By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial needed a win to remain in the playoff hunt, and Gustavo Vasquez wasted little time to make sure that happened.
Vasquez scored a pair of rushing touchdowns to give the Chargers an early lead they never relinquished in a 57-0 defeat of Lopez in District 32-6A action Thursday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
“We did what we needed to do, and now we’re going to wear purple and gold (San Benito’s colors today), so we’ll see how that goes,” Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said. “I’m really proud of this team.”
Vasquez rushed for 155 yards and the two scores as the Chargers ran for more than 300 yards and five touchdowns during the first half to take a 40-point advantage.
“(Vasquez) was our freshman quarterback. We had lost three in a row, so we thought, ‘Let’s try something different,’” Cantu said.
Brownsville Veterans finished with 430 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns. Vasquez scored on a 73-yard run and followed that with a 14-yard carry for another touchdown.
Jeremiah Meyer scored from 10 yards out and later added a 72-yard sprint to the end zone. Alfonso Vela scored on a 60-yard run on a reverse, Jacob Cantu ran in from 5 yards out for another touchdown and Joshua Alaniz added a 32-yard sprint to the goal line for the Chargers.
While Lopez had its troubles moving the chains, the only mistake the offense made was an interception by Mike Vasquez. But Felipe Flores took it back to the end zone for another touchdown to extend the Brownsville Veterans’ lead during the first half.
“We got our butt kicked in the offseason. This came long before this game was ever played,” Lopez coach Jason Starkey said. “That’s my fault, that’s what a butt-kicking looks like. Those (Brownsville Veterans) kids know how to play the game, and I didn’t have my kids ready to play. I apologize to the city of Brownsville and BISD, they employed me to do a job and I failed miserably, and tonight was representative of that.”
Vasquez was 3 of 13 for 11 yards and an interception. He also ran for 71 yards on 13 carries to lead the Lobos’ offense.
Lopez (0-10, 0-7) finished the season without a victory. Starkey took full responsibility for the Lobos’ season, but vowed to make the necessary changes.
“I thought we had a good plan, we just didn’t execute it,” he said. “When this comes down to it, this is a performance-based business, and we didn’t perform and that starts with me. Monday starts our offseason, and every kid that’s willing to jump in and do it the right way, then we’ll have an opportunity to be successful like Brownsville Veterans. They set the standard in this town, as does Rivera. I stand for a heck of a lot more than 0-10, it doesn’t define me, this team or these coaches.”
Ruben Hernandez added a 25-yard field goal during the fourth quarter for Brownsville Veterans.
As for the Chargers, now they must wait for the result of tonight’s Rivera-San Benito game to determine if their season continues.
“If we’re blessed enough to play next week, I think we have the pieces where we need them to challenge for something,” Cantu said. “If this was the last game, no regrets. The kids were awesome all year long, no matter what their role was. I’m proud of this team.”
Cantu said if his team fails to make the playoffs, they would be the first to cheer for their fellow Brownsville school.
“If Rivera is able to go to San Benito and pull it off, we’ll be their biggest supporters,” he said. “If that’s the case, they’ll represent Brownsville and we’ll be cheering for them.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.