By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
There’s no question the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers will miss senior quarterback Marcus Castillo.
A reliable and productive performer on the football field as a passer and runner, he’s been the Chargers’ starting signal caller for three years. This season he guided them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
“You could say this is the end of a chapter (in Brownsville Veterans football),” Chargers coach David Cantu said. “Some chapters are short, but the chapter about Marcus is a long one with a good finish.
“I’m just proud to be his coach,” Cantu added. “I’ve coached some really good quarterbacks (at the high school level in Los Fresnos and Brownsville), and he’s right up there with them.”
Castillo culminates his senior season of football for the 7-4 Chargers as The Brownsville Herald’s 2015 All-Metro Offensive MVP.
“This is truly a blessing to me and it really means a lot,” Castillo said of the All-Metro Offensive MVP award, which is the same honor he received on the All-District 32-6A team this season.
“As a teammate (to the guys on this squad) I knew I had to be (more) vocal and step up as a leader (this season),” he added. “When we were in tough situations, I’d look into the crowd and I could see my parents and family, and they just brought a smile to my face. If we were down by so many points, my mom (Flora Cavazos) would tell me (from the stands), ‘Pick it up right now! Pick it up for your team!’ and I would be like, ‘Yes Ma’am, I will.’
“Playing for my friends and family just meant so much to me.”
Through 11 games this season, Castillo, 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, rushed 201 times for 1,303 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also completed 121 of 220 pass attempts for 1,387 yards and 14 TDs along with 13 interceptions.
“Marcus is an athlete with poise, maturity and a positive attitude who believes in his teammates,” Cantu said. “ He’s at his best in the fourth quarter. He’s a tremendous player who can spearhead a comeback. He did that against Harlingen South, Hanna and Weslaco East.”
During the Chargers’ Class 6A Division II bi-district playoff game Nov. 12 on the road against Weslaco East, Castillo led his team on a 99-yard scoring drive to pull within one point of the Wildcats, 21-20, with 12 seconds left. The Chargers came within a missed two-point conversion of advancing to the second round.
“It was pretty special for this group to get back into the playoffs,” Castillo said. “It meant a lot to me to experience it for the first time. Our coach set it up and gave us the message by telling us we were going to do great things. Throughout the season we stayed together. We told ourselves that we would get there (to the postseason), and things fell into place.
“When we got the ball at the 1-yard line (against East with time winding down), I told myself, ‘We’re going to go (score), we’re going to keep on fighting and pushing,’ and sure enough, we did,” he added. “I just wish things had turned out differently (on that missed two-point conversion).”
Despite such a tough loss, Castillo, who played through an injury toward the end of the season, said he is grateful for his coaches, teammates and family during a senior year to remember.
“At the beginning of the season I was very satisfied (with my play),” he added. “All my hard work was finally paying off.
“Yeah, I did get hurt, but I wasn’t the only one playing with an injury,” he added. “You just have to play through it and just keep fighting, and that’s what I did. Playing for this team meant a lot, and the memories will always be there.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.