The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers and Lopez Lobos were locked in a dead heat after a half of play, with each team allowing the other a single score.
From there, it was all Chargers as four second-half touchdowns on offense and a big defensive showing led the way to a 32-12 District 16-5A Division I win over the Lobos on Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
After heading into the half tied at 7, Brownsville Veterans outscored Lopez 25-5 after scoring on four straight drives after starting the second half with a penalty and a fumble.
Chargers coach David Cantu said it was all about staying patient and weathering the storm brought on by the Lobos early on.
“Lopez came out executing their game plan offensively, taking a lot of time off the clock and doing a fantastic job, and caused us a lot of problems,” he said. “We discussed staying the course, doing what we do, sticking with it and the kids believed in it — it led to a big district victory.”
A big performance by the offensive line and blocking backs opened the door for quarterback Liam Longoria, who led the Chargers (2-0, 1-0) with 98 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries. Three came in the second half on runs of 17, 25 and 27 yards.
“Liam followed his lead blocker, did a great job with his play fakes, but there was a lot of other guys doing a great job, too,” Cantu said. “The O-line created some amazing holes, the running backs were throwing blocks — it was an amazing team effort.”
The Chargers did have three turnovers on offense but racked up 391 yards, including 340 on the ground.
For Lopez (1-1, 0-1), the second half was a tough one as their only points came on a 25-yard field goal and a two-point score by Andrew Flores after blocking a Brownsville Veterans extra point.
Overall, it came down to turnovers as they put the ball on the ground three times and managed just 197 yards of offense.
“At the end of the day it was turnovers,” first-year Lopez coach Armando Gutierrez said. “When you do that with a team like (Brownsville Veterans), they’re going to score regardless of who you are. Coming into the game nobody gave us a shot, but at the same time, we knew who they were. If you put the ball on the ground regardless of who they are, they’re going to score.
Lopez’s Luis Barrera recovered a fumble by Longoria on the second play, setting the Lobos up with a first down on the Chargers’ 31, but managed just a field goal.
That was the boost the Chargers needed.
“The most important drive of the whole game was the second half,” Cantu said. “We get it; we fumble it on the second play, but hold (Lopez) to three points. It was huge and it set the tone for what our defense was going to do in the second half.”
Lopez couldn’t take advantage of opportunities from the start.
After a 3-yard run by Lopez running back Rafael Campos early in the second quarter to cap a methodical 13-play, 77-yard drive, Brownsville Veterans was forced to punt.
Lopez looked to add to its lead when running back Christian Gamez found a hole in the center of the line on the ensuing possession, but he fumbled the ball before he could break off a big gain.
The Chargers recovered at the Lopez 24 and punched it in five plays later on a 12-yard run by Longoria with 4:34 to go in the half.
The Lobos fumbled on their ensuing possession inside the Chargers’ 30 but managed to head into the half tied.
Campos led the Lobos with 65 yards on 13 carries and one score.
Mauricio Garza had a big night on the ground, rushing for 155 yards and one score in 15 carries.