BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
PORTLAND — When Edinburg Vela has received a kickoff this year, two SaberCats have typically been at the back of the formation: senior Brandon Guzman and junior Daniel Enriquez.
Guzman and Enriquez have been dangerous to opponents all season, but they had yet to get a kickoff into the end zone. So finally crossing the goal line Friday provided Vela with a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy game.
With 1:38 left in the first half, the Austin Westlake Chaparrals’ kicker, junior Gabriel Lozano, was set to kick off.
“Everybody saw the score and was a bit down, but I was like, ‘Let’s have fun. It’s the last game of my senior year. Let’s just have fun with it. Let’s go score,’” Guzman said. “They kick it off, I catch it, and I see the hole. Nick Enriquez blew the hole up. I see it, like Moses with the Red Sea. It just opened up. Then I followed Daniel (Enriquez) and made it to the end zone.”
Daniel Enriquez knew Guzman was gone pretty quickly, or at least he thought he did.
“It looked like it was gone immediately, and then No. 80 came out of nowhere,” Daniel Enriquez said of Westlake junior Grant Andruss, who caught up to he and Guzman around the 30. “I was like, ‘I don’t want him to make the play, because that would be on me.’ So, I had to block him for my teammate so he could score.”
The score was one of two touchdowns Vela mustered against Westlake.
The speed, size and athleticism of Westlake were too much on Friday night, as Westlake beat Vela 70-14 in a Class 6A Division II Region IV semifinal at Ray Akins Wildcat Stadium.
“It was a special group of guys that we had here,” Guzman said “It was a great season overall. There was just something special about this team that brought us all together. We still fought to the end.”
On Westlake’s first drive, senior running back Nakia Watson ran for 32 yards, and junior quarterback Taylor Anderson ran for 34. Watson punctuated the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Chaparrals up.
Westlake wasn’t stopped on a drive until about two minutes remained in the first half. Meanwhile, Vela couldn’t get a drive going, punting four times in the first half.
Westlake played almost the entire second half without using any starters.
Watson finished with 153 yards and two touchdowns. Anderson completed 14 of 18 passes for 380 yards and five TDs. He also rushed for 111 yards and two TDs.
“There is no way for us to simulate the speed of the game,” Vela coach John Campbell said. “We knew that it was probably going to take a quarter to adjust. They are bigger, more physical football players than what we are used to seeing. We were hoping to weather the storm for a little bit, but it kind of blew up on us, and we dug ourselves a hole that we really couldn’t ever get out of.”
Vela senior quarterback Nathan Garcia finished 10-of-16 passing for 186 yards. Junior Aaron Alvarez was Vela’s leading rusher with 57 yards. Junior Aziel Garcia had only two catches on the evening, but his 90 yards were good enough to lead the team.
Vela’s other score came from Nathan Garcia. Vela was facing a first-and-goal situation from the 1-yard line. Garcia got the snap and faked the handoff before cutting between two defenders for the touchdown.
Garcia and Guzman started playing together in middle school and never looked back.
“It means a lot that we both scored tonight,” Guzman said. “Me and Nate have been together for the longest time. We are best friends. A friendship that can’t be broken.”
Campbell is a stern coach who has become known for his scowl. After the game, though, his demeanor was slightly different. He reminded his players of how important it is to cherish every moment of the last bus ride home together. He told his players he was proud of them. He reminded them of what they had accomplished on the road to the third round. And he delivered his postgame message with a smile.
“The reality is, in the third round, there are only good teams left, and half of those teams are going to have their season come to an end,” Campbell said. “We played a heck of a football team tonight, a team that I strongly suspect we are going to be seeing playing for a state championship in a couple of weeks. We still have each other, and we are going to enjoy each other for this last bus ride home.”
For Campbell, seeing Guzman and Nathan Garcia both score was a special moment.
“The way it finished, obviously we would have loved for the score to have been different, but the guys that got in the end zone and the guys that made some plays, it was kind of a poetic finish,” Campbell said.
Vela’s season has been filled with memorable moments. Several came to mind as the season came to an end on Friday.
Daniel Enriquez thought back to Week 2 against Edcouch-Elsa, when his older brother Nick threw a pivotal block to spring Daniel for his first career punt-return touchdown.
Guzman recalled a story from freshman year. Vela’s freshman team was down by a handful against Roma.
“Coach Flores, our freshman coach, called the jet sweep for me,” Guzman said. “I took it to the house. It was about 40 or 60 yards. That won the game for us.”
Guzman also had a memory from this year that will stick with him. In Week 6, Vela faced rival Edinburg High. Guzman and Nathan Garcia found the chemistry early in that game, and Guzman exploded for what he described as his “best game ever,” catching six passes for 168 yards and two TDs.
Even Campbell was able to reflect on the season and pinpoint a major highlight.
“It’s funny, because it’s this time, now,” Campbell said. “It’s this time with the kids after a ball game. We get to kind of go back and reflect. We are going to enjoy each other’s company from here on back to Edinburg. This will be kind of a bitter tasting pizza, but at the same time a good one, because we get to enjoy each other. Now we get to talk about how the whole season went.”