelly Davis.

But the Vikings were determined to win.

Pace’s A.J. Anzaldua gave his team the lead for good, 67-65, by making his third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter with 28.2 seconds left to play. A free throw by the Chargers’ Robby Fisher with 15.9 seconds remaining cut the lead to 67-66.

Anzaldua was intentionally fouled with 8.2 seconds to go, and he sank both free throws to make it 69-66.

“It was a game of runs,” Gibson said. “We were down 17 points at the half, and we had to really fight to come back and take an eight-point lead. I think we just wore out. Our legs just didn’t have anything left (at the end). It was our fifth game in three days. Pace just had more (energy) left than what we had.

“If we could have put together one more run, maybe we could have done it (and won), but we just didn’t have the legs to do it,” Gibson added. “Pace made some great shots. Anzaldua had a great tournament for them.”

Anzaldua was named the tournament MVP. Against Brownsville Veterans, he scored 32 points, including seven 3-pointers, with three coming in the last period to spark the victory.

Other Vikings named to the all-tournament team were Jose L. Lozoya and Elias Fortanelli.

Brownsville Veterans players named all-tournament were Maldonado, Fisher and Matt Maddox.

Besides Anzaldua’s 32 points, the only other double-figure scorer for Pace against the Chargers was Cristian Guajardo, who finished with 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Fortanelli also had two 3-pointers in the game and finished with six points.

The 6-2 Chargers, who went 4-1 in the tournament, almost had five players score in double figures against Pace. Their top four scorers were Fisher (15 points), Anaya (13), Maldonado (13) and Maddox (10). Kelly Davis added nine points.

Earlier in the day in round-robin action, Brownsville Veterans defeated Hanna 54-34 and Pace beat Porter 56-37. Other scores from Saturday were Lopez over Rivera 49-46, Hanna over Rivera 49-47 and Porter over Lopez 51-28.

By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

MERCEDES — A remarkable, back-and-forth playoff game ended with the Port Isabel Tarpons coming up just painfully short.

The West Oso Bears survived a missed 27-yard field-goal attempt by Port Isabel’s Angel Fernandez on fourth down with seven seconds remaining to prevail over the Tarpons 57-56 on an action-packed Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

After the missed field goal, West Oso took over at its 20-yard line with two seconds left and ran out the clock.

The one-point win advances the 7-4 Bears to next week’s area round of the Class 4A Division II playoffs to face Llano, a bi-district winner against Hondo.

The Tarpons close the season at 4-6, having returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence.

“This was a hell of a game, and it’s a shame someone had to lose,” first-year Port Isabel coach Jason Strunk said. “This is no indication of our sophomore kicker. We win and lose (together) as a team.”

For those who like to see plenty of offense, Tiger Stadium was the place to be Friday night.

West Oso led 14-0 after one quarter, and the score was tied at 22 at halftime after the Tarpons scored three straight times to get back in the game during the second quarter. The Bears took a 43-42 advantage into the final period.

The loss overshadowed stellar offensive performances by Port Isabel quarterback Cesar Aguilera and running back Brayan Medina, who rushed for 291 yards and 184 yards, respectively, and scored multiple touchdowns to keep the Tarpons locked in the battle for the victory.

Aguilera rushed 30 times for 291 yards and five TDs on runs of 49, 4, 7, 43 and 13 yards. He also threw TD passes of 14 and 42 yards to Medina.

In addition to catching the pair of scoring passes from Aguilera, Medina rushed 29 times for 184 yards and one TD, which came on a 1-yard run.

West Oso went ahead 57-56 with 5:35 to go when Bears QB Malachi Flores completed a deep scoring pass of 56 yards to Craig Clemons. Armando Sarmiento added the all-important extra point. A Port Isabel defender who was covering Clemons on the play fell down, allowing the West Oso receiver to casually trot into the end zone untouched after making the catch.

Port Isabel started its ensuing possession at its 30-yard line with 5:20 left and put together a 12-play drive that carried to the West Oso 7-yard line before the Tarpons were penalized 5 yards to the 12.

After timeouts by both teams, on fourth-and-goal for the Tarpons with seven seconds showing, Fernandez attempted the 27-yarder, which initially looked like it went through the uprights, and the Port Isabel fans began to cheer. But the officials waved the attempt no good, and everyone on the West Oso side started to celebrate.

It all started when the Bears went up 14-0 during the first quarter on a 43-yard TD pass from Flores to Jose Hernandez and a 1-yard scoring run by Cameron Williams.

Medina caught a 14-yard scoring pass from Aguilera and then rushed for the two-point conversion. The TD came on the first play of the second quarter to make it 14-8.

Aguilera’s 49-yard scoring burst up the middle gave the Tarpons their first lead, 15-14, after Fernandez’s extra point with 6:58 showing in the second quarter.

A 4-yard scoring run by Aguilera with 1:46 to go before halftime increased the Tarpons’ advantage to 22-14.

That advantage didn’t last long, however, as Clemons broke loose down the left sideline and raced 65 yards to the end zone with 1:34 remaining before the half. Clemons’ two-point conversion run deadlocked the score at 22 at intermission.

A 64-yard scoring pass from Flores to Clemons on the second play of the third quarter put West Oso in the lead again at 29-22 with 11:40 showing in the period.

Thanks to a 67-yard return of the ensuing kickoff to the West Oso 11-yard line by the Tarpons’ Daniel Martinez, Port Isabel scored two plays later on Aguilera’s 7-yard run to tie the score at 29 with 10:45 left in the third period.

West Oso’s Dominique Baker caught a 29-yard TD pass from Flores with 8:55 showing in the third as the Bears went ahead 36-29. But the Tarpons refused to go away, and Port Isabel tied the score again at 36 when Medina went in on a 1-yard run and Fernandez converted the extra point with 3:28 remaining in the period.

West Oso’s Hernandez returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a TD just 16 seconds later to put his team back in front 43-36.

The third quarter featured a combined 41 points by the two teams, and the final score of the period came on a 42-yard TD pass from Aguilera to Medina with 30 seconds to go in the period. The extra point sailed wide left, and the Tarpons entered the final quarter down 43-42.

Clemons was on the receiving end of a 60-yard pass from Flores as the Bears took a 50-42 lead at the 11:49 mark of the fourth period.

Aguilera’s 43-yard scoring run with 9:16 showing pulled Port Isabel to within 50-48 of the lead. A rush for the two-point conversion to create yet another tied score came up just short.

The Port Isabel QB’s fifth rushing TD of the night, a 13-yarder, came with 6:15 to play and gave the Tarpons a 56-50 lead after Aguilera completed a two-point conversion pass to Sebastian Martinez.

Then Clemons caught his wide-open 56-yard scoring pass from Flores with 5:35 left to put the Bears in the lead for good, although they still had to survive Port Isabel’s 27-yard field-goal attempt in the final seconds.

In all, Flores threw five TD passes and Clemons caught three of them.

It was a wild playoff contest on a cool evening with four lead changes and three ties at 22, 29 and 36.

By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald

The end of the 2018 football season came all too soon for the Pace Vikings.

They suffered a 42-7 loss to the Corpus Christi Ray Texans on Thursday night at Sams Memorial Stadium in the Class 5A Division I bi-district playoffs.

The vocal support of the home fans backing the Vikings at Sams wasn’t enough to prevent the Texans from unleashing a balanced rushing and passing attack that accounted for six touchdowns in the victory.

“Ray is a very talented team and we pretty much had to play a perfect game (to have a chance against them),” Pace coach Danny Pardo said. “Like I told our players, when you play a team that good and you make mistakes, they make you pay for them, and they made us pay.

“Still, this is something our guys can look back to and say, ‘That’s how much harder we’ve got to work to keep up with a team like that,'” Pardo added. “Ray has quite a bit of talent, and we just couldn’t match their talent.”

Although the Texans are known for their passing prowess behind senior quarterback Brad Breckenridge, they scored all three of their first-half TDs on the strength of runs. Breckenridge scored on first-quarter rushes of 76 and 17 yards and added a 1-yard TD plunge in the second period with 1:30 left before intermission to make it 21-0. Nathan Ancira added all the first-half extra points.

Breckenridge’s 76-yard sprint down the left sideline came on the first play of the game. Breckenridge, a stout QB with some speed, fended off the attempted tackles of several Pace defenders on his way to the end zone. After that, the Vikings had to play a catch-up game.

The Texans led 14-0 after the opening quarter and enjoyed a 21-0 advantage at the half. They took a 35-0 lead into the final period.

Breckenridge added another 1-yard TD run with 9:39 showing in the third period to make it 28-0.

It became 35-0 when Breckenridge threw a 54-yard TD bomb to Larry Rucker at the 4:03 mark of the third period.

Pace got a TD on a 2-yard run by Brandon Zapata with 9:02 left in the fourth period to make it 35-7.

Breckenridge threw his second TD pass of the night with 3:48 left in the game to Robert Vasquez. The scoring play covered 23 yards and made it 42-7 following the extra point.

The two TD passes Thursday gave Breckenridge 27 on the season. His four scoring runs Thursday gave him 15 TDs on the ground for the season. Breckenridge came into the game with more than 2,000 yards passing this season. He had only been intercepted twice on the year and the Vikings picked him off twice in the first half.

The District 15-5A Division I third-place Texans improved to 7-4 and now advance to next week’s area round of the playoffs to face San Antonio Wagner or San Antonio Harlandale.

Pace, the District 16-5A Division I runner-up, finished its season 7-4, making its second straight playoff appearance.

Pace was coming off last Saturday’s 57-28 win against Rio Grande City at Sams in the final regular-season game for both teams. The Vikings just weren’t able to carry the momentum from that victory into the postseason as they encountered an opponent with quite a prolific offensive attack on Thursday night.

By ROY HESS | Staff Writer

The traditional Brownsville Tournament is undergoing a format change for its boys basketball teams.

For the first time, this year the annual event will involve only Brownsville teams playing each other in a round-robin format.

“It’s so hard to put together a tournament sometimes, we thought we would make it a city competition and have round-robin games,” said Brownsville Veterans Memorial coach Larry Gibson, the host of the tournament. “This is the first time to have the tournament with this format. We’ll know what everyone thinks about having it this way after it’s over, but I think everyone likes the idea.

“We’ve got all these kids (in town) who play basketball, and now they can have a city competition against each other,” Gibson added. “Every team will play the other (Brownsville) teams. We’ll see who comes out with the best record.

“I think it’s important to note that out of the six teams in the Brownsville Tournament this year, four of them — Pace, Rivera, Porter and Veterans — went to the playoffs last year, so that says something (about the quality of the teams).”

The tournament starts today as Pace plays host to Hanna at 5:30 p.m. Today’s other two games are at Brownsville Veterans as Porter and Rivera play at 6 p.m. and Brownsville Veterans plays Lopez at 7:30 p.m.

Porter just defeated Rivera 63-49 at Porter on Tuesday to open the season.

After today, all tournament games will be played at Brownsville Veterans starting at 10 a.m. Friday. The round-robin action continues from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Last year, Rio Grande City won the event.

By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

The girls opened their basketball season last week.

This week, it’s the boys’ turn.

The Porter Cowboys and Rivera Raiders tipped off the new season Tuesday at Porter.

The Cowboys broke out of a 28-28 halftime deadlock to win the season opener 63-49.

“More important than anything, I think we were able to get the ball down low to (our big man) Benji (Eckersley, who finished with a team-high 14 points),” Porter coach Luis Garza said. “That’s what we want to do, and I think we did a good job of getting the ball where we want it to go tonight.

“We didn’t do all that well with our free throws (though),” Garza added. “We just have to get our guys a little more composed. This was the first game, and they were a little rattled.”

The Cowboys jumped out to a 10-0 lead and were up 17-12 by the end of the first quarter. After the tie at 28 at intermission, Porter outpointed Rivera 24-13 during the third period to take a 52-41 advantage into the final quarter.

Porter outscored the visiting team 35-21 during the second half.

“We played hard and we played tough, but I’m still missing a couple of players,” Rivera coach Saul Villarreal said. “We got into foul trouble (and had two players foul out), but really what hurt us was our free throws. (It seemed) we couldn’t make a free throw even if our life depended on it. At one time we were 3-for-13, so that hurt us.”

Besides Eckersley’s 14 points, also for Porter, Mundo Martinez scored 12 points with four 3-pointers and Rocco Almanzan added 10. Also for Porter, Kevin Garcia, Aaron Morales and Chris Orozco each contributed eight points, with Morales and Orozco each netting a 3-pointer.

For Rivera, Johan Morales scored 17 points with three 3-pointers and Michael Duran added 11 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Also for the Raiders, Leo Reyes and Dylan Lustick contributed nine and eight points, respectively, with Lustick making a 3-pointer.

Rivera’s biggest lead of four points, 28-24, came with 1:18 left before the half, when Reyes scored on a drive. From there, two free throws by Porter’s Morales and one by teammate Anthony Andrade helped create the tie at 28 at intermission.

The Cowboys outscored the Raiders 11-3 to start the third quarter and took control.

Porter’s largest lead of 16 points, 61-45, came when Garcia converted both ends of a 1-and-1 free-throw situation with 3:42 to play.

The Cowboys and Raiders meet again in the first round of the Brownsville Tournament at 6 p.m. Thursday at Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

“We’re going to have a rematch real soon,” Garza said.

By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald

It doesn’t happen too often that Brownsville is the site for a playoff game in football.

This week the city is hosting two playoff games at Sams Memorial Stadium.

Pace (7-3) is the home team against Corpus Christi Ray (6-4) at 7 p.m. today at Sams for a Class 5A Division I bi-district matchup, while Hanna (8-1) will be the home team at Sams against Weslaco East (5-4) at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a Class 6A Division II bi-district game.

“We didn’t really want to travel,” Pace coach Danny Pardo said. “It worked out pretty good for us (to play at home).

“Ray has a good quarterback (Brad Breckenridge) who can run and throw,” Pardo added. “We’ll have our hands full. Ray presents several challenges for us.”

Another local team in the postseason mix is Brownsville Veterans Memorial. The Chargers (7-3) play their 5A Division I bi-district game at 7 p.m. today against Corpus Christi Veterans (10-0) at Corpus Christi’s Buccaneer Stadium, the site where the two teams met in an area-round contest last season. The Chargers are making their fourth straight playoff appearance.

Other area teams in the playoffs this week are Port Isabel and St. Joseph Academy.

Port Isabel (4-5) takes on West Oso (6-4) in the Class 4A Division II bi-district playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Mercedes’ Tiger Stadium, while SJA (2-7) travels to Houston to go against Houston Second Baptist (9-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in the TAPPS Division II area playoffs.

Pace is preparing to face a talented senior QB for Ray in Breckenridge who has passed for 2,142 yards and 25 touchdowns with three interceptions. He also has rushed for a team-high 851 yards and 11 TDs. He averages 8.0 yards per carry. Breckenridge has four receivers who have caught at least 32 passes this season. The top pass catcher for the Texans is Joey Calero with 40 receptions for 689 yards and eight TDs.

The Vikings are coming off Saturday’s 57-28 victory at Sams against Rio Grande City to end the regular season. The win enabled the Vikings to finish second in District 16-5A Division I with a 7-2 record behind undefeated district champion Mission Veterans (9-0).

This is Pace’s second straight year in the postseason, and the Vikings would like to make it an extended stay.

“We’re just hoping to play a lot more games,” said Ilijah Solis, Pace’s junior wide receiver.

Added Jose Banda, Pace’s sophomore quarterback, “I believe that we’re peaking. I’m pretty confident in my team that we can get past the first round. It’s huge to be playing at home (for bi-district).”

Just like the Vikings, Hanna’s players are just as enthusiastic about playing at home for bi-district.

“It’s a big factor for us,” said Miguel Payan, a senior wide receiver/QB/kicker for the Golden Eagles. “It’ll be a home crowd and we’ll have everyone cheering for us. We want to play for our fans and make them proud. That’s what motivates us.

“We have to communicate with each other and execute the plays, obviously,” Payan added. “We have to work as a team like we’ve been doing. That’s it.”

Brownsville Veterans perhaps faces the biggest challenge of all the area squads as the Chargers go against 10-0 Corpus Christi Veterans, the District 15-5A Division I champion.

When the two teams played last season in the area round of the playoffs at Buccaneer Stadium, the Eagles won 55-41.

Chargers coach David Cantu said he and his staff remain proud of the players as they go against a strong foe.

“Corpus Christi Vets is a great combination of talented athletes and excellent coaching,” Cantu said. “They create problems for any opponent. That said, the anticipation is high for the incredible opportunity to compete against the best. We are confident in our seniors to lead the way.”

The Chargers may be without some of their starters, particularly on defense, due to injuries. Through the course the of the season, the team has had eight starters sidelined by injury, including quarterback Liam Longoria and middle linebacker Mauricio De La Cerda during last week’s 28-10 loss at La Joya Palmview.

“In regards to injuries, both players (Longoria and De La Cerda) who sustained injuries last Friday are doubtful,” Cantu said.

Meanwhile, Port Isabel is back in the playoffs after a one year’s absence. The Tarpons’ last postseason appearance in 2016 resulted in a 36-21 bi-district setback against Sweeney.

SJA is playing its first season in TAPPS Division II. The Bloodhounds advanced to the third round of the playoffs in TAPPS Division I last season before falling 47-14 to Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal.