For the first time ever, The Monitor has selected dual high school football Games of the Week, as the Rio Grande Valley enters its first-ever district championship weekend on the gridiron.
The Edinburg Vela SaberCats (4-0, 3-0) will face the Mission High Eagles (4-0, 3-0) for the District 31-6A championship and the Mercedes Tigers (5-0, 3-0) will battle the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks (3-0, 3-0) in The Monitor’s Games of the Week, both of which kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.
Friday night’s games between the Vela and Mission and Mercedes and Pioneer also represent the first matchups between two top-five teams in the RGVSports.com Top 10 Poll for the entire season and will feature the top four ranked high school football teams in Hidalgo County vying for a pair of district titles, all of whom enter as unbeaten zone champions.
MISSION HIGH VS. EDINBURG VELA
The top-ranked SaberCats, champions of 31-6A’s north zone, will take on the third-ranked Eagles in one of the most anticipated Class 6A district games in the RGV this season.
After being put on and pulled off the schedule repeatedly due to scheduling difficulties relating to COVID-19 throughout the regular season, this matchup between the No. 1 and 2 offenses and defenses in District 31-6A — both in terms of points and yards — is finally set.
This epic district championship clash will also feature two of the Rio Grande Valley’s top veteran quarterbacks in Mission High junior Jeremy Duran and Edinburg Vela senior AJ Sotelo, two of three RGV quarterbacks at the 6A level who will eclipse 1,000 yards passing this season.
It’s a matchup that should also pit two of the Valley’s best receiving corps and offensive lines against a pair of the area’s stingiest, ball-hawking defenses.
This will be the first appearance in The Monitor’s Game of the Week for Mission High this season. The SaberCats are 1-0 in The Monitor’s Game of the Week this season after taking down the Mission Veterans Patriots 47-15 in their season opener at Tom Landry Stadium in Mission.
The No. 1 Edinburg Vela SaberCats and No. 3 Mission High Eagles will duel in the District 31-6A Championship Game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
SHARYLAND PIONEER VS. MERCEDES
The RGV’s No. 2 and No. 5 teams are set to collide for the District 16-5A Division II championship Friday night as the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks take on the Mercedes Tigers at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The Diamondbacks are 4-0 on the year and won the district’s West Zone by going unbeaten with wins over Roma (56-16), Mission Veterans (49-35) and Sharyland High (54-41).
Meanwhile, Mercedes is 5-0 overall and captured the 16-5A DII East Zone by staying perfect against PSJA Memorial (68-0), Edcouch-Elsa (34-21) and PSJA Southwest (17-0).
Last year’s District 16-5A DII District title race came down to these two — now the Diamondbacks will look to repeat as district champions by getting past the Tigers.
This one will also feature a matchup of APSE all-state football players as Pioneer quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger (1,545 passing yards, 440 rushing yards, 25 total touchdowns) leads the high-flying Diamondbacks into a matchup with a stingy Mercedes defense led by linebacker Brandon Adame (33 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble in five games).
Kickoff between the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks and Mercedes Tigers is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Follow for live updates from every game across the Rio Grande Valley this week, follow @rgvsports.com on Facebook and Twitter.