Vaqueros end season in triumph
Julian Salazar | Pulse
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Football Team ended their inaugural season with a win of 33-14 on Saturday against the East Texas A&M Lions.
The Vaqueros ended their season on a high note, leaving with an overall record of 9-3 and remaining undefeated at home 7-0.
The UTRGV Vaqueros were behind in the first quarter before gaining back the lead 20-7 before halftime.
The Vaqueros continued staying ahead of the game in the second half with a 19-point lead against the Lions.
Head coach Travis Bush said he is proud of the way the team battled the toughness and finished the season.
“There’s people that know about UTRGV football that didn’t know a few months ago,” he said. “We’ve set that standard and now the challenge is we got to keep this standard.”
Bush added he knew the team would be able to play strong despite the two and a half hour lightning and rain delay.
“The way they’ve battled, the way they’ve come together and again, they’ve done things that everyone told them they couldn’t,” he said. “Sitting here 9 and 3, [I] just can’t say enough about this group.”
UTRGV quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger said coach Bush prepared them for every situation so the team would know how to handle it.
“Our mentality is always like good, what’s next,” Marburger said. “Everyone knew that’s just not gonna affect us.”
Vaquero defensive back Logic Hudgens said a lesson he took away from the season is to always have faith.
“Just because you’re uncertain about certain things like it can still work out, you just have to be optimistic,” Hudgens said. “Just hang in there, its going to get good.”
Alongside the win, the university honored graduating students in attendance at the game.
UTRGV running back Nathan Denney said the night was special considering it was his final game and the celebration of all the hard work the seniors did throughout the season.
“I’m just super thankful,” he said. “We did a great job this season, we knew it was going to be a good thing like we were all fired up.”
Marburger received cheers and applause as he stepped off the field for the final time midway through the fourth quarter of the game.
According to Marburger, he thinks UTRGV fans are the best.
“This is the place to be,” he said.
As for next season, Bush said he plans to evaluate the team and see what they need to improve on.
“We start recruiting next week and so we’ll start building that next class and we’ll get out of the road and start looking,” Bush said.
He said this season’s team understands how to take on a challenge and go after what they want.
According to Bush, “I don’t know if I’ve ever loved a group as much as I’ve loved this one.”
