Lyford quarterback Aidan Olivas-Romo spent his first two varsity seasons at safety, amassing 90 total tackles and two interceptions.

This past offseason, however, Olivas-Romo was asked to move to the offensive side of the ball and take over the starting quarterback duties.

Though hesitant at first, Olivas-Romo thrived during his lone season as the Bulldogs’ QB1, finishing fourth overall in the RGV in passing yards while leading Lyford to a 9-2 overall record.

Olivas-Romo is The Brownsville Herald/Valley Morning Star Sub-5A Player of the Year.

“Kind of going back to the beginning of the year where I said I didn’t really want to play quarterback and then having the year that I had … it really is just thanks to my coaches, the fans and my fellow brothers – especially the receivers,” Olivas-Romo said.

The transition from safety to quarterback was almost seamless for Olivas-Romo, who threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 136 yards and one score during a Week 1 win over Port Isabel.

He continued to build off the early season success, surpassing the 1,000-yard passing mark just four games into the regular season.

Olivas-Romo finished with a 62.6 completion percentage en route to 3,228 passing yards and 21 passing touchdowns in 11 games played.

Olivas-Romo’s arm wasn’t the only weapon he deployed. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound quarterback displayed the same speed he did as a safety from behind center, slashing his way through defenses for 854 yards and eight touchdowns on 138 carries.

The dual-threat athlete ended the year with 4,094 total yards and 29 total touchdowns, helping the Bulldogs to a second-place finish in District 16-3A DI and a bi-district playoff appearance.

Olivas-Romo praised offensive coordinator Douglas Ames and the offensive staff for making sure he was prepared to have a terrific season. 

“They molded our offense to fit the players we had and I think it worked out really well,” he said.

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La Villa playmaker Brandon Felix led the Cardinals to three consecutive District 16-2A DI championship and now closes his career as a three-time all-area honoree.

Felix was named newcomer of the year following the 2021 season and has gone back-to-back as The Monitor’s All-Area Sub-5A Player of the Year following another season of doing it all for La Villa.

Felix started at quarterback, in the secondary and played on special teams, leading La Villa to a 9-3 overall record and 5-0 mark in district play. He threw for 1,587 yards and 23 touchdowns and also ran for 984 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.

Whenever the Cardinals needed to make something happen, Felix delivered. In the District 16-2A DI title game during the final week of the regular season, Felix torched rival Freer for 242 yards and three passing touchdowns, and another 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He went 7-for-9 passing and also led the Cardinals’ defense with 10 total tackles to bring La Villa a third straight district championship.

Felix finishes his Cardinals’ career with 3,236 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 3,008 rushing yards and 40 rushing touchdowns.

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La Villa playmaker Brandon Felix led the Cardinals to three consecutive District 16-2A DI championship and now closes his career as a three-time all-area honoree.

Felix was named newcomer of the year following the 2021 season and has gone back-to-back as The Monitor’s All-Area Sub-5A Player of the Year following another season of doing it all for La Villa.

Felix started at quarterback, in the secondary and played on special teams, leading La Villa to a 9-3 overall record and 5-0 mark in district play. He threw for 1,587 yards and 23 touchdowns and also ran for 984 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.

Whenever the Cardinals needed to make something happen, Felix delivered. In the District 16-2A DI title game during the final week of the regular season, Felix torched rival Freer for 242 yards and three passing touchdowns, and another 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He went 7-for-9 passing and also led the Cardinals’ defense with 10 total tackles to bring La Villa a third straight district championship.

Felix finishes his Cardinals’ career with 3,236 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 3,008 rushing yards and 40 rushing touchdowns.

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SAN BENITO — San Benito senior running back Fabian Garcia announced his verbal commitment to play college football at UTRGV via an Instagram post Thursday afternoon.

Garcia becomes the ninth RGV athlete to commit to the Vaqueros, joining PSJA North’s Alejandro Aparicio, Danny Garcia, Dante Garcia and Joe Derek Vecchio; Edinburg Vela’s Jamal Polley and Jaxson Shupe; Brownsville Veterans’ Nick Tovar and Harlingen Marine Military Academy’s Mehki Blue.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound running back was a bell cow for the Greyhounds during his three years as the team’s starter, serving as San Benito’s primary back since his sophomore year.

He earned all-area superlative awards during each of those seasons, having been named the Valley Morning Star newcomer of the year as a sophomore and adding back-to-back The Brownsville Herald/Valley Morning Star offensive player of the year awards as a junior and senior.

Garcia finished this past season third in the RGV in rushing yards during the regular season, toting the rock 166 times for 1,512 yards and 17 touchdowns in 10 games.

He added even more yardage during the postseason, finishing his senior campaign with 203 carries for 1,761 yards and 21 touchdowns in 12 games played, and adding 15 catches for 352 yards and five scores.

Garcia finished his career as San Benito’s all-time leading rusher, racking up 5,193 yards and 61 touchdowns on 594 carries during his three-year career.

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SAN BENITO — San Benito senior running back Fabian Garcia announced his verbal commitment to play college football at UTRGV via an Instagram post Thursday afternoon.

Garcia becomes the ninth RGV athlete to commit to the Vaqueros, joining PSJA North’s Alejandro Aparicio, Danny Garcia, Dante Garcia and Joe Derek Vecchio; Edinburg Vela’s Jamal Polley and Jaxson Shupe; Brownsville Veterans’ Nick Tovar and Harlingen Marine Military Academy’s Mehki Blue.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound running back was a bell cow for the Greyhounds during his three years as the team’s starter, serving as San Benito’s primary back since his sophomore year.

He earned all-area superlative awards during each of those seasons, having been named the Valley Morning Star newcomer of the year as a sophomore and adding back-to-back The Brownsville Herald/Valley Morning Star offensive player of the year awards as a junior and senior.

Garcia finished this past season third in the RGV in rushing yards during the regular season, toting the rock 166 times for 1,512 yards and 17 touchdowns in 10 games.

He added even more yardage during the postseason, finishing his senior campaign with 203 carries for 1,761 yards and 21 touchdowns in 12 games played, and adding 15 catches for 352 yards and five scores.

Garcia finished his career as San Benito’s all-time leading rusher, racking up 5,193 yards and 61 touchdowns on 594 carries during his three-year career.

[email protected]

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Defensive Player of the Year: LB Jaime Martinez, Brownsville Veterans

The Brownsville Veterans Memorial senior middle linebacker imposed his will on opposing offenses all season.

The thick-necked Martinez was never shy from plugging a gap this season and finished with an outstanding 171 tackles, 11 for a loss, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and an interception in the area championship against Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial.

Martinez put on a master class against CCVM. The Martinez-led defense held one of the best vertical offenses in the region with one of the better running backs in the Coast Bend to only seven points.

Martinez followed that performance by helping stifle one of the most — if not the most — physical team in the region, PSJA North. And then against Corpus Christi Miller, the senior linebacker was crucial in the fourth quarter to help lead a miraculous comeback to win the Region IV-5A DI title at Sams Memorial Stadium.

The Brownsville Veterans standout was immense on first and second down late in the fourth quarter, forcing C.C. Miller into long conversions on third down, and the Chargers capitalized off of it.

The senior linebacker also picked up some snaps on offense, scoring two touchdowns.

Martinez has been awarded multiple all-state honors, most recently being named to the Texas High School Coaches Association Super Elite Team in Class 5A.

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Defensive Player of the Year: LB Jaime Martinez, Brownsville Veterans

The Brownsville Veterans Memorial senior middle linebacker imposed his will on opposing offenses all season.

The thick-necked Martinez was never shy from plugging a gap this season and finished with an outstanding 171 tackles, 11 for a loss, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and an interception in the area championship against Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial.

Martinez put on a master class against CCVM. The Martinez-led defense held one of the best vertical offenses in the region with one of the better running backs in the Coast Bend to only seven points.

Martinez followed that performance by helping stifle one of the most — if not the most — physical team in the region, PSJA North. And then against Corpus Christi Miller, the senior linebacker was crucial in the fourth quarter to help lead a miraculous comeback to win the Region IV-5A DI title at Sams Memorial Stadium.

The Brownsville Veterans standout was immense on first and second down late in the fourth quarter, forcing C.C. Miller into long conversions on third down, and the Chargers capitalized off of it.

The senior linebacker also picked up some snaps on offense, scoring two touchdowns.

Martinez has been awarded multiple all-state honors, most recently being named to the Texas High School Coaches Association Super Elite Team in Class 5A.

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