1 week Ago By BY TOM RONCO Special to this Newspaper
The Imperial Valley League champion Brawley High Wildcats placed fourteen players on the 2024 All-IVL football teams while claiming three of four individual awards as voted by the league coaches. The Wildcats, who went a perfect 4-0 in IVL play, ended the season as the highest power-ranked team from the Southeastern Conference in the CIF-San Diego Section and the first team to ever play in the Division I playoffs in the competitive equity era. A senior-laden team with the last of what were four-year varsity players because of the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 spring season and subsequent Fall 2021 season, the Wildcat experience factor was clearly on display.
All fourteen 2024 All-IVL football team members from Brawley are seniors, including 2024 IVL individual award winners Offensive Player-of-the-Year, Sergio Garcia, Defensive Player-of-the-Year, Matthew Gutierrez, and Kicker-of-the-Year, Diego Padilla. “It was not a surprise that we were a good team..
.I’ve noticed coaching how important seniors are..
.special year, special kids,” said 2024 Brawley coach Lawrence Landy. The IVL Punter-of-the-Year was Central High Spartan senior Miguel Vega.
A close tandem on and off the field, Brawley’s Garcia and Gutierrez teamed up on offense as receiver and quarterback and on defense as defensive back and line-backer/edge rusher, respectively. Garcia, who holds the unique honor of having won a Bell Game as both a Spartan and a Wildcat, came to Brawley last spring and gave a welcome boost to the football team. “I knew this was a special group and would be very good offensively, we had four returning linemen, a quarterback, a running back, and receivers, and then Bubba moved in,” Landy said.
“We knew the defense was going to be stout and we were going to be strong on the back-end and then you throw Bubba in there...
and we become a very solid defense.” Landy saw Gutierrez’s season as reminiscent of Brawley’s last generational team of 2004 whom he knew as an assistant coach. “Matt reminds me a lot of Marty Mohamed in terms of competitiveness,” Landy said.
“He’s a fierce competitor which is the best competitor and you can’t coach that.” However, according to Landy, you can help players maximize their potential as a coach. “All you can try to do is try to harness it to keep him productive on the field.
..when Matt harnessed it he was the best quarterback we could ask for,” Landy said.
”He could do everything we wanted physically and also could read defenses and help us that way too.” Landy emphasized special teams in 2024 with Padilla raising his game as a kicker, adding an extra dimension to Brawley's offense and defense. “Diego is so talented that he didn’t get to show how good his leg is because we scored so many touchdowns he didn’t get a chance to kick field goals,” Landy said.
“His kickoffs were a huge part of our defense because his ability to put the ball in the end-zone made opposing offenses start at their 20-yard-line...
that was an advantage for our defense and limited what the other teams could run.” For his role in the 2024 Wildcat season, Landy was voted the IVL Coach-of-the-Year by his peers. Joining Sergio Garcia on the 2024 All-IVL First-Team Offense were Wildcats Matt Gutierrez, Alejandro Cota, and Brandon Porras, while Matthew Moreno, Cruz De Loera, and Joe Lopez were named to the All-IVL Offense Second Team.
Also selected to the 2024 All-IVL First-Team Offense were Imperial Tiger juniors Rashad Robinson and Jordan Malek, Tiger freshman Deren Hueso, Central Spartan senior Nicholas Viesca and junior Emiliano Flores Morales, Calexico Bulldog senior Joseph Guzman, and Southwest Eagle senior Luca Salcedo. Garnering 2024 All-IVL Second-Team Offense honors were Imperial senior Jayden Ayala and junior Giovanni Robles, Calexico juniors Andre Lopez and Eduardo Cazarez, Central senior Alexander Lopez and junior Joshua Garcia, and Southwest senior Andrew Flores and sophomore Leo Valenzuela. Joining Matthew Gutierrez on the 2024 All-IVL First-Team Defense were Brawley’s Sergio Garcia, Andrew Camillo, and Brandon Porras, while Andrew Tigert, Drake Seals, and Roy Rosas were selected to the All-IVL Defense Second Team.
Also named to the 2024 All-IVL First-Team Defense were Imperial seniors Julian Jimenez, Danny Esquivez, and Darian Romo, Central senior Gavyn Mora and junior Matthew Lizaola, Calexico senior Luis Vasquez, and Southwest junior Abe Moreno. Calexico seniors Julian York and Enrique Cota, Central seniors Davion Hartfield and Alex Trejo, Imperial junior Samuel Ruvalcaba and sophomore Noah Larios, and Southwest senior Andrew Flores and sophomore Leo Valenzuela were selected for the 2024 All-IVL Second-Team Defense..
