CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Veterans Memorial Eagles roster looks great on paper with a veteran defensive line and senior stud running back Andrew Charlebois to lead the charge.
"We're gonna have a lot of new o-linemen," Charlebois said. "We graduated quite a bit and again like I said last year it's lock and reload with them. They're young guys."
Charlebois is one of three returning offensive starters. He carried a heavy load last season, rushing for 2,245 yards and 26 touchdowns. He'll stand next to a new starting quarterback, but both are seniors and have chemistry with him.
"With the two quarterbacks we've had I've been playing with them since freshman year," Charlebois said. "You know you'd have them come up to play scout team. Just any time they can get on the field you'd see me by them a couple of times, so I've been getting handoffs from these guys for 4 years."
The defense returns about four starters, with a veteran experienced force on the frontlines.
"Me and Frank have speed and strength," said Veterans Memorial defensive tackle Carlo Torres. "Our edge Victor Espinar he's real fast and Joaquin he got both too."
Veterans Memorial is chasing their tenth straight playoff appearance. They'll have to finish in the top four in UIL 5A-DI District 15 against Flour Bluff, Carroll, Harlingen South, Weslaco East, Brownsville Hanna and Brownsville Rivera. Their seasons started back with spring camp when Eagles head coach Ben Bitner saw what his players are capable of.
"I had a bunch of kids come out and compete," Bitner said. "Saw a bunch of kids that we hadn't seen play on Friday night that want to play on Friday night. So trying to carry that over and jobs are open."
Veterans Memorial kicks off the season against Edinburg Vela on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. at Buccaneer Stadium.
