PLAYOFFS:......Clock Strikes Midnight For Brownsville Vets In Semifinals Loss to Smithson Valley...Down 49-0, They Lose 49-21...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas |...Cinderella walked home. Well, walked off the football field here in the form of the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers, losers in Friday's Texas high school Division 5A semifinals to the dominant Smithson Valley Rangers, 49-21.

The final score told only one story.

This much-anticipated game was over at halftime, Smithson Valley leading 35-0 by then after scoring all five times it had the ball in the first half. When it received the kickoff for the start of the second half, Smithson Valley's senior wide receiver Cole Freund ran it back all the way.

42-0.

The lead grew to 49-0, as Brownsville Head Coach J.C. Ramirez stubbornly clung to a running game that was stopped over and over and over. Ultimately, the Vets would score on the ground, but that would come late in the fourth quarter against Smithson Valley second-stringers.

As advertised and noted in newspaper write-ups before the contest, it was the Rangers vaunted running attack that dominated the line of scrimmage from the very beginning. Smithson Valley scored touchdowns on all five drives in the first half, using mostly end sweeps to find the end zone.

Perhaps it was the clearly-visible energy brought to the game by the Rangers, but Vets players - on offense and defense - looked lethargic. The fire seen in Vets QB Storm Montoya (shown in photo above) in the previous two come-from-behind games wasn't there. In fact, he was harried, hurried, harassed and harpooned by Smithson Valley's defensive line, one play in which Montoya was viciously slammed to the turf symbolic of his long night for the Brownsville eleven.

Enter backup QB Cesar Sosa.

The night's only bright spot for the over-matched Vets was the play of senior jitterbug receiver Gilbert Trillo. He seemed to find yardage every time he was handed the football, scoring two of Brownsville three touchdowns, this after the game had been settled, however.  

All in all, it was a proud run into the state semifinals for the Rio Grande Valley squad, which finished the season with a respectable 12-3 record. The Rangers now play the tough Aledo Bearcats in the Finals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Powerhouse Aledo easily beat Forney yesterday to remain undefeated and in line for its 12th state title. Smithson Valley is 14-1 after beating Brownsville.

There will be talk. No one likes to lose. Stadium boobirds and loud couch critics back home always get their say. But reaching the state semifinals is some accomplishment for the gutsy Valley squad. There should be no hanging of the heads or expressions of regret. The game is decided on the field and the field action said Smithson Valley won the game. Coaching decisions - the game plans - are on the coaches.

"We made history, even though we did not get the outcome today, but we made history in Brownsville," Chargers senior linebacker Jaime Martinez told a reporter for RGV Sports.

History can be fun or cruel.

Like wins and losses in high school football...

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