By ANDREW CRUM, The Herald
For the second straight year, the Rivera Raiders struggled early in the season.
But with coach Tom Chavez at the helm, the Raiders were never down for long and certainly never out.
Rivera was winless in its first five games, but Chavez remained confident in his players’ abilities and optimistic about the remainder of the season.
Chavez gave the Raiders’ offense a few tweaks to further play into his team’s strengths. The result was a seven-game winning streak to finish the season and a share of the District 32-6A crown. For the second straight season, Rivera advanced to the postseason, but for the second time in school history and first since 1999, the Raiders advanced to the regional round.
For his bold moves and the constant motivation of his squad, Chavez has been named the RGVSports.com 2014 All-Valley Football Coach of the Year.
“All the players on all the championship (teams) we’ve won and all the playoff (games) we’ve played, it’s been the same and this was a special group,” Chavez said. “This team just bonded together. They just got the concept that I was trying to teach.”
Chavez said the Raiders district game against Lopez was the moment he felt the team came together. Coincidentally, Rivera’s victory over the Lobos started the winning streak that would propel the Raiders toward a district crown a postseason run to the third round for the first time in 15 years.
“There was that one spark, (the team) jelled together and things starting picking up,” he said. “After that, we said we can play and I’ve been telling them we can play all year long.”
Chavez’s approach to coaching is his own, but is deeply entrenched with teachings from his college coach, John Levra , at New Mexico Highlands University .
The former middle linebacker said Levra molded him and his teammates in a similar fashion to what he does with his own players.
“Sometimes you have to discipline and sometimes you have to love them,” Chavez said. “We’re like a mentor, like a father figure to them. I treat them as if they were my own son.”
Chavez said his team’s bond was strong because of the way he and the coaching staff interacted with the players on a daily basis.
“There’s a lot more than Xs and Os as a head coach, you have to look at the big picture,” he said. “What’s going on with them. Each kid is an individual, you have to treat them individually.”
His players agreed.
“We came together as a team,” Rivera quarterback Danny Elizondo said. “He was always motivating us and telling us to keep our heads up, keep fighting, to never quit. He stuck with us throughout the whole season, that’s what made us so successful… that’s what makes him such a great coach.”
But according to tight end Edward Rubio, the lessons weren’t just focused on the football field.
“They were life lessons,” he said. “What to do and not to do and that will definitely be in my mind when I grow up and hopefully get to the next level (in football).”
Chavez was humbled by the recognition of the award, but credited his players for their dedication.
“Our players have a lot of heart,” he said. “We get them to play as a team and that can make up the difference on the teams that don’t have that. They always play as hard as they can.”
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.