By Mark Molina | The Brownsville Herald
While the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers are hunting a third-straight district championship, the Rivera Raiders are hoping to rebound from a one-win season.
They will take the first steps toward both when they meet in The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Rivera ended last season losing its final nine games, so the excitement of Week 1 is more than welcome.
Raiders coach Tom Chavez, while eager, is feeling good about where his team is headed after what he’s seen during the past couple of weeks.
“I think everybody, especially us, is looking forward to getting the season started after going through the conditioning, contact and a couple of scrimmages,” Chavez said. “We started off with scrimmages and we had a pretty good one with Donna, and I think we’ve come a long way from last week. We’re just looking forward to getting started; the kids are tired of hitting themselves and each other during practice.”
The Chargers will look vastly different than last year’s group, which went undefeated through District 32-5A, and that has Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu racked with anticipation.
“We have kids who we believe will compete from beginning to the end,” Cantu said. “We have new parts this year and that is always, in my opinion, very exciting. I can’t wait to see some of the new starters get on the field.
“It’s an incredible excitement that we feel here right with the opportunity to compete against a traditionally strong team that happens to be a 6A program.”
One of the key matchups in today’s opener will be between the Chargers’ offense and the Rivera defense.
Brownsville Veterans lost quarterback and district most valuable player Gustavo Vasquez, but are hoping the quarterback pair of Liam Longoria and Rolando Izeta can step up to fill the void. Helping them is a seasoned receiving corps that includes Carlos Galindo, Elijah Maston and Damian Maldonado.
The Chargers also boast three returning starters on the offensive line and have a talented committee of runners in Gilbert Garcia, Mauricio Garza and J.R. Moran.
There is a chance for a more balanced attack, but Cantu isn’t prepared for it to be that easy against Chavez’s defense.
“(Rivera) is going to be what they’ve always been,” Cantu said. “They are a very aggressive defense that likes to send a lot of people and man you up. I don’t expect anything different there. We want to weather a storm early on, because we know that Rivera’s defensive scheme is something you have to deal with when playing them. They make big plays every year.
“We have to be patient, stay calm, stay within ourselves, because sometimes the faster they go, the slower and more patient we have to be.”
Rivera will have an experienced group on defense with seven returning starters, including defensive backs Oscar Medellin and Leo Martinez, and linebacker Gabriel Cuellar.
While the size isn’t there, Chavez says there are plenty of guys who can swarm to the ball.
“We have a little bit more experience on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “I think we have a lot of speed in our defense. We’re not very big or anything like that, we just like to get everybody to run to the ball. I’m really looking forward to our defensive team doing well this season.”
The Raiders will start Ariel Gonzalez at quarterback.
Chavez likes what he sees with Gonzalez, who has some experience after getting some playing time when then-starter Nico Blanco missed time with an injury last season.
Gonzalez will hope to get favorable matchups in the passing game, as returning receivers Jesus Camarillo and Elian Hernandez work against a Chargers defense that returns just two starters.
The Raiders know, however, that nothing comes easy against the Chargers.
“Brownsville Veterans has always been a tough team, and we’ve always had trouble with them,” Chavez said. “It’s going to be tough because even though they’re in 5A, they play like a 6A team. They’ll be ready to go, and I’m sure that they feel the same way and I’m looking forward to a good game.”
Cantu is confident the new faces on both sides of the ball are all set and doesn’t view tonight’s game as a tuneup, even with the new District 16-5A DI play starting next week.
“We’ve always taken pride in being strong right off the bat,” Cantu said. “To us at Veterans High School, every game is important for us to go out and play to win. The fact that district starts next week is a detail we have to deal with. When we play the Rivera Raiders, it’s always important to the Chargers.”