By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Brownsville Veterans Memorial senior quarterback Gustavo Vasquez was a dual threat against Pace and it led to a win in the District 32-5A opener for both teams.
Vasquez had 255 yards of offense and a rushing touchdown to help the Chargers take the district opener for both teams 27-14 over the Vikings in The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week on Saturday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Vasquez finished with 173 yards on the ground and a score and senior running back Abel Martinez and junior receiver Gilbert Garcia also found the end zone as Brownsville Veterans (3-1, 1-0) needed every bit of offense to hold off Pace (1-3, 0-1). The senior quarterback was quite effective throwing the ball — 7 of 8 for 82 yards — and that helped the rushing attack even more, keeping the Vikings defense guessing all night.
“We just had the mindset to come out and execute,” Vasquez said. “We wanted to put up some points on the board and give us that advantage and the defense did their job. We’re great at running and we have the players for it, but we can pass the ball too … don’t sleep on that.”
The Brownsville Veterans defense did its part as well, forcing two turnovers, including an interception by Sammy Chapa at the Chargers 6-yard line late in the fourth quarter to stop a possible Pace scoring drive.
“We challenged the secondary and Sammy (Chapa) and Aaron (Recio) both took it to heart they were both going to do all they could to shut down their big playmakers on a pass that Pace routinely hits,” Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said. “So Sammy Chapa’s interception prevented a lot. If he doesn’t make that play, they might score and all the sudden we’ve got an onside kick on a wet field … it could have been a different story.
“Just a huge way to end it.”
Brownsville Veterans struck first in the opening quarter. Vasquez finished the Chargers’ first drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to give his team a 7-0 lead with 5:58 left in the first.
In the second quarter, Brownsville Veterans found the end zone again as Martinez capped it off with an 8-yard run and a 14-0 edge with 10:55 left in the second.
Pace would answer on its next drive. Sophomore running back Matthew Cuellar got a 2-yard run for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7 with eight minutes left in the half.
The Chargers added to their lead with a 25-yard field goal by Joey Zarate to push the advantage to 17-7 with 3:33 left in the second and would take that lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Garcia scored on an 11-yard run with 7:42 left to extend the Brownsville Veterans lead to 24-7.
Pace got one back with 1:57 left in the third on a 61-yard sprint to the end zone by sophomore running back Dylan Barron to make it a 24-14 game.
The Chargers added to the lead with another 25-yard field goal by Zarate early in the fourth quarter and the defense held off the Vikings down the stretch.
“If we could have scored another touchdown, it could have been a little more interesting, but give Brownsville Veterans credit,” Pace coach Danny Pardo said. “We have to keep working and when you play a team like this you can’t shoot yourself in the foot, a penalty here and there. I told the kids when your number is called you have to make a play … there’s very little room for error against a good team.
“When we don’t make the plays when we have to, it’s going to turn out like this.”
Senior quarterback Randy Aguilar finished 9 of 14 for 106 yards and an interception for Pace. Senior receiver Gabriel Zapata had two catches for 19 yards and five carries for 26 yards on the ground.
Despite the third straight loss, Pardo knows his team is making progress, albeit slowly.
“My guys are learning,” he said. “They’re learning how to compete and they’re doing a great job … I’m proud of my kids, they’re working hard and they’re learning and that’s a plus. I’m happy because we’re making progress. They’re getting there, but we’re ahead of where we thought we’d be.”
Rodriguez finished with 56 yards on 14 carries and a score and Zarate hit two field goals along with three extra points to make the difference for Brownsville Veterans.
Cantu was happy, but thankful to start district play with a win.
“In one word: relief,” he said. “We knew Pace was exactly what they were (Saturday), in my opinion they’re a force again and I think they’re going to knock some of those teams on the top of our district. It took every little last ounce of energy and plays and all sorts of things … I just feel relieved. It’s a big win for us.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.