By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
5. Vasquez putting chargers on his back
In Week 8 against Lopez — much like the last two weeks — Brownsville Veterans Memorial senior quarterback Gustavo Vasquez has played like a man on a mission. Against three of the top teams in District 32-5A, Vasquez has shown he can take over a game at any time and especially when the game is on the line. With fellow senior, running back Abel Martinez banged up and limited as of late, Vasquez has taken the reins of the offense and led the Chargers (6-1 overall, 4-0 in District 32-5A) to three big wins, each crucial toward a possible district championship. Against Mercedes on the road in Week 6, Vasquez led the comeback with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns that was the difference in a 24-17 win where he ran for 254 yards and three touchdowns. In a Week 7 win over Edcouch-Elsa, Vasquez ran for 95 yards and a touchdown, but it was his passing game that was helped Brownsville Veterans earn the 21-19 victory. The senior completed 9 of 14 passes for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Last week during a 35-21 victory over Lopez, Vasquez used a 224-yard game on the ground with four scores to help the Chargers jump out to a lead they would never relinquish. The senior quarterback has piled up 770 yards of offense and 10 touchdowns, including 573 on the ground and eight touchdowns. That’s an average of 257 yards, including 191 of those coming from the run game. Last season, Brownsville Veterans shared a district title with Mercedes. But this season, it seems Vasquez and the rest of his Chargers teammates don’t want to share again.
4. Meanwhile, BVM’s defense keeps stepping up
Certainly not lost in the three straight wins over the top tier of District 32-5A is the defensive effort by Brownsville Veterans. The Chargers’ defense has continued to show improvement and Week 8 was no exception. The Brownsville Veterans’ defense held Lopez — the top offensive team in District 32-5A — to just 203 yards and 21 points. The Lobos (6-1 overall, 3-1 in District 32-5A) came into the game averaging 396 yards and 39 points per game. Plus the Chargers held Lopez’s top threat; senior running back Jose Echavarria to just 87 yards on 17 carries (5.1 yards per carry) and kept him out of the end zone. Echavarria came into the game with 840 yards on 69 carries (12.2 yards per carry) and six touchdowns. Brownsville Veterans held Lopez to just 72 yards on the ground and sacked Lobos senior quarterback Alex Ramirez three times during Saturday’s game. The Chargers’ offense has certainly benefited with the stingy defensive effort and together Brownsville Veterans has played like a team that could make some noise in the postseason.
3. With Mercedes looming, Lopez needs to regroup quickly
After Brownsville Veterans dealt Lopez its first defeat of the season, the Lobos have no time to get down on themselves. Lopez faces tough back-to-back weeks, a road trip against Mercedes in Week 9 followed by a home date with Edcouch-Elsa in Week 10. The Lobos need to regroup to stay in the mix for the district title and for a postseason berth. Last season, Lopez defeated Mercedes at home, but lost to Brownsville Veterans and Edcouch-Elsa as the road team. The Lobos have lost again this season to the Chargers, but can bounce back with wins over the Tigers and Yellowjackets. Lopez may need to win both or at least split its next two games to remain in the hunt for the playoffs. The Lobos took a hit on both sides of the ball against Brownsville Veterans in Week 8, never really getting going on offense until the second half and their defense allowed the most yards and points it had all season. Lopez head coach Jason Starkey will certainly have his work cut out for him during the next two weeks, but the Lobos have faced this type of adversity before. One loss doesn’t mean the end of the season, but Lopez hopes it’s not the start of a late season slide, especially after starting the season 6-0.
2. Los Fresnos finds itself in a win-or-else situation
Los Fresnos is as talented as anyone around, but it hasn’t played well at times this season. The Falcons (4-3 overall, 2-2 in District 32-6A) have dropped two district games — to San Benito and Hanna, the top two teams in District 32-6A — and now faces a crucial game with Harlingen High. Los Fresnos faces a Cardinals team that suffered their first district loss last week to Weslaco East. Neither team wants to lose two straight, especially in the tough District 32-6A, where teams with two or three district losses may be left out of the postseason when it’s all said and done. As good as the Falcons’ defense was a week ago — it allowed just 198 yards and 10 points — the offense totaled over 300 yards, but penalties and a pair of interceptions stopped drives and kept Los Fresnos out of the end zone except for a 43-yard catch-and-run by sophomore receiver Nico Valencia from senior quarterback Charles Chapa. The offensive unit will need to be more productive against Harlingen High, who average 310 yards and 27 points per game. A loss by the Falcons won’t necessarily keep them out of the playoffs, but with three district losses it might be hard for Los Fresnos to recover with only two games left after this week.
1. Hanna looks like the real deal, but we’ll see
With a defensive battle (and win) against Los Fresnos in Week 8, Hanna (6-1 overall, 4-0 in District 32-6A) has now won six straight games, including an unblemished record in district play. The Golden Eagles have surprised a lot of people with their start this season, but a closer look shows that Hanna has earned it as it has gotten it done on both sides of the ball. The offense averages 311 yards and 28 points per game. On the other side of the ball, the defensive unit allows 292 yards and 16 points. While the Eagles have played in some close games, both units have stepped up when needed at different times during the season. In three of the six victories, the Hanna defense has allowed seven points twice and had a shut out in the other game. In four of the six wins, the Eagles’ offense has scored at least 35 points. While Hanna still faces a tough schedule to finish the season — playing host to San Benito and Weslaco East and a road trip to Harlingen High — it has used a complete team effort up to this point in the season to keep winning week after week. The Eagles have already doubled their win total and district mark from 2016 and don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.
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.