Weslaco East is set to make its season debut Thursday in a marquee matchup against Brownsville Pace as the two teams with district championship aspirations clash in The Monitor’s Game of the Week.
Weslaco East is the defending District 31-6A champion. To repeat, the Wildcats (0-0, 0-0) will have to get through Brownsville Pace (1-0, 1-0) in the East Zone of District 16-5A DI.
It will be the first game back at the Class 5A level for the Wildcats, who had no problems winning in 6A the past few seasons. In fact, the Weslaco East football program is riding a 13-year streak of consecutive playoff appearances.
This year, Weslaco East returns two of the top playmakers on each side of the ball in seniors Gio Guerra and Gianni Barrera.
Guerra, a running back, rushed for 732 rushing yards and five total touchdowns last season and will handle a bulk of the carries out of the East backfield.
The Wildcats will also unveil their offense with a new, dangerous weapon in transfer Avery Bowen, a quarterback who eats up yardage on the ground.
Meanwhile, Barrera is one of the Rio Grande Valley’s top defenders at any position. Last season, he led a dominant Wildcats defense with 112 tackles from his middle linebacker spot.
Barrera and the East defense will be facing off against one of the RGV’s most experienced signal-callers in Jose Banda, Brownsville Pace’s three-year starting quarterback. A senior, Banda is a dual-threat who, to put it simply, finds ways to make plays and win games for the Vikings.
The Vikings are coming off a dominant 38-2 win over Brownsville Lopez last week in their season opener.
Kickoff between the Weslaco East Wildcats and Brownsville Pace Vikings is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.