By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald
Israel Barron is a kicker determined to do well for his team and achieve some individual goals along the way.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial coach David Cantu said Barron, a senior, has been a bright spot for the Chargers this season.
Barron could possibly play a key role for the Chargers when they go against the Pace Vikings in a District 16-5A Division I showdown at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Cantu recently gained an insight into his kicker’s drive and desire to do well.
“About a month ago, Israel walked into my office, looked me in the eye and said, ‘Coach, I’m going to break our school record for field-goal yardage,’” Cantu said. “I told him, ‘All right, Israel, I bet you’ll do it.’ He’s been doing a great job. We see him make long field goals every day in practice.
“He’s out there daily with everyone else,” Cantu added. “He’s a huge part of our team. He punts, he kicks and he’s very accurate.”
The school record for the longest field goal was 42 yards set by Humberto Trevino a couple of seasons ago.
Barron kicked a 47-yarder to top the old record and added field goals of 37 and 27 yards to help the Chargers beat Donna High 9-6 on Oct. 18 at Sams. He made a 43-yarder at PSJA Southwest in a 41-38 double-overtime loss to the Javelinas last week.
Barron, also a soccer player, started kicking in football as a seventh-grader at Vela Middle School. He’s been a kicker on the varsity team at Brownsville Veterans as a junior and senior.
Having set the school record with his 47-yarder, he’s revised his goals for the rest of the season.
“My new goal is to beat the record I just set,” said Barron, who hopes to someday kick in college. “That’s what I want to do. I believe I can make a 50-yarder. During warmups against PSJA Southwest, I made some 50-yarders with extra space, so I think I can do it (in a game).”
Barron’s kicking coach with the Chargers is Jose Luis Zarate, a 1986 Pace graduate who kicked at Texas Lutheran University (1986-87) and at the University of Houston (1988-89). Zarate, a 1991 UH graduate, is currently an assistant coach with the football and swimming teams at Brownsville Veterans. He’s also coached golf and soccer.
“I love coaching the kickers,” Zarate said. “Kicking is something I did back in the day when I was in school. I enjoy seeing how our kickers develop and progress.
“Israel has been kicking for us since he was a freshman,” Zarate added. “He’s one of the hardest working kickers that I’ve coached. He has great attention to detail and is very disciplined. He does everything you ask him to do. He’s a pleasure to work with. He comes from a great family and is very respectful. Israel comes to practice and just gets things done.
“With the talent he has, I think he has a very good opportunity to kick in college. He’s got the skills. He puts kickoffs in the end zone. He hit a 51-yard field goal the other day during pre-game workouts. I see him and the way he kicks, and it reminds me of when I kicked in college. I believe he has what it takes to be on a college (footall) roster. We’re working on contacting some schools. I give him a thumbs up. He’s a good student, too.”
For the moment, Barron is enjoying the football season and will soon be looking forward to soccer.
“It means a lot to me to be able to help the team,” he said. “The coaches are putting trust in me to help us win or get a higher score in the game.
“This team is amazing,” he added. “We’ve been working hard all season. Our goal is to make it (back) to the playoffs, and that’s what we want to do right now (by winning this week).
“I’d like to thank my parents, my coaches and everyone who is supporting me through all of this.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess