By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
For the first time since 2018, the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers are playoff bound.
Brownsville Veterans (6-3, 6-2 in District 16-5A Division I) secured its spot in the postseason with a tough 28-7 victory over Donna High on Friday. The Chargers’ “Blue Wall” defense played lights out, and the hard-running duo of Jose Moreno and Jorge Alvarado was stellar to back the win.
“It’s amazing. We’ve been working every day. I feel relieved that we’re back in,” said Moreno, a senior running back/defensive back. “I felt amazing out there. I don’t know how to describe it, it’s just a lot of emotions, and I feel good running the ball again and scoring. The energy (the defense) brings is what we feed off. We got to give all props to the defense, they did a wonderful job.”
Moreno and Alvarado led an efficient opening drive that ended with a score. Alvarado picked up three first downs in a row by trucking through lanes midfield. Junior running back Michael McHale used his speed after a pitch to beat Donna High around the edge for a 6-yard touchdown.
Donna High’s defense settled in and played tough to keep Brownsville Veterans’ typically fast and explosive offense in check. The defensive line comprised of seniors Lupe Ramos and Caleb Torres and junior Mario Limon was solid to shut down runs at the line of scrimmage. The Redskins held firm and forced a turnover on downs inside the red zone.
Donna High junior defensive back Brian Juarez had a tremendous game stopping the run and in pass protection. He snagged an interception during the second quarter to stymie a fourth consecutive Chargers drive.
“Defense played excellent. I don’t think the score reflects the effort of our defense,” Donna High coach Mike Gonzales said. “That’s a good ball club. They play hard-nosed football. Offensively, we couldn’t get anything going and we struggled a little bit. They did an excellent job of defending us. … What I’m most proud of is our kids played to the last whistle, and that’s all I ask for. Play hard, play Donna tough, and I think we did that.”
The aggressive Chargers defense didn’t let Donna High capitalize on its defensive stops. The linebacker trio of senior William Wassen and juniors Bryan Chavez and Gary Bardales defended the run and pressured the Redskins’ quarterbacks. Senior defensive back/receiver Zachary Dennis made a clutch solo tackle to stop a fake punt late in the first half.
After the big stop, the Chargers moved quickly to tack on a score just before halftime. Junior quarterback Reece Sampayo connected with Alvarado for a 15-yard gain to reach the red zone, and then Moreno scored on a 3-yard run. Sampayo hit Wassen for the two-point conversion, making it 15-0 at the break.
Both defenses dominated a scoreless third quarter. Redskins senior defensive back/punter Francisco Contreras forced a fumble, but Alvarado jumped on it for the Chargers. Junior linebacker Matthew Lopez put in a good performance for Donna High.
The teams exchanged touchdowns on three consecutive drives during the fourth quarter. Moreno dragged Redskins defenders to the end zone on a 3-yard score that was set up by a pair of big rushing gains from Alvarado.
Donna High answered with a quick drive anchored by its two biggest plays of the night. First, junior receiver Luis Silva took a reverse 27 yards into Chargers territory and was stopped short of the end zone by a solid open-field tackle by BVM sophomore Gilbert Trillo. On third down, the Redskins fooled the Chargers again, and junior quarterback Jake Garcia found senior receiver Jakob Yanez all alone for a 33-yard touchdown.
Brownsville Veterans junior defensive back Jonah Alaniz, who played a nice game, recovered Donna High’s onside kick attempt to give his team a short field. Alvarado powered his way up the gut, escaping tackles to the end zone for a 5-yard rushing touchdown.
“They tried to take away our outside stuff, so … that opened things up for (Moreno and Alvarado),” Chargers coach Kelley Lee said. “That’s what you have to do sometimes. Defense takes something away, so you got to hurt them with what they’re giving you and they did a good job of that.”
During the final minutes of the contest, Bardales scooped up a loose ball following a high snap on Donna High’s punt.
BVM now sets its focus on winning the regular-season finale against Brownsville Pace to secure the No. 3 seed.
“We wanted to punch our ticket tonight, and (Donna High) didn’t make it easy, but I thought our kids fought the whole way and did what we needed to do to get the ‘W.’ It feels good,” Lee said. “They’re understanding how to win games and how to control tempo. I thought that might’ve been one of our best defensive games all year. I’m pleased with their performance.”