Southside nets first victory under Vela
Now that the Brackenridge portion of his football career is over, the Eagles await Ramon Richards’ decision on whether he’ll play basketball this year. Meanwhile, the senior standout’s prospective teammates have served notice that they’ll be fine, with or without Richards.
Brackenridge (2-2) hadn’t played a game when it embarked on the SACS Fall Classic last Thursday, and the initiation included losses to Lee (67-59) and host San Antonio Christian (53-49). The Eagles wrapped up the tournament with a pair of wins last Friday, defeating Memorial (1-3) 63-52 and Southside (1-3) 64-34 in the maroon bracket consolation final.
“We’re really young, but we have a really bright future ahead of us,” Brackenridge coach Joey Isaac said. “There were a lot of good things that happened this weekend. To go 2-2, I was really happy about our first four games.”
Brackenridge starts two sophomores, Nathan Lopez and 6-foot-4 Richard Wallace, along with three returning veterans. Seniors Devante Anderson and Gabriel Hildebrand are team-leading scorers with deft shooting touches. Junior Aaron Lopez is the point guard in his third varsity season.
Richards incurred a concussion and an ankle sprain during football season.
“He’s a great defensive stopper,” Isaac said. “He’s also a great motivator and leader, but I wish him the best whatever decision he makes.”
The Eagles’ archrival Burbank was the only other area team to win two games at the Fall Classic.
After dropping its season-opener 63-43 to Harlandale, Burbank won its first two tournaments games Thursday. Michael Mascoro led the Bulldogs with nine points against Harlandale.
The Bulldogs defeated Warren 77-58 and Southside 59-35 Thursday. Last Friday, they finished with the gold bracket championship game against Laredo United, but the score was not reported.
Southside
The Burbank game was the season opener for the Cardinals (1-3). New coach Romy Vela, who coached at Central Catholic the previous several years, was hired for the start of the school year, so they had to hit the ground running.
After losing 81-59 to Warren and to Burbank Thursday, Southside began Friday with an 85-79 double-overtime win over Jefferson. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they were feeling the after-effects when they faced Brackenridge.
Vela is building the program around senior veterans Drevon Brown and Francisco Solis. Like Brack, the Cardinals will get a boost from their football team. Four players practiced for the first time last week.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Vela said, “but the kids have responded the way we wanted them to. That was a good win.”
Highlands
The Owls (3-2) reached the consolation championship of the challenging Northside ISD Tournament, where they fell to McAllen Rowe 54-39.
Highlands began the season with an impressive 83-71 non-district win over East Central (2-3) Nov. 12 behind 21 points from sophomore DeMarcus Hartfield. The Owls lost their opening game at the tournament 58-49 to Brandeis last Thursday, but didn’t lose again until they faced Rowe Saturday.
In Friday’s games, Highlands defeated Laredo Martin 74-57 and Roosevelt 56-54. In the consolation championship, Hartfield led the Owls with 19 points. Joseph Jackson was the next-highest scorer with six.
Central Catholic
The Buttons (1-4) had a rough first week under Vela’s successor, Bruce McConaghy.
After losing its opener 73-60 to Alamo Heights Nov. 13, Central Catholic trounced Taft 79-47 in its first game at the Northside tournament last Thursday as junior Tony Lewis scored 19 points. A day later, the Buttons lost 73-64 to MacArthur and 61-51 to Stevens. In the tournament finale, they lost a 52-51 heartbreaker to Reagan (3-2).
SAN ANTONIO SOUTH SIDE SPORTS 