Smithson Valley soars to first Texas state title berth since 2004: 'They had this in mind all along'

Rangers blow out Brownsville Veterans Memorial in Texas high school UIL 5A Division I semifinals

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — The drought is over.

After a near 20-year hiatus, Smithson Valley is headed to the Texas high school state championship football game, running past the Brownsville Veterans Chargers 49-21 in the UIL 5A Division I semifinals Friday at Buccaneer Stadium in Corpus Christi.

The victory advances the Rangers (14-1) to the state championship game for the first time since 2004. They’ll take on Aledo in the 5A Division I title game at 7 p.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

“This team thought they’d be in the state championship,” Smithson Valley head coach Larry Hill said. “This is not a shock. They had this in mind all along. It was a tough road. It has been a tough road, but they met it head on. We’ll be proud to get on that bus next Friday.”

Smithson Valley defeats Veterans Memorial: Live score, updates of Texas high school football semifinal

The Rangers established their dominance from the opening drive, needing only four plays to march 74 yards for the game’s opening score. Junior running back Brad Sowersby found pay dirt first for Smithson Valley, breaking a 28-yard touchdown run on his second carry of the night.

A quick three-and-out by the Chargers gave the Rangers the ball back just two minutes later, with Sowersby finding the end zone for a second time to make it 14-0 with 2:19 remaining in the opening period.

The two-touchdown first quarter was just the start of a dominant showing by Smithson Valley, adding three more touchdowns during the second quarter to take a commanding 35-0 lead into the break.

Junior Daniel DeHoyos scored two of the Rangers’ second-quarter touchdowns, getting into the end zone on runs of 3 and 8 yards.

“I thought a fast start was a big deal,” Hill said. “Last two games, it has been a little slow against some of those teams we played. I think the fast start got Brownsville Veterans on their heels a little bit. Their style of offense getting down three or four touchdowns makes it tough. I didn’t know if we could do that, but it was big that we did.”

The Rangers delivered the knockout blow less than a minute into the second half, with senior wideout Cole Freund breaking a 75-yard touchdown run on their first play to make it 42-0.

The touchdown marked Freund’s second of the night, also scoring on a 7-yard run during the second quarter.

With the lead well in hand after the score, the Rangers turned to their bench, pulling their starters on both sides of the ball.

Freshman running back Caleb Peagler added the final touches on the Rangers’ victory, punching it in from 3 yards to make it 49-0 heading into the final quarter.

Brownsville Veterans showed signs of life during the fourth quarter, scoring on three straight drives to make the final score 49-21.

Veterans Memorial 'speechless' after reaching Texas high school football semifinals for first time

Senior do-it-all athlete Gilbert Trillo scored a pair of touchdowns during the final period, finding the endzone on runs of 4 and 14 yards. Senior wideout Gerry Gomez also chipped in a 9 yard touchdown reception on a pass from junior quarterback Storm Montoya.

The Chargers season ends at 12-3 overall, becoming the first team in program history to reach the UIL football state semifinals. Brownsville Veterans is also the first Rio Grande Valley football team to reach the final four since the 2003 Port Isabel Tarpons.

“I could not be prouder of our community,” Chargers head coach J.C. Ramirez said. “We were down by a bunch of points and they were still chanting and yelling their hearts out. That just shows that is the makeup our kinds brings to this game.”

-- Ivan Palacios | @sblivetx

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All photos by Blake Purcell.

Photo by Blake Purcell

Photo by Blake Purcell

Photo by Blake Purcell

Photo by Blake Purcell