The top seven teams in the RGVSports.com poll remained the same as Edinburg Vela again topped the poll as the strange regular season winds down.
Vela received four first-place votes to once again to hold off Sharyland Pioneer in the battle for the top spot. Pioneer and Mission High each received one first-place vote and are separated by Harlingen High, which found itself in a battle — that it won in overtime — against San Benito in the highly anticipated 92nd edition of the Battle of the Arroyo.
McAllen Memorial returned to the poll after a 34-31 victory over McAllen Rowe to improve to 4-1 overall. The victory marked the 10th straight for the Mustangs in the series with their crosstown rivals and secured them both a District 16-5A DI west zone title and a spot in the district championship during the first week of December.
Also climbing back into the poll is Weslaco High after an explosive 59-32 win over Donna North.
The Panthers and Los Fresnos Falcons will clash Friday with the winner advancing to the Class 6A bi-district playoffs.
The Panthers, who will enter as the second-place squad in District 32-6A’s west zone, and the Falcons, who finished third in the east zone, were originally scheduled to play each other in both teams’ regular-season finale.
Since both Los Fresnos and Weslaco’s zone seeds were already locked into place, however, the two sides have agreed to make this week’s contest an official 32-6A zone play-in game. The Panthers had only given up 27 points before the Chiefs scored 32 on them. Weslaco High lost a tight 13-10 game to No. 3-ranked Harlingen earlier this season.
Mercedes came in fifth once again, followed by Weslaco East and Brownsville Hanna in sixth and seventh, respectively. The top seven teams in the poll all remain undefeated.
Raymondville came in ninth after their season came to a close, falling 52-18 to the Navarro in the second round of the playoffs. The Bearkats won their first playoff game, 48-47, over Devine.
RGVSPORTS.COM TOP 10
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 six 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.
Team Records Points Prv.
1. Edinburg Vela (4) 3-0 57 1
2. Shary Pioneer (1) 3-0 54 2
3. Harlingen High 5-0 48 3
4. Mission High (1) 3-0 45 4
T-5. Mercedes 4-0 42 5
T-5. Weslaco East 2-0 32 6
7. Brownsville Hanna 3-0 24 7
8. McAllen Memorial 4-1 13 -
9. Raymondville 3-1 7 10
10. Weslaco High 2-1 12 -
Others receiving votes: McAllen Rowe (3), PSJA North (2), Lyford (1), San Benito (1).