RGV all-stars triumph 30-0 in Summer Bowl
The Rio Grande Valley all-stars are 2009 Summer Bowl champions.
RGV defeated an all-star team from the Corpus Christi area 30-0 Saturday night at Brownsville Sports Park in the inaugural Summer Bowl.
The players came from semipro teams that recently completed their seasons in the Texas United Football League. The RGV squad was comprised of players from the Brownsville Outlaws, Edinburg Landsharks and Gulf Coast Nightmare of Harlingen.
The Corpus Christi squad included players from semipro teams in Kingsville, Alice, Robstown and Orange Grove.
“I see Corpus coming back (next year) loaded with more players now that they have seen first-hand what it’s like to play against the Rio Grande Valley’s best,” said RGV defensive end Juan Fortaneli, who is also the Outlaws’ general manager. “I am looking forward to next year’s matchup in 2010 Summer Bowl II.
“Overall, the (all-star) players from the Outlaws, Landsharks and Nightmare played very good, and the fans were enjoying it,” he added.
The Corpus Christi all-stars marched to the RGV 10-yard line on their first drive, but couldn’t get any farther. RGV answered with three touchdowns to take a 21-0 halftime lead.
RGV quarterback Rudy Chapa of the Outlaws threw scoring passes of 60 yards to Byron Gonzalez of the Landsharks and 30 yards to Sedric Dallas, also of the Landsharks, before getting into the end zone himself on a 20-yard scramble just before halftime. Martin Delgado of the Nightmare added the conversions.
Chapa rushed for another TD in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.
Defensive standouts for RGV included Luis Piñeda, Omar Flores and Joe Frank Alonzo of the Outlaws, Marco Garcia and Jay Zamorano of the Nightmare, and Brandon Highsmith of the Landsharks.
Summer football isn’t over for the RGV all-stars. They are expected to join forces again next month for a game against the LEFXA Aztecas, an all-star team from Mexico.
The game is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 29 at Brownsville Sports Park.
Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.
