Expanded BISD middle-school football competition considered a success

Brownsville ISD middle schools experienced a change in football competition in 2008 by playing opponents from outside the city for the first time in at least two decades.

BISD's 10 middle schools were divided into two conferences so they could compete against teams from Los Fresnos, San Benito and Harlingen.

The new arrangement for football was so well received by all parties involved that the format has been extended to a small portion of BISD's middle-school basketball seasons, which began in November for the girls and will start in late January for the boys. School officials said track and softball may be the next sports in BISD to benefit from going against out-of-town competition on a regular basis.

"I personally enjoyed competing with the Harlingen schools," Brownsville Garcia Middle School Athletic Coordinator Gilbert Garces Jr. said. "I know that our athletes also enjoyed the season since our track teams have competed with all three cities before, and we have been curious what it would be like to compete with them in football.

"Our athletes also got to experience traveling out of town to play football," Garces added. "In the past, they only get to experience that when they get to high school. Another benefit was our athletes got to see different styles of offenses and defenses other than just what the Brownsville schools run. 

"As middle school athletic coordinators, we've always thought that our kids could compete with the other middle schools in districts 31-5A and 32-5A football, and some of our records (from the past season) support that."

Besides the athletic directors from each school district, also working on the project were Sandra Powers from BISD and Belinda Perez from San Benito. 

Powers said she remembers competing against Harlingen and San Benito in volleyball and basketball as a Stell Middle School student in the late 1970s. She believes BISD volleyball, basketball and football teams stopped competing against out-of-town opponents sometime in the 1980s because the school district was growing. As a coach at Cummings in 1990, she said BISD middle schools were only competing against each other at that time.

Powers said she was asked by BISD Superintendent Hector Gonzales and BISD Athletic Director Joe Rodriguez approximately one year ago to develop schedules that would allow BISD middle schools an opportunity to play other school districts in football. 

"It worked out well because everyone agreed to follow each other's rules," said Powers, who has supervised BISD middle-school athletic programs for the past eight years. "Every school district had its own uniqueness. So far, it's worked out. Football was the pilot program. Everyone liked it."

Still, getting the 10 middle schools from Brownsville grouped into two conferences with five middle schools from Harlingen, three from San Benito and three from Los Fresnos was no easy task.

"Harlingen's five middle schools are allowed to play football games only on Saturdays, while Los Fresnos' three schools and San Benito's three schools wanted to continue to play on Tuesday nights beginning at 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. depending on the traffic," Powers said. "Since Brownsville's middle schools do not have lighted fields like Los Fresnos and San Benito, Joe and I asked our high school athletic coordinators for their cooperation and assistance to play some games at their fields. They were troopers and agreed."

Conference I consisted of Brownsville schools Garcia, Lucio, Oliveira and Stillman along with Harlingen schools Coakley, Gutierrez, Memorial, Vela and Vernon. These teams played their games on Saturday mornings in Brownsville and Harlingen.

Conference II was composed of Brownsville schools Besteiro, Cummings, Faulk, Perkins, Stell and Vela along with Los Fresnos schools Liberty, Los Cuates and Resaca, and San Benito schools Berta Cabaza, Miller Jordan and Riverside. Their games were played at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays.

The top showings by BISD teams in Conference I included Stillman's eighth grade A team (9-0), Garcia's eighth grade A team (6-3), Oliveira's eighth grade B team (6-2) and Lucio's seventh grade B team (6-0-1).

In Conference II, the best records for BISD squads were posted by Perkins' seventh grade A team (8-1), Cummings' eighth grade A team (6-2-1), Perkins' eighth grade A team (6-3) and Vela's eighth grade B team (4-0-1).

Perez said San Benito athletic officials were pleased with the results of the past season's football competition and look forward to possibly expanding the format to other sports. She said middle schools from the Mid- and Upper-Valley already have been experiencing such competition under a "quarter system" in which different sports are played during each quarter of the school year.

"I think things worked out pretty good (in football)," Perez said. "One of the main benefits is exposure to the diversity you get to see (from teams representing other school districts). It's an advantage for the athletes as they move on to high school."

Cornelio Landin, Stell's athletic coordinator, said the new football format and possibilities for expanded competition in other sports have provided a big boost to BISD middle-school athletics.

"The addition of Los Fresnos, San Benito and Harlingen has brought plenty of excitement to our school and community," Landin said. "The parents and athletes are excited, and the crowds speak for themselves. The athletes think they are playing on Friday nights under the lights.

"We tell our kids that these are the athletes they will be seeing for the next five years," he added. "Furthermore, our athletes are finding out how much harder they need to work in the weight room and on the field in order to make a name for themselves in high school. Special thanks goes to Joe Rodriguez, Sandra Powers, our superintendent, our administrators, and our school principal, Acacia Ameel, for enabling this to happen."

Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.