RGVSports.com
With five teams receiving at least one first-place vote, parity is the only known commodity for the RGVSports.com top 10 poll voters entering the opening week of the regular season.
When all the ballots were tallied, Edinburg Vela narrowly prevailed as the No. 1 team in the rankings, earning 78 points and two first-place selections. Mission Veterans earned 76 points with three first-place votes, McAllen Memorial picked up 75 points with two first-place nods, and San Benito earned 44 points with a single first-place selection. Brownsville Hanna checked into the pole at No. 5 with 44 points, while Los Fresnos notched 37 points and the final first-place pick to rank No. 6.
Sharyland High (32 points), Weslaco East (29 points), PSJA High (22 points) and Harlingen High (14 points) round out the initial rankings.
Each of the teams in first-place consideration has a case to be No. 1.
Vela returns most of its core from a one-loss 2017 season and adds transfer running back Cristian Flores from Edinburg North, while Mission Veterans boasts The Monitor’s All-Area Player of the Year in quarterback Landry Gilpin. McAllen Memorial returns a dynamic rushing attack with quarterback Sean Skaugen and running back Campbell Speights, San Benito holds the distinction of ending last season as the poll’s No. 1 team, and Los Fresnos has advanced to the third round of the postseason in each of its first two years under coach Patrick Brown.
All five of the teams earning first-place attention will be put to the test in Week 1. Vela hosts traditional playoff contender Laredo United at 7 p.m. Thursday, while Mission Veterans has an early rivalry matchup against Mission High at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
No. 3 McAllen Memorial faces the stiffest Valley test of the bunch in Week 1, traveling to face No. 5 Brownsville Hanna at 7 p.m. Thursday, while No. 4 San Benito goes on the road to face powerhouse Corpus Christi Calallen at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
No. 6 Los Fresnos also draws an out-of-Valley hurdle, hosting an El Paso Montwood team that went 10-2 last year.
The following are the teams in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll, with first-place votes in parentheses and total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through 1 point for a 10th-place vote. The nine voters are the writers and editors who cover RGV high school football for AIM Media’s three newspapers: The Monitor, Valley Morning Star, and Brownsville Herald.
Record Points
1. Edinburg Vela (2) 0-0 78
2. Mission Veterans (3) 0-0 76
3. McAllen Memorial (2) 0-0 75
4. San Benito (1) 0-0 69
5. Brownsville Hanna 0-0 44
6. Los Fresnos (1) 0-0 37
7. Sharyland High 0-0 32
8. Weslaco East 0-0 29
9. PSJA High 0-0 22
10. Harlingen High 0-0 14
Other teams receiving votes: Brownsville Veterans (8); McAllen Rowe (5); Edinburg High (2); Mercedes (1); La Feria (1); Grulla (1); Edcouch-Elsa (1).