By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers bounced back from a loss in the best way possible.
That way was with a decisive win.
The Chargers (3-1, 2-1 district) defeated PSJA Memorial 44-24 in a District 16-5A Division I game Thursday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Brownsville Veterans was coming off last Saturday’s 45-24 district setback at Mission Veterans.
“We had to come out and really redeem ourselves after last Saturday night (and the loss to Mission Veterans),” Chargers coach David Cantu said. “Again, tonight wasn’t about who we were playing against, it was about us. It was about looking at ourselves in the mirror and deciding to execute better, especially on offense after last week. Fortunately, our players really responded.”
PSJA Memorial (0-4, 0-3) was coming off last week’s 34-21 district loss to crosstown rival PSJA Southwest.
The win by Brownsville Veterans was as methodical as it was decisive.
The Chargers led 14-0 by the end of the first quarter and held a 27-10 advantage at halftime.
A pair of short touchdown runs in the opening quarter by Chargers quarterback Liam Longoria on plays covering 4 and 1 yards made it 14-0.
It became 21-0 when Elijah Masten caught an 11-yard scoring pass from Longoria at the 10:31 mark of the second period.
PSJA Memorial pulled to within 21-7 when Tavis Sain broke loose on a wide-receiver-around play and sprinted 74 yards down the right sideline to the end zone with 8:54 showing in the second quarter.
Brownsville Veterans running back Mauricio Garza went up the middle and cut outside before racing 49 yards to the end zone to increase the lead to 27-7 as the extra point failed with 5:36 remaining before halftime.
Robert Balderrama converted a 20-yard field goal for the Wolverines on the final play of the first half to make it 27-10 at intermission.
“We felt confident going in to the game,” said Garza, a junior running back for the Chargers who finished with a pair of scores running the ball. “We prepared for our opponent and executed well tonight.
“It felt great (to score twice),” added Garza, who led all rushers in the game with 162 yards on 14 carries. “It doesn’t happen every game (that I score two times), so it’s nice to see it happen tonight.
“We’ve just got to stay confident, work hard and execute (well) next game (too).”
The second half became a shootout with the Chargers taking a 34-24 edge into the final quarter.
PSJA Memorial pulled to within 10 points twice during the third period, but could come no closer.
Sain scored on an 11-yard run with 8:58 left in the third quarter to help the Wolverines close the gap to 27-17 before Maston caught a 28-yard pass from Longoria at the 5:57 mark of the period to restore the Chargers’ advantage to more than two scores, 34-17.
Sain, who finished with 116 yards rushing on 11 carries, scored again — this time on a 13-yard run — to pull PSJA Memorial to within 34-24 with 1:51 to go in the third quarter.
The Chargers again gave themselves a more comfortable lead in the final period as Garza crossed the goal line from 14 yards out with 10:47 to play to make it 41-24. Israel Barron then kicked a 35-yard field goal with 43 seconds remaining to account for the 20-point margin of victory.
Thursday marked the first time the two teams played each other in football as each school has competed in a different district before this season.
“It’s kind of neat to go against a new opponent and start a new rivalry,” Cantu said.
District 16-5A Division I competition continues next week with Brownsville Veterans back at Sams on Thursday going against Rio Grande City and PSJA Memorial playing host to Pace next Friday.