By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Brownsville Pace Vikings executed in all phases of the game to earn a 38-7 win over the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers on Saturday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The Vikings (3-1, 3-1) scored on the ground, in the air and on special teams, and used a lot of different weapons on offense to keep the Chargers (2-4, 1-3) guessing. A solid all-around defensive outing kept Brownsville Veterans from having much success moving the ball.
Pace coach Danny Pardo felt his team wasn’t focused enough in the first half despite leading 10-0 at halftime, and his locker room message was well-received. The Vikings turned up their effort during the second half to control and open up the game.
“They were too loose in the beginning of the game,” Pardo said. “I think part of it is there was not a lot of significance in this game, so we went inside and tried to refocus them. (Brownsville Veterans) gave us a front that we’re not used to, but once we figured out what they were doing we opened it up a little bit (and) in the second half we ran the ball a lot better. (Defensively), we were a little disappointed in some of the mistakes, especially in the back end, but once we corrected that stuff, they settled back down.”
The Vikings were rolling on their opening drive as senior quarterback Jose Banda connected with senior running back Marc Garcia and sophomore receiver Brandon Narvaez to quickly get into Chargers territory. Banda and sophomore running back Ivan Gonzalez notched some strong runs to get down to the 10-yard-line.
But the Brownsville Veterans linebacker duo of senior Gabriel Aleman and junior Jorge Alvarado along with senior defensive back Alexander Ampadu stepped up to keep Pace out of the end zone. Vikings junior kicker Christopher Zapata made a 28-yard field goal to salvage the drive.
Banda extended Pace’s lead with a 3-yard rushing touchdown during the second quarter. The quarterback hit senior receiver Dominik Morales and junior tight end Chase Morales to set up the score.
The Chargers struggled to find any offensive rhythm during the first half, but their defense performed well. Ampadu added an interception to a first-half resume filled with tackles and broken up passes as he dove for a pass deflected by senior defensive back Edgar Nohpal when Pace targeted a receiver in the end zone with 46 seconds on the clock.
The play gave Brownsville Veterans some momentum heading into the locker room, and coach David Cantu decided to keep riding it when play resumed. Junior Jose Medrano executed a clinical onside kick on the opening kickoff, and Alvarado recovered. Senior quarterback/receiver Marlon Montelongo took over under center and used his legs to move the ball and cap the drive with a 9-yard rushing touchdown.
“We came out with the onside thinking, ‘What do we have to lose?’” Cantu said. “Tried to get some momentum, Jose Medrano kicked a beautiful onside kick and we got the recovery. Offensively, that was the one possession we scored with. It goes to show how important momentum is and the feeling that kids get when positive things happen. We’re still just trying to work on creating more of those positive moments.”
Pace quickly turned the tides back in its favor as Garcia returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Garcia extended Pace’s lead to 24-7 as he used his speed to turn a screen pass from Banda into a 56-yard score.
“I felt pretty good tonight,” Garcia said. “The first half was a little iffy for me. I was trying to find the holes but couldn’t really find any. I just want to thank my O-line, they’re out there putting in the work, helping me get some holes, get some yardage. (Our offense is) good both ways, running the ball and in the air. When we get clicking, we can’t be stopped, and I think we’re a pretty good O.”
The Vikings recovered a fumbled kickoff after the touchdown, and Banda found junior receiver Alexander Agado wide open for a 25-yard touchdown and Pace’s third score of the quarter. Gonzalez tacked on the final score of the night on a 17-yard carry late in the fourth.
Junior linebacker Jorge Rodriguez, senior defensive back Danny Salazar and the defensive line duo of junior Gabriel Galvan and senior Andrew Banda were among the top defensive contributors for the Vikings.
Montelongo and junior running back Jose Moreno handled the lion’s share of the touches for the Chargers’ offense. Sophomore Reece Sampayo started at quarterback and rotated with Montelongo throughout the night to gain varsity experience in preparation for next season.
“It was a 10-7 game in the third quarter, and it goes to show how important special teams is, because they put together a kickoff return for a touchdown and then we fumbled a return and they made a great play on that,” Cantu said. “That was the big swing. Credit to (Pace), they executed and overall they were a better team than we were tonight.”