By the Numbers: Working overtime

It was the most exciting game Brownsville Rivera had ever been involved in.
On Sept. 22, 1996 the Raiders went four overtimes before losing to Victoria 44-38 in the second round of the playoffs at Buc Stadium in Corpus Christi.
That struggle is No. 38 in the Valley Morning Star's "By The Numbers" series.
"That had to be the greatest game we've ever been involved in," said then Rivera head coach Tom Chavez, who is now head coach at Hanna.
With 1:33 left in the game, the Raiders led 17-10 on a 21-yard draw play by Gerald Neal.
And when the Stingarees had problems with the kickoff and started at their own 5, things looked really good for the Raiders.
However, Victoria quarterback Robert Mejia drove the Stingarees 95 yards to send the game into overtime with the tying score coming on a 49-yard pass to Justin Michalk.
"I liked our chances after we took the lead," Chavez said. "Things were looking good. But they made some big plays and took us into overtime."
Both teams scored on their first three possessions with Raiders quarterback Jesse Alvarez throwing three of his four touchdowns. Alvarez finished with 237 yards passing and four touchdowns.
The Stingarees went to bruising running back Sedrick Brown, a 6-foot-2, 200 pound junior. He turned in a workhorse-performance with 47 carries for 176 yards, including 11 for 65 yards in overtime.
Rivera had the ball first in the fourth overtime and Rivera defensive end Juan Jasso was on the sideline getting some instructions from Chavez on what to do when he went in the game on Victoria's possession.
"Coach was going through what he wanted us to do and who to take out when we heard a deafening roar," said Jasso via an e-mail from England. Jasso is now a football coach at the University of York.
"Coach stopped talking and we were all watching as our dream slipped away. On the field, we saw a sea of red standing and cheering as one of their players intercepted a pass and ran it back to seal our fate and end our fantastic run."
Victoria linebacker Brandon Grunewald picked off Alvarez and returned it 83 yards for the game-ending touchdown.
"We couldn't believe it," Jasso said. "All the seniors were devastated. I cried and so did a lot of others. We had come this far and played our guts out and come up just a little short. It was so hard to swallow."
After the game, the Victoria coach came over to the Raiders and told them it was the hardest game the Stingarees had played.
The next season the UIL changed the rule requiring that teams go for a two-point conversion after two overtimes
The game was a defensive struggle until the fourth quarter with Victoria taking a 10-3 edge into the period.
Alvarez hit George Hite with a 77-yard score to tie the game and then Romuliss Lopez picked off Mejia to give the Raiders the ball at the Stingarees' 24 and set the stage for Neal's touchdown run.
However, the Stingarees had a little bit of magic left and were able to send the game into overtime.
"We probably weren't expected to do as well against them," Chavez said. "Both teams had chances. I feel bad for our kids...they wanted it really badly. I love them, what can I say? They played their hearts out."
It was a very good season for the Raiders, who finished 10-2 on the season, finishing second in District 32-5A and beating unbeaten McAllen Rowe, 35-14 in the first round of the playoffs.
Alvarez was a first team All-Valley quarterback, Albert Coronado was a first-team All-Valley receiver and Henry Partida was a first team All-Valley offensive guard.
On defense, the Raiders had All-Valley first teamers in linebacker Jerry Anaya and defensive back Freddy Blanco.

By the Numbers is a periodic series that corresponds the number of days until the start of the 2008 Valley high school football season with a memorable athlete or moment. Today marks 38 days until kickoff.