MISSION — The Edinburg Vela SaberCats and Mission Veterans Patriots will clash in The Monitor’s Game of the Week, as teams across the Rio Grande Valley celebrate their return to the gridiron in what will be the season opener for both squads.
The Patriots and SaberCats will headline a full weekend slate of RGV football for the first in 2020. It will be the only non-district contest for Vela this season.
Edinburg Vela and Mission Vets have been two of the Valley’s most successful programs at the Class 6A and 5A levels, respectively, ranking as the area’s two winningest high school football programs during the last decade. Together, the Patriots and SaberCats have combined for a 148-68 record over the past 10 seasons.
In what should be an early favorite for the RGV’s high school football game of the year, Vela and Mission Vets will both be looking to build off adversity-filled seasons last year.
The SaberCats had their first imperfect regular season in years during the 2019 campaign but still battled into the third round of the Class 6A playoffs. The Patriots, meanwhile, had to overcome a mountain of injuries before bowing out of the postseason in the bi-district round in the Class 5A DI playoffs.
Quarterback Ricky Reyna makes his return for Mission Veterans after suffering a broken leg last season and so is senior wideout AJ Gonzaque, one of the Valley’s top receivers who returns to the fold after plans to transfer to San Antonio Cornerstone fell through during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the other side of the ball, senior quarterback AJ Sotelo and left tackle Ronnie Garza, the RGV’s top offensive line prospect and a UTSA Roadrunners commit, will lead a loaded Vela offense looking to stake its claim as the RGV’s top-scoring unit.
Both teams will be looking to become the first Valley high school football squad to punch its way into the fourth round of the state playoffs since Mission Veterans did it last in 2018.
The Patriots and SaberCats will kick things off at 7 p.m. Thursday at Tom Landry’s Hall of Fame Memorial Stadium in Mission.
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