Chargers blast past Bears on the road
PHARR – Three different Brownsville Veterans players rushed for over 75 yards and at least one touchdown and the defense forced two turnovers as the Chargers took down the PSJA High Bears 35-23 on Friday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
Senior fullback Alvin Trevillion led all rushers for the Chargers during the win, toting the rock 10 times for 113 yards and one touchdown. Montoya added 77 yards and a score on eight carries, while fullback Cesar Belmontes chipped in 75 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
“That team is a great ball club,” Brownsville Veterans quarterback Storm Montoya said. “They got Myles (Lopez) a new transfer. He can throw the ball. He can spin that. They got a great group of receivers there. Our defense played lights out. Our offense showed out We made little mistakes here or there but this is something we can feed off for sure.”
The Chargers wasted no time establishing their smashmouth brand of football, chewing up nearly five minutes of clock during a 10-play, 73-yard touchdown drive on their opening possession.
Belmontes capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown run, the first of two during the opening quarter for the junior.
A muffed punt by the Bears set up the Chargers inside enemy territory later during the opening quarter, with Brownsville Veterans turning PSJA High’s mishap into a quick three-play, 33-yard drive ending in a 11-yard touchdown run by Belmontes to give them a 14-3 lead.
“We practiced and watched film all week,” Brownsville Veterans defensive back Eroz Pineda said. “We had a gameplan set from the very beginning. We knew what we had to do and came out and hit it hard.”
Trailing by 11 points heading into the second, the Bears began to claw themselves back into the game, with senior Ryan Vallejo cutting into the Chargers lead with a 1-yard touchdown run.
The Chargers answered, however, with a big-hit by Pineda forcing a turnover on downs, followed by a 50-yard touchdown pass from Montoya to senior Marc Samano to send Brownsville Veterans into the break with a 21-10 lead.
“Whenever we called that play Coach (Mike) Evans walked me step by step through the play,” Montoya said. “That man is a smart guy. It worked out literally how he told me so props to him.”
An interception by Pineda to start the second half set up the Chargers for another scoring drive, with Montoya punching it in from one yard on the ensuing drive to put his team up 28-10 early in the third.
Back-to-back third quarter touchdowns by the Bears put them right back into the game, with Gabriel Ramirez punching it in from one yard during the third and senior quarterback Myles Lopez hitting Alek Flores for a 1-yard touchdown during the fourth to make it 28-23.
That’s as close as they’d get, with Trevillion rumbling in from 50 yards on the next drive to make and Pineda snagging his second interception of the night to secure the road victory for the Chargers.
The win improves the Chargers to 3-2 with one non-district game remaining, while the Bears drop to 3-2 heading into their bye week.
The Bears get a week break before kicking off District 31-6A play against Edinburg High at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10 at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
Brownsville Veterans closes out non-district play against Sharyland Pioneer at 7 p.m. Thursday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.
“Playing these non-district teams helped us prepare,” Montoya said. “They’re going to be future district champs in their districts. We scheduled these teams for a reason. Playing these guys is going to prepare us for our district, so I think we’re going to be ready.”
