By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
There’s another full slate of action in Week 9, and East Valley teams will be participating in some important district contests.
Three of the area’s District 16-5A Division I teams will be in action today. The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers (5-2, 5-1) will travel for a 7 p.m. battle against the No. 5 McAllen Memorial Mustangs (6-1, 6-0) at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in a pivotal contest with a shot at the district title on the line.
Brownsville Pace (2-5, 2-4) faces Donna High (1-5, 1-5) at 7 p.m. at Bennie LaPrade Stadium in Donna. The Brownsville Lopez Lobos (0-7, 0-6) will play host to Weslaco East (4-2, 4-2) at 7 p.m. at Sams Memorial Stadium. At 7 p.m. Friday, Brownsville Porter (2-5, 1-5) visits McAllen Rowe (4-3, 4-2).
All District 32-6A games will be played at 7 p.m. Friday. Arguably the biggest matchup in the bunch will be the battle between second-place teams Los Fresnos (4-2, 3-1) and No. 4 Harlingen High (5-2, 3-1). The Los Fresnos Falcons, riding a three-game winning streak, will travel to Boggus Stadium to face the Cardinals, who are riding high after notching a shutout win in the Battle of the Arroyo.
No. 2 Harlingen South (7-0, 4-0) will put its undefeated record on the line with a road game against Brownsville Rivera (2-5, 0-4) at Sams Memorial Stadium. No. 8 San Benito (5-2, 2-2) plays Donna North (1-5, 0-4) at Bennie LaPrade Stadium, aiming to end a two-game losing skid. Brownsville Hanna (3-4, 2-2) faces Weslaco High (4-2, 2-2) at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.
The No. 10 La Feria Lions (5-1, 2-0) will visit Kingsville King (1-6, 0-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a District 16-4A Division I game. In District 16-4A Division II action, Raymondville (3-4, 1-3) and Rio Hondo (2-5, 0-4) will clash at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bobcat Stadium. Port Isabel (6-1, 3-1) travels to Ingleside (6-1, 3-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in another important road test between playoff contenders.
At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Lyford (5-3, 2-2) plays host to Bishop (2-3, 1-2) in its final home game of the regular season, looking to remain in the playoff picture in District 16-3A Division I. The Santa Rosa Warriors (1-6, 0-3) will be chasing their first District 16-3A Division II win at 7 p.m. Friday at Monte Alto (0-7, 0-3).
Santa Maria (3-4, 0-2) has a tough District 16-2A Division I road contest against La Villa (5-2, 1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
In non-UIL action, the Brownsville St. Joseph Bloodhounds (3-4, 2-2) will look to end a two-game losing skid in TAPPS Division II District 3 at 7 p.m. Friday as they travel to Austin Regents (7-0, 4-0). Marine Military Academy (6-1, 2-0) continues its pursuit of a TCSAAL district title against Pro-Vision Academy at 3 p.m. Saturday at home.