By Jesus Sanchez | The Brownsville Herald
Two teams will be looking to get back on the winning column after suffering losses in Week 3 when the Chargers host the Wolverines at 7 p.m. Thursday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial (2-1, 1-1) fell 45-24 to Mission Veterans last week while PSJA Memorial (0-3, 0-2) came up short 34-21 against PSJA Southwest.
Both teams are now looking to regroup and refocus going forward in the 2018 season.
In the game against Mission Veterans, the Chargers had a strong defensive performance early on but, offensively, they made several mistakes that cost them the game.
Damian Maldonado passed the football to Mauricio Garza for a 64-yard gain and the first touchdown for Brownsville Veterans. Liam Longoria did the same with Elijah Masten for 41 yards to give the Chargers more points during the third and then proceeded to find the end zone after a 14-yard rush in the final quarter of the game.
Despite the outcome, head coach David Cantu said he is proud of the Chargers and is confident the team has learned a lot from their loss last week.
“We were in the ball game at halftime and some unfortunate things happened,” Cantu said. “We failed to execute on certain situations and the game got away from us. I think we learned a lot about ourselves and I think we can get a lot of good sometimes from a loss. That being said, we’re very glad it’s a short week and we get to get back on the field.
“This week is not about, no disrespect to PSJA Memorial, but it’s not about them, it’s about us looking ourselves in the mirror and improving in every phase of the game.”
For Brownsville Veterans, practice this week has been about correcting some of those errors, especially ball security, Cantu said.
The Chargers coach said ball security is something the team has worked on every day leading up to the match against the Wolverines.
“We’ve had too many turnovers as far as fumbles go,” he said. “That’s something that we’re constantly aware of. We’ve always been a very strong running football team and this past Saturday night, we struggled with the run and I know the offensive line and everyone involved in that have a chip on their shoulder and we need to get back track to being a strong running team.”
On the other side, the Wolverines have been focusing on identifying their strengths and capitalizing on them.
PSJA Memorial head coach Michael Uribe said the team is also working on correcting errors it has made in an effort to become more competitive.
Uribe said despite the loss to PSJA Southwest, the Wolverines continue to be resilient and hungry in their search for a win this season.
“They continue to show heart and preparation in their attitude and work ethic,” he said. “That makes me extremely proud of them. We know we have a tough battle ahead of us, but our kids have never been afraid to compete and they’ve never been afraid of any challenges. So, we’re going to continue to work hard; we’re going to continue to coach our kids hard and we have to prepare to the best of our abilities to be successful.”
Asked what PSJA Memorial must do to overcome Brownsville Veterans, Uribe replied that the Wolverines can’t be themselves; they must execute more than ever and play to the best of their abilities.
“We know Brownsville Veterans is one of the top teams in the area, in the Valley,” the PSJA Memorial coach said. “We know it’s not going to be easy, but we will focus on ourselves and play with a lot of enthusiasm.”
The Wolverines have several weapons to use against the Chargers, including running back Joaquin Sanchez.
Uribe described Sanchez as a player who’s gone above and beyond to motivate and help the team improve.
“He’s our running back but he’s a young man that we’ve been relying heavily on in leadership and, obviously, in production,” he said.
Uribe said the Wolverines will have a tough night on Thursday, but they will give it their all and fight until the end.
“ We’re excited to have an opportunity to compete against one of the better teams in the Valley and we know that our kids are going to give it their all,” he said.