BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
WESLACO — With a seven-point lead and less than two minutes remaining, Miguel Santos couldn’t help but ponder the worst case scenario.
“We were just scared,” the Weslaco East senior linebacker said. “We were thinking, ‘Man, can this be our last game?’”
Though East appeared on the brink of collapse, a timely defensive stand prolonged the Wildcats season as they defeated Brownsville Veterans Memorial 21-20 during Friday’s bi-district game at Bobby Lackey Stadium.
East advances to the area round and awaits the winner of Del Rio-La Joya Palmview.
In a game that pitted two of the Valley’s more efficient offensive units against one another, points came at a premium as sloppy play and punts abounded. Weslaco East punted to Veterans with 2:12 left on the clock and a 21-14 lead to its advantage.
With the ball on the 1-yard line, the Chargers, led by senior quarterback Marcus Castillo, went 94 yards in two minutes, ripping off big plays and using the sideline to their advantage. With 12 seconds left, Castillo stomped into the end zone to pull Veterans within one point.
“I thought we were going to choke out and lose the game,” Santos said.
Chargers coach David Cantu called timeout to draw up a two-point conversion in hopes of advancing to the area round.
“We came here to Weslaco East to win,” Cantu said. “I don’t have any regrets about the decision.”
With Castillo lined up as a receiver, he stood motionless during the play’s opening seconds before sprinting on a screen route towards the end zone before Joshua Alaniz lobbed the ball his way. Castillo bobbled the ball on the 1-yard line before dropping it as he was hit by East defenders, giving the win to the Wildcats.
“When (Castillo) took off, I could see one of our guys in the back slip,” East defensive coordinator Rene Guzman said. “It was one of those things where everything was going in slow motion. The pass took forever to get there, but our kids converged and just made the hit.”
The Wildcats’ defensive stand was indicative of their entire first-half performance. Though Veterans entered averaging over 400 yards of offense and 36 points per game, the Chargers (7-4) were scoreless through the first two quarters.
“We wanted to shorten the game up,” East coach Mike Burget said. “We wanted to run the ball and kill clock and limit their possessions. But our defense did a great job as well.”
East’s first defensive highlight came from senior Ciro Rojas, who intercepted Castillo late in the first quarter and returned the ball 33 yards to give the Wildcats a first down on the Chargers 29-yard line. Four plays later, senior running back Emilio Tamez burst into the end zone from 14 yards out to collect his second of three touchdowns on the night.
“Ciro has played tremendous for us in every game this season,” Burget said. “He does so many things for us and does each of them so well, whether it’s running for touchdowns, catching touchdowns, returning kickoffs or getting interceptions. If he isn’t one of the Valley’s best players, I don’t know who is.”
CHARGING AHEAD AFTER THE BREAK
The Chargers’ offense rediscovered its potency in the second half. On their first drive of the third quarter, Castillo rushed for 52 yards and set up an 11-yard touchdown run from Carlos Garza to put Veterans on the board 14-7 with 7:41 left in the period.
Though Castillo threw his second interception of the night to East’s JC Vargas, Castillo responded on the team’s ensuing possession with a 14-yard score.
Castillo finished with 131 passing yards on 12-of-24 attempts in addition to 188 rushing yards and two scores on 24 carries.
TAMEZ, TAMEZ, TAMEZ
Emilio Tamez finished the regular season as the leading rusher in District 31-6A with 1,250 yards. He kept a similar pace compared to his per game average, rushing for 171 yards on 24 carries. Through 10 games, Tamez has scored 18 touchdowns, second-best on the Wildcats (8-2) behind Rojas.
Tamez’s third touchdown gave East 21-7 lead with 11:48 in the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT
The venue for East’s area round matchup hinges on the opponent they face. If Del Rio defeats La Joya Palmview on Saturday, the Wildcats will likely travel to the San Antonio area. If Palmview is victorious, East will host the Lobos at Bobby Lackey Stadium.
Palmview and East met in the area round a season ago, with the Wildcats winning 56-6.