The Brownsville Veterans Chargers are heading into the new season as underdogs after a first-round playoff exit and a 1-3 district record last year.

The Chargers finished 4 in district play and lost to Edinburg before also losing their top running backs, Cesar Belmontes and Calvin Trevillion.

But the team is bringing back real talent. Maddox Bond returns after rushing for 343 yards and 2 touchdowns last season and Chris Alvear is stepping into the fullback position.

The biggest returner is senior quarterback Jake Saenz, who is heading into his second year as the starter.

"He's really come a long way from when we got him as a freshman to now," Head Coach JC Ramirez said. "Now his senior year he's got a lot of the know how, the knowledge base is there. Just having him is going to be tremendous for us. Our calling card of being the most physical team on the field is something that we really want to get back to or continue doing that so we're excited for that."

District 32-6A also got tougher this year with PSJA and PSJA North joining the district.

Saenz said the team is ready for the challenge. "It can't get any more tough than that but I feel like we are ready, we definitely worked hard in the offseason, the weight room, spring football and I feel like we're ready," Saenz said. "We're definitely going to show The Valley what Brownsville Vets is made of."

Ramirez said the team is looking forward to seeing how new players step up. "We're excited to see how we respond to the challenges that we're going to face but we're really excited to see how the kids that are stepping in to new roles are going to shine for the Chargers," Ramirez said. "We're really optimistic about the season."

The Chargers open the season next Friday against St. Joseph Academy before facing Rivera in Week 2.

Week 3 they host the Monterrey Tigers, then take on Hanna and La Joya before a bye week in Week 6.

The second half of the season starts against San Benito, followed by PSJA and Harlingen.

Week 10 brings a matchup against Los Fresnos and the Chargers close out the regular season against PSJA North at Sam's Memorial Stadium.