San Benito and Weslaco East are established elite programs in the RGV. Both Mike Burget’s Wildcats (3-1, 1-0) and Dan Gomez’s Greyhounds (4-0, 1-0) have shown signs of district championship-level football. The issue is, they compete in the most challenging district in the Valley, hands down.
On Friday, the titans will clash at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco, where one team will try to pave its path to 32-6A supremacy.
In last year’s meeting, San Benito triumphed 25-19 on home turf. Erick Retta tossed for three touchdowns in the win. Weslaco East couldn’t complete the comeback after a late score, failing the ensuing onside kick.
Neither team went on to win the district last season, as Harlingen High locked up that spot. District 32-6A teams went on to sweep 31-6A in the first round of the playoffs, proving the strong district schedule counted for something even without a district crown.
This year, San Benito looks like the class of the Valley, while Weslaco East isn’t far behind.
Retta has thrown for 506 yards plus six TDs, while star running back Tyrone Harper has rushed for 600 yards and seven scores.
San Benito hasn’t been in danger of dropping a game since its Week 1 comeback win over Laredo United. Last week, the Greyhounds won by 10 against a strong Los Fresnos team, never trailing before taking control in the late stages.
The Wildcats only have one blemish on their record — a Sept. 9 loss to McAllen Memorial. In that loss, Weslaco uncharacteristically turned the ball over six times, even while doing a decent job moving the football.
The loss seemed to be taken as a wake-up call because their next two games were pure domination. The Wildcats outscored Edinburg Economedes and Weslaco High by a combined 91-21 and aim to keep the offense on that roll.
Weslaco East running back Roy Pedraza suffered a knee injury last week against Weslaco High, and his status for this week’s game is unclear.
If Pedraza is out or not at 100 percent, the Wildcats will look toward their other offensive weapons. Quarterback Richard LeFevre is shining as a passer in his senior season. He’s thrown for 625 yards and 10 touchdowns.
J.C. Vargas has been his usual all-around playmaking self so far in 2017. He has scored three rushing TDs and caught another seven. He will also be key on kick returns to get the Wildcats into decent field position.