By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The biggest sports story of 2015 in The Brownsville Herald’s Metro coverage area that includes Los Fresnos and Port Isabel was a fairly obvious one.
By a vote of The Herald’s sports staff, nothing came close to the Rivera Raiders’ achievement in April of winning the inaugural Class 6A state championship in boys soccer with a 28-0 record. It was the unanimous choice as No. 1 local sports story of the year.
Numerous other impactful events marked the Metro area sports scene in 2015.
Here are The Herald’s selections as the area’s top stories of the year:
1. RIVERA SOCCER WINS IT ALL
Thanks to the urging of coach Salvador Garcia before and throughout the soccer season, the Raiders stayed mindful of their date with destiny April 18 in the UIL Class 6A state final at Georgetown.
In fact, even before the team took the field for its first practice in November 2014, Garcia told his players that anyone who didn’t believe the Raiders would be playing in the final game of the season at state April 18 should just not bother being a part of the squad. No one walked away from the coach’s challenge.
The Raiders were led on the offensive end by Eliseo Ortiz (26 goals), Isidro “Chelin” Martinez (23) and Alexis Herrera (22). Hernan Cruz, Eliezer “Chaii” Acero and David Alexander solidified the midfield, and Israel Acero and Jesus Torres helped keep the defense intact.
Despite some delays at the state tournament that weekend in April due to stormy weather, the Raiders completed their ultimate mission by defeating Katy Cinco Ranch 2-0 in the first 6A boys soccer state final. They had won the state semifinal 5-1 against North Mesquite.
Moments after the April 18 match ended, heavy rain started falling again and forced the Raiders’ trophy presentation to be held inside a locker room. But the inclement weather didn’t dampen the euphoria of the Raiders as they celebrated their first state title with a perfect record after trips to the state tournament in 2005 and 2007.
“No words can explain how happy and excited we are, knowing that we’re 28-0 with a perfect season, making our dream come true and not being the team of ‘almost there, almost there,’” Cruz said. “An undefeated season with a state title is unimaginable.
“Since the beginning we knew it was going to be tough and everything, but we stayed humble and stayed together as a family, as brothers and as a unit, just playing Rivera’s style of soccer,” Cruz added. “That’s what helped us get to state and go 28-0.”
In May, Martinez was named the USA Today/Gatorade Player of the Year in Texas after being selected the UIL state tournament 6A boys MVP.
To win state it took seven victories in the playoffs.
“It has been an amazing, incredible journey,” Garcia said. “Since the very first day (of practice), somehow, we had a feeling that we were going to do something special.”
2. MURCHISON THREE-PEATS IN SHOT PUT
Daniella Murchison completed her stellar track career at Port Isabel by becoming the first Rio Grande Valley athlete, boy or girl, to capture a gold medal three consecutive years at the UIL state meet May 15.
As a senior at state in 2015, Murchison won the Class 4A shot put with a toss of 44 feet, 1 inch, and she took sixth in the discus with a throw of 120-10. The previous two seasons she had won the 3A shot put.
Murchison, now competing at SMU, set an all-time Valley best with a shot put toss of 46-1 1/2 at the Meet of Champions in March. It was a mark that established a new standard in the Valley for current-era girls competing with the 8-pound, 9-ounce shot put.
“I feel very honored and blessed,” Murchison said. “Getting recognized for all my hard work feels great. It definitely is a great sendoff to college.”
3. PORTER FOOTBALL SHINES AGAIN
The Porter football team qualified for the state playoffs for only the third time in school history in November. The Cowboys went 6-5, including a 4-3 mark in District 32-5A. Porter, which opened in 1974, previously qualified for the playoffs in 2003 and 2008.
The 2015 Cowboys were sparked by the tough running of senior tailback Jorge Gutierrez, a 2,000-yard rusher with 25 touchdowns. The Cowboys suffered a 48-21 loss to undefeated Edinburg Vela during the bi-district playoffs Nov. 13.
In December, Gutierrez was selected to the Texas Associated Press Sports Editors Class 5A all-state football team. He was named to the second team.
Porter coach Tom Campos was chosen as The Herald’s All-Metro coach of the year.
One of Porter’s most memorable wins was a 52-44 four-overtime triumph Sept. 25 at Donna North.
“Winning a four-overtime game opened our eyes that we can be the team to do it,” Gutierrez said after the victory. “Offense and defense, we certainly have more confidence overall. I’ve always known this team has a lot of potential. It just takes working hard for it to blossom out, and that’s what we’re seeing now.”
4. UTB ATHLETIC PROGRAM ENDS
With all the positive vibes generated by the opening of the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley in August, one of the negative aspects of the merger between UT-Brownsville and UT-Pan American was the dissolution of UTB’s successful NAIA athletic program.
UTB-TSC began competing at the NAIA level in 2006. The Scorpions, who later became the Ocelots, won NAIA national titles in volleyball in 2011 and 2013. They were national runners-up in volleyball with a 34-5 record in December 2014, which marked their final fall season. UTB men’s soccer also finished second in the country in NAIA with a 24-1 record in December 2014, so two of UTB’s strongest sports went out with a flourish.
When UTB’s 2015 spring semester ended in May, officially, so did the Ocelots’ athletic program. It ceased to exist without much fanfare as golf was the school’s only remaining sport still competing in the spring.
All too soon, a successful college athletic program in Brownsville disappeared. UTRGV’s sports at the NCAA level were based exclusively in Edinburg as a result of the merger.
“What all the guys and myself did (during the last school year of UTB sports) was something special,” soccer player Victor Parreiras said. “It’s something that will stay with me forever. I would just say thanks to the (Brownsville) community for supporting us. I felt it, we all felt it, and we did our best.”
5. LADY FALCONS FLY HIGH IN SOCCER
Los Fresnos became only the third girls soccer team from the Valley to reach the UIL regional final round of the playoffs on April 11.
The other two teams to do it were McAllen High in 2007 and Sharyland High in 2012 following the start of UIL girls soccer in the Valley in 1997.
After capturing the District 32-6A title, the Lady Falcons of 2015 advanced five rounds in the playoffs. In the Region IV-6A Tournament final April 11 at Brownsville Sports Park, the Los Fresnos girls led San Antonio Reagan 1-0 with 30 minutes remaining, but their lead didn’t stand up as Reagan tallied a pair of goals near the end to win 2-1 and earn a repeat trip to the state tournament.
The Lady Falcons came oh so close to becoming the Valley’s first UIL girls soccer team to go to state.
“Obviously, we would have loved to go to state,” said Lady Falcons coach Marissa Wood, whose team finished 27-4. “But we learned another lesson that we don’t always get what we want, but we get exactly what we need (to motivate us for the future). We were fortunate enough to go as far as we did.”
6. WOODS LOGS WIN NO. 600
There was a celebratory atmosphere Oct. 17 at the Los Fresnos gym as Becky Woods recorded her 600th career victory as a volleyball coach of the Lady Falcons.
It came during a 25-14, 25-13, 25-14 District 32-6A victory against Harlingen High.
Signs that read “600” were passed out to the home fans, who stood, raised them and enthusiastically cheered on the match’s final point. Some of the fans, along with Woods, donned T-shirts commemorating her 600th win.
The victory improved Woods’ career coaching mark to 600-319 through 31 seasons. That many victories for a high school volleyball coach is believed to be a first in the Valley.
“This is just a great win for the kids, for the school, for the community and Los Fresnos in general,” Woods said.
The Lady Falcons went on to capture the 32-6A title with a 14-0 record and advance three rounds in the playoffs before finishing 39-9.
7. BLOODHOUNDS REACH UNCHARTED TERRITORY
The St. Joseph Academy soccer team advanced to a TAPPS Division I state semifinal for the first time in 2015. After defeating strong teams from San Antonio and Dallas, the Bloodhounds’ best season of soccer came an end with a 1-0 loss to Houston Awty International on Feb. 24 in Corpus Christi.
SJA finished with a 16-4-2 record after winning a district title in soccer for the first time as well.
“We’ve established a new culture of reaching higher levels of success in soccer here at our school, so our expectations are pretty high now,” SJA coach Tino Villarreal said. “We realize that Brownsville is a powerhouse community of soccer, and we’re excited about representing the city in the private school division.”
8. LOCAL SWIMMERS, DIVERS GO TO STATE
The Metro area sent a contingent of five athletes to the UIL state swimming & diving meet Feb. 20 and 21 in Austin.
Three local swimmers advanced, each of them competing in two events. They were Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Jonathan Ashford (100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke), Los Fresnos’ Ivana Besteiro (50 and 100 freestyles) and Hanna’s Maya Athena Imperial (200 individual medley and 500 freestyle).
The local divers advancing to state were Lopez’s Thadey Diaz and Hanna’s Raul Garcia.
It was a learning experience for each of the five athletes as none of them was able to qualify for the championship finals.
9. IDEA RUNNERS MAKE STRIDES
Charter schools such as IDEA Frontier of Brownsville aren’t really expected to make much noise when it comes to athletics. But the Chargers found a way to shine in cross country in 2015 as their boys team advanced to the UIL state meet Nov. 7 in Round Rock along with individual qualifier Sabrina Garcia.
The boys placed 10th in the Class 3A division. The coach was Albert Alanis. Members of the boys squad were Cristian Davila, Jesus Garcia, Kevin Sanchez, Jose Quintero, Irving Chavirra, Bryan Estrella and Arturo Gutierrez.
10. FALCONS SHARE DISTRICT TITLE AGAIN
Los Fresnos enjoyed another winning football season as the Falcons emerged as District 32-6A tri-champions with Harlingen High and San Benito in November.
Just one year earlier, the Falcons were district quad-champions with Harlingen High, San Benito and Rivera.
In 2015, the Falcons went 9-2, including a 6-1 finish in district. The lone regular-season loss was a 25-18 setback Oct. 16 at Harlingen High. The season ended for the Falcons on Nov. 13 with a 49-28 bi-district defeat at Weslaco High.
Standouts for Los Fresnos included safety Fabian Rodriguez on defense and quarterback Rene Ortega on offense. Ortega passed for 2,300 yards and 26 touchdowns, and he rushed for 500 yards and five TDs. Rodriguez recorded 97 tackles, including 10 for losses, and made two interceptions.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.