The heavy tropical downpour an hour before kickoff may have been foreshadowing for the Brahmas home opening 55-13 loss to Victoria East. And the late summer thunderstorm also delayed the kickoff for about 45 minutes.

The inclement weather didn’t stop the pre-kickoff ceremony to honor the retirement of former Brahma Josh Johnson’s jersey. The special guests included Johnson’s entire family, former head coach, classmates and teammates. Johnson passed away ten years ago due to complications of Crohn’s disease.

Fortunately, Javelina Stadium’s field quickly absorbed the mass rainwater as there were neither signs of mud nor loss of traction by either team. Unfortunately, the wet conditions didn’t help the Brahmas contain the Titans’ high-octane powered offense.

The Titans quickly scored 35 unanswered points in the first half, four touchdowns coming in the first quarter. One of these touchdowns was 95-yard interception that defensive back Josh McClure cashed in at the opposite end zone.

The Brahmas offense did muster up some home field excitement seconds before halftime when running back John Houston punched in a goal line dive for a touchdown. Kicker Matthew Sanchez added the point after. The halftime score was 35-7.

In the third quarter the Brahmas managed to hold the Titans to one touchdown which fans and coaches could take a bullet point. The Black and Gold blockade did crumble in the fourth quarter as the Titans tacked on two additional touchdowns, bringing the score 55-7.

Finally, it was déjà vu all over again as the Brahmas repeated their first half score in much the same fashion. With less than a minute left in the game, running back Javiel Rojas powered two yards up the middle for last touchdown. The point after missed which brought the final score 55-13.

Victoria East is a new school that plays with an old school winning attitude. Last week, the Titans handed Harlingen South a 76-35 thrashing. Coach Robert Wilcox couldn’t glean anything positive from Titans-Brahmas matchup.

“With the youthfulness of our team, having a forty-minute weather delay had a big impact on our ability to stay focused to play football,” Wilcox said. “We are so young that adversity like that is something we’re not able to mentally handle right now.”

Coach Wilcox and his staff did spend part of the holiday weekend studying game film in order to correct mistakes and quickly right the ship. Wilcox also stated that he refuses accept mediocre football in Kingsville.

“So far what we’re dealing with is ‘it’s okay to be a loser’ around here and it’s not okay with me,” Wilcox said. “‘If we play .500 football we’re okay’ and it’s not okay with me.” The new coach is trying to distance the Bulls and their fans from that “win one - lose one” mentality.

Though Coach Wilcox wouldn’t talk up the team’s overall performance, there were some game highlights worth mentioning such as a QB sack by defensive end Richard Ochoa.

Also defensive back Scottie Boone and linebacker Jordan Polhemus each had a fumble recovery. The Brahmas were also taxed less in penalty yardage as the Titans racked up 15 penalties for 110 yards. Brahmas only had six penalties for 50 yards.

Brahma fans might be excited about next Friday’s matchup as the Bulls host the Mathis Pirates. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Coach Wilcox isn’t taking their next opponent lightly as the Pirates are ranked in the Top 20 of their 3A regional standings.