By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
High school football is king in Texas.
That is a fact of life across the state and it’s certainly true in Brownsville.
One of Brownsville’s most successful football seasons in recent memory took place during the fall of 2017.
The city’s football resurgence was chosen as the top sports story of the year in The Brownsville Herald’s Metro Area, which includes Brownsville, Los Fresnos and Port Isabel.
The Herald’s four-man sports staff did the voting.
Here is a look at each of The Herald’s selections as the Metro Area’s Top 10 sports stories of the past 12 months:
No. 1 — BROWNSVILLE’S FOOTBALL RESURGENCE
This was the unanimous choice by The Herald sports staff as the top story in the Metro Area.
The 2017 football season saw two city teams win outright district championships as Brownsville Veterans Memorial captured the District 32-5A title and St. Joseph Academy won TAPPS Division 1 District 2. The Chargers (10-2) and Bloodhounds (7-5) each advanced two rounds in the playoffs. The Bloodhounds had gone 25-plus years since their last district title in football.
Also advancing to the postseason from Brownsville were Hanna (7-4), Lopez (8-3) and Pace (5-6), making it five teams in all from the city going to the postseason.
“The 2017 football season showed that in Brownsville, our teams are not satisfied with only playing at their best against other city teams anymore (in intense intracity rivalry games),” Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said. “Our teams (now) believe they can compete against anyone from the Valley and beyond. The Brownsville teams are proving that with their efforts and commitment to what it takes.
“As one of seven proud (head) football coaches from Brownsville, it means a great deal to be respected as a city for all the hard work that is put in,” Cantu added. “There exists a genuine pride for all the Brownsville football teams that fared well in 2017.
“I felt our kids believed in themselves and their coaches, and they competed (hard) to win against anyone in the Valley and beyond. Also, our (city) teams proved that our football programs are at a high level and on the rise.”
The Golden Eagles, under All-Metro coach of the year Mark Guess, were the surprise team in an ultra-competitive District 32-6A in 2017 as they recorded impressive conference wins against Harlingen High (32-6) and Los Fresnos (10-7). Then, playing in Edinburg, Hanna appeared to be in position to upset previously unbeaten Edinburg Vela in bi-district on Nov. 17, but a 54-yard field goal with 24 seconds left by Vela enabled the SaberCats to escape with a 34-32 victory.
It was the third straight year in the playoffs for Brownsville Veterans, which was led by All-Metro MVP Gustavo Vasquez, a senior quarterback who rushed for 1,617 yards and 26 touchdowns while passing for 1,112 yards and six scores. The Chargers enjoyed their first 10-win varsity season in school history.
Meanwhile, Lopez and SJA made repeat appearances in the postseason. Pace hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2011 and Hanna since 2009.
Also, it marked the end of an era at SJA as QB Kai Money completed his four-year stint as the Bloodhounds’ starter. The standout senior was named the All-Metro offensive player of the year for 2017 as he passed for 2,539 yards and 35 TDs while rushing for 1,502 yards and 11 TDs.
Pace, led by QB Randy Aguilar, came up with last-minute, come-from-behind road victories against Donna North (34-27) and Donna High (35-31) in 32-5A action to secure its trip to the playoffs.
All in all, the 2017 football season in Brownsville was one to remember.
No. 2 — ALL-IN SOCCER PLAYOFF PARTY
It was an all-time first last March for Brownsville ISD to have all 12 of its boys and girls soccer teams qualify for the playoffs. And considering the total number of playoff qualifiers from the Metro Area, things became even more impressive as 18 of 19 soccer squads reached the postseason, including the boys and girls from Los Fresnos and Port Isabel along with the SJA boys and the IDEA Frontier boys.
It was a feat never before seen in soccer, or any other sport for that matter, in Brownsville and the overall Metro Area.
“The road to the playoffs goes through Brownsville,” Lopez Lobos coach Amadeo Escandon said.
No. 3 — LOPEZ SOCCER SETS RECORD
In soccer last April, the Lobos made their Valley-record fifth appearance at the UIL state tournament in Georgetown. They broke a tie with the Porter Cowboys, who have made four appearances at state.
It wasn’t one of Lopez’s better showings at state on April 13 as the Lobos suffered a 4-0 setback against Waller in the Class 5A semifinals.
Lopez has played in all three divisions at state. The Lobos won the Class 4A state title in 2004, finished as the 5A state runner-up in 2009 and reached the state semifinals in 2014 (5A), 2016 (6A) and 2017 (5A).
No. 4 — POWERLIFTING PROWESS
The Metro Area enjoyed quite a strong showing in powerlifting in 2017 as the Los Fresnos girls captured the Class 6A THSWPA state title in March at Waco. It was the Lady Falcons’ third straight time to win the state title. Ally Highful,
Mandy Sanchez and Jesed Castro were individual state champions for the Lady Falcons.
At the same meet, the Lopez girls were Class 5A state runners-up behind powerhouse Port Lavaca Calhoun (12 straight team state titles). Winning their weight class divisions individually for the Lady Lobos were Marisol Pulido and
Julieann Delgado. Teammates finishing in second place were Alexis Rivas and Lizeth de la Fuente.
Later in March, the Lopez boys edged Hanna for the Division I title at the THSPA state meet in Abilene. Division I was composed of 6A and 5A competitors. Lopez won with 14 points compared to 12 for Hanna.
The Lobos were led by Jose Alvarado, a two-time state champion. Teammates Jesse Luna and Josh Trevino each placed third.
Hanna was led by Ricky Arreola and Adrian Arredondo, who each took second.
No. 5 — AREA TRACK SUCCESS
Track and field performances stood out in 2017. Port Isabel’s Trey Mock won the Class 4A discus at the UIL state meet in Austin in May. His winning throw was 175 feet, 4 inches, a personal best.
Natalie Garza, also from Port Isabel, placed fifth in the 400-meter dash at the UIL state meet.
A month earlier, at the 90th Texas Relays, also in Austin, then-St. Joseph Academy hurdler Gaby Garza recorded among the best times by a Valley female in her events in the meet’s high school division. She ran the 300-meter hurdles in 43.51 seconds (second fastest time by a Valley female) and she ran the 100-meter hurdles in 14.27 seconds (third all-time best by a Valley female).
At the TAPPS state meet in early May at Waco, SJA’s Pablo Zolezzi won the boys discus with a throw of 147-4 to edge second-place teammate Ricardo Miner, who had a 142-8. Miner was third in the shot put. SJA’s Marte Rodriguez won the boys 300-meter hurdles in 40.73 seconds. Also, the Bloodhounds’ 400- and 800-meter boys relays consisting of Mario Garcia, Miguel Guerra, Keaton Cackley and Kai Money recorded city record-breaking times, running 1:29.26 in the 800 relay and 42.61 seconds in the 400 relay.
For the SJA girls, Gaby Garza, who has signed to run track at Cornell University, had a pair of second-place finishes in her hurdles events at the TAPPS state meet and Leslie de la Llata was third in the discus.
No. 6 — FALCONS GO THREE DEEP AGAIN
In football, Los Fresnos advanced to the third round of the Class 6A Division I playoffs for the second straight season by defeating Edinburg High 34-14 in bi-district and San Antonio Southwest 47-35 in the area round. The Falcons ended the season with a 9-4 record on Dec. 2 when they were defeated at home 42-7 by eventual 2017 state runner-up Lake Travis, also the 2016 6A Division I state champion.
The Dec. 2 Los Fresnos-Lake Travis contest at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium is believed to be the first time a defending state champion has played in the Valley in the UIL playoffs.
In his two years as the Falcons’ coach, Patrick Brown has guided his team three rounds into the playoffs both seasons.
No. 7 — LADY CHARGERS SHINE IN GOLF
In April, Brownsville Veterans became the first school in the city to send a girls golf team to the UIL state tournament.
The Lady Chargers played in the Class 5A division of the girls state tournament in Bastrop and finished fifth in the two-day event. Members of the Brownsville Veterans team were Vanessa Campos, Fahtima Avila, Cristina Pullen, Cecilia Garza and Julie Lucio, who was the Region IV-5A medalist.
Lucio, considered one of the city’s top all-time female golfers, signed with the University of Houston in November.
No. 8 — DOMINATING 32-5A SPORTS
Brownsville Veterans boasted the most successful athletic program in District 32-5A during the 2016-17 school year by winning 13 of 19 possible conference championships in team sports. The school began competing in Class 5A in August 2016 after spending the previous two school years in Class 6A.
Besides its 13 district championships, Brownsville Veterans also recorded 32-5A runner-up finishes in three other sports. Every one of the school’s team sports advanced to the state playoffs for the second consecutive school year.
It was an accomplishment of consistency and dominance on a scale that hasn’t been witnessed before in Brownsville ISD and maybe not achieved by any other high school in the Rio Grande Valley.
For its strong athletic showing during the 2016-17 school year, Brownsville Veterans received the Sub-Class 6A Program of the Year award at the All-Valley Sports Banquet in June.
Among the 13 sports earning district titles or co-championships for Brownsville Veterans were team tennis, volleyball, football, boys and girls basketball, boys soccer, softball, baseball, boys and girls golf, boys and girls swimming and girls track.
No. 9 — 500th VOLLEYBALL WIN
It was a milestone volleyball season for the Rivera Lady Raiders in 2017 as head coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra recorded her 500th career coaching victory at home on Sept. 1 with a non-district 3-0 sweep of Edinburg High. The Rivera coach finished the 2017 season with a 517-300 coaching record over 25 years.
The Lady Raiders went 29-11 overall in 2017 and won District 32-6A with a 14-0 record. It was Rivera’s first district title in volleyball since 2007. Rivera advanced two rounds in the playoffs.
“I was kind of concerned that the 500th win wasn’t going to happen until (during) district, so there would be a lot of pressure (on the girls), but we got it early and it gave the girls a big boost before district started,” Avelar-Guerra said. “Yes, it was actually perfect timing. Everything fell right into place where we needed it to be. A lot of that was the girls working very hard and then they did what they had to do (to notch win No. 500 when they did).
“This was a team that played without fear,” she added. “The girls played like sisters, they played together and everything just jelled. It was an amazing season with the 500th victory, the undefeated (14-0) run in district and our playoff win (a 27-25, 25-19, 25-22 bi-district triumph against Edinburg North). It was just amazing.”
No. 10 — PACE COACH, 56, DIES
Not all the impactful events of 2017 were positive. It was truly a sad day in Brownsville and across South Texas when Pace assistant coach Art Cantu collapsed due to an apparent heart attack during the Vikings’ Aug. 18 football scrimmage against PSJA Memorial at Sams Memorial Stadium. The defensive line coach was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. He had worked in Brownsville ISD since 1993. The scrimmage was immediately canceled.
Cantu’s death shocked the Valley and the Brownsville sports community in particular.
“This hits the BISD family hard,” BISD superintendent Esperanza Zendejas said. “Our prayers are with Mr. Cantu’s family and friends. We are saddened by this news. He is a longtime employee of BISD.”
Cantu’s death served as a constant motivation throughout the season for the Vikings, who qualified for the Class 5A playoffs for the first time since 2011 under first-year head coach Danny Pardo.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
(stories receiving votes)
Longtime coach/athletic director Tom Chavez, former football standout Tony Villarreal Jr. and sports artist/sports historian Manuel Hinojosa of Port Isabel were inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame in July along with six other enshrinees.
IDEA Frontier runner Sabrina Garcia placed fifth in the Class 3A division at the UIL cross country state meet in November while making her third trip to state. Also, the IDEA Frontier boys qualified for state as a team.
SJA graduate Valeria Tapia, a guard, became a starter as a freshman for the UT-Rio Grande Valley women’s basketball team in 2017.
More than in previous years, there were numerous early college signings by Metro Area athletes during the fall. Among them were Brownsville Veterans’ Julie Lucio (golf at the University of Houston) and Cassie Valdez (softball at UT-San Antonio), Gaby Garza (track at Cornell University) and Port Isabel’s Natalie Garza (track at UTRGV).
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess