By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
ALICE — A 10-0 deficit? No problem.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial trailed by 10 points early in the second quarter, but that didn’t deter the Chargers from turning the momentum around in their favor and rallying to defeat Laredo Nixon 34-10 Saturday in the Class 5A Division I bi-district playoffs.
The win at Alice Memorial Stadium advances the District 32-5A champion Chargers (10-1) to the area round of the playoffs, where they face Corpus Christi Veterans on Friday in Corpus Christi at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., tentatively at Buc Stadium.
The season is over for the District 31-5A tri-champion Mustangs (8-3).
The contest was played in strong, breezy conditions as a blustery wind blew in from the north and somewhat hampered the passing game for both teams.
Even though they were behind by double digits early in the game, there was never a sense of panic or even a little bit of worry on the team, Chargers quarterback Gustavo Vasquez said.
“It’s just the way a football game might go (and sometimes you are behind),” said Vasquez, who rushed 23 times for 132 yards, a game-high total that included a pair of second-half touchdowns. “It’s just a part of the game. Our coaches always tell us to be ready for adversity.
“How you handle that adversity and how you come back is what matters,” he added. “That’s what makes a team.”
After a scoreless opening quarter, the Mustangs went up 10-0 and then led 10-7 at halftime before the Chargers came alive and were in front 14-10 going into the final period. Brownsville Veterans scored three TDs in the final quarter to seal the victory and keep its season alive.
“Down 10-7 at halftime, our players realized there were still two more quarters to play,” Chargers coach David Cantu said. “Our defense played lights out the second half (in shutting out the Mustangs after giving up 10 points in the first half).
“When we were down 10-0 there was absolutely zero panic,” Cantu added. “We just knew we needed to score a touchdown. Our first touchdown (on a 75-yard, 13-play drive in the second quarter) was extremely important for our team confidence. After that, everything else just kind of played itself out. No one lost their mind or anything when we were down. We just stayed the course.”
The Mustangs went ahead 7-0 on the second play of the second quarter when running back Chris Casas bulled his way into the end zone from 2 yards out. Ray Rivera’s extra point made it 7-0 with 11:21 showing in the period.
Barely two minutes later, after recovering a fumble by the Chargers, Rivera returned to the field to boot a 37-yard field goal on fourth-and-12 to increase Nixon’s advantage to 10-0 with 9:36 left before halftime.
The Chargers came to life at that point and put together a 75-yard, 13-play scoring drive that was capped by Alexis Gomez’s 1-yard burst into the end zone with 3:31 to go before intermission. Gomez finished the night with 70 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Brownsville Veterans took the lead for good, 14-10, with 2:54 left in the third quarter on Vasquez’s 21-yard TD run up the middle that was set up by teammate Manny Yanez’s interception of a Nixon pass one play earlier.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Chargers as Abel Martinez went around right end for an 8-yard score, Tommy Martinez broke through the line to surprisingly grab a handoff exchange between the Nixon QB and running back in mid-air and return it 30 yards for a TD and Vasquez went into the end zone from 6 yards out.
Vasquez’s second rushing TD of the game came with 4:16 remaining and provided the final score of 34-10 after Joey Zarate’s fourth extra point.
Chargers running back Abel Martinez made a comeback Saturday after returning from an injury suffered earlier in the season. He finished with 8 yards rushing on six carries in a limited role, and more than anything, was overjoyed to be back in the lineup with his teammates.
“It feels good to finally be back on the field and play with my brothers,” Abel Martinez said. “I’ve been out and it hurt me to see them playing and me not being able to be in there. To finally get the chance to play and seeing us win feels super good.”