EDCOUCH — There were fireworks before, during and after Edcouch-Elsa’s 21-7 win over rival Mercedes on Friday at Bennie Layton Sr. Memorial Stadium in Edcouch.

Fireworks went off as the National Anthem played before kickoff and fireworks went off again after the Yellow Jackets’ secured their second-straight rivalry win over the Tigers. The fireworks during the game, however, came in the form of the Edcouch-Elsa’s “Thunder Defense” lighting up ball-carriers to set the tone for the 48-minute rivalry game and District 16-5A DII opening victory against Mercedes.

It was the 75th meeting between the rival Yellow Jackets and Tigers and Edcouch-Elsa’s second-straight victory in the series.

“Well it was a big victory for us. We knew Mercedes offensively was stout, fast, explosive, and I think we did a real good job of keeping them down and keeping them bottled up,” Edcouch-Elsa head coach Victor Cardenas said. “It wasn’t until the fourth quarter they got one there at the end, but defensively, they did what they were supposed to do and we’re real proud of our boys for fighting for four quarters.”

Edcouch-Elsa was locked in defensively and kept the pressure on Mercedes with its pass rush and by shutting down the run. The Yellow Jackets forced the Tigers to play sideline to sideline and the Edcouch-Elsa linebackers were there to meet them head on every time.

Senior linebacker Matthew Cano led the Yellow Jackets with three sacks, one fumble recovery and also came down with a big catch during the opening quarter to set up Edcouch-Elsa’s first touchdown — a 35-yard scamper from running back Aydan Garcia for a 7-0 lead with 2:30 to go in the first.

“Our defense is our strength. We got 10 seniors there so we’re expected to lay the wood,” Cano said. “It feels great to get a win (against Mercedes) because we’re the biggest Valley rivalry in 5A.”

Edcouch-Elsa quarterback Elijah Treviño put his team up 14-0 before the break with a 28-yard touchdown run and running back Ayden Mercado pushed the lead to 21-0 with a 12-yard touchdown run up the gut midway through the third quarter.

Mercedes finally got on the scoreboard with a 33-yard touchdown run from running back Robert Sanchez with 10:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, then the Tigers recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff in hopes of a comeback. 

The Yellow Jackets’ defense was there again, however, as defensive back Nathan Amaya intercepted a deep pass to give Edcouch-Elsa the ball and an opportunity to kill clock. 

“We knew we needed this game. We knew if we won this game we can be right there for the district championship,” Treviño said. “These past two weeks we came up with a gameplan. Our defense did amazing and our offense went out there and executed. These guys, my teammates, did amazing.”

Edcouch-Elsa now shifts its focus to next week’s District 16-5A DII matchup against Brownsville Porter (0-6, 0-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.

Mercedes, meanwhile, will have a chance to bounce back against Brownsville Lopez (5-1, 1-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Tiger Stadium in Mercedes.

It might not have been pretty, but the Sharyland High Rattlers dug deep and scored twice late to grind out a 30-20 win over Mission Veterans in their District 15-5A DII opener Thursday at Richard Thompson Stadium in Mission.

“Mission Vets is a great team and has got a great coaching staff. Kids played hard all the way until the end and we were just fortunate enough to make a couple plays there at the end and get the lead and then extend it,” Sharyland head coach Craig Krell said. 

The Rattlers (4-3, 1-0) started the game rolling on all cylinders and built a 16-0 lead early in the second quarter after a pair of short touchdown runs from Santiago Longoria and a safety caused by a low snap on a punt in the Patriots’ end zone.

Then, the Sharyland offense stalled.

Mission Veterans (1-6, 0-1) fought its way back into the game by riding its running game of Ben Martinez and Alejandro Garza and defense spearheaded by linebacker Aiden Uribe.

Uribe ended one Sharyland drive with a pick at the goal line during the second quarter, defensive back Nathan Rodriguez came up with an interception on a last second heave to end the first half, and defensive back Quinten Valverde returned a third quarter interception for a Patriots’ touchdown to give Mission Veterans a 20-16 lead midway through the third quarter.

The Rattlers, who had success moving the ball all night but collapsed a couple times over midfield, finally broke through when they needed it most.

Facing a 4th-and-goal at the Mission Veterans 22-yard line, Sharyland quarterback Calvin Harris dropped back and looked off safeties to his right before throwing a dart to split the two-deep coverage to receiver Bruno Cavazos, who out-muscled a pair of Patriots’ defenders to get into the end zone to take a 23-20 lead with 4:30 left in the fourth.

“I knew we needed a play to happen and I’m just thankful my team supports me,” Cavazos said. “It wasn’t the prettiest win but in the end we finished and did a good job as a team.”

“You just have to slow everything down and make it your own game,” Harris said about the game-winner to Cavazos. “Bruno is one of our guys so I knew he could catch that.”

Mission Veterans had one last chance pinned at their own 3-yard line before a turnover on downs ended their hopes and led to a 3-yard touchdown run from Sharyland’s Abram Carrasco for the final 30-20 margin.

Mission Veterans’ two offensive touchdowns came off an 18-yard touchdown run from Garza in the second quarter and a 34-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cameron Sarinana to receiver Jordan Rodriguez, which made it 16-13 early in the third quarter.

Next for Sharyland is a matchup against Alice (3-3) at 7 p.m. Friday in Alice.

Mission Veterans enters its bye week and will return to district action on Friday, Oct. 25 versus Alice in Alice.

EDCOUCH — Bitter rivals Edcouch-Elsa and Mercedes have met 72 times, with the Tigers holding a 37-34-1 advantage over the Yellow Jackets in head-to-head meetings.

The 73rd matchup between the Tigers and Yellow Jackets, scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Bennie Layton Memorial Stadium, will be another battle for bragging rights while also giving the winner an early lead in the District 16-5A DII title race as league play kicks off Friday night.

Edcouch-Elsa (3-2) won the latest edition of the rivalry with a 28-19 victory at home in 2023, ending a nine-game losing streak against Mercedes. “La Maquina Amarilla” will be looking to start its own streak in the rivalry by stringing together a second straight win over the Tigers in 2024.

The Yellow Jackets started the season 3-0 before dropping their past two games by one possession each against Edinburg High and Port Isabel. Edcouch-Elsa’s “Thunder Defense” has been a stingy unit all year, led by linebackers Troy Barco (70 tackles, 13 tackles for loss), Matthew Cano (53 tackles, two sacks) and defensive end Gaven Rodriguez (56 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, six sacks), while defensive backs Brandon Ibarra and Israel Campos have combined for seven interceptions between them. The Yellow Jackets have allowed 14.6 points per game and averaged 20.6 points per game offensively.

Mercedes, meanwhile, is coming off its highest scoring output of the season after a 56-40 loss against Sharyland High in Week 5. The Tigers (3-2) put together three straight wins from Weeks 2-4, averaging 476.4 yards per game and scoring 28.4 points per game. Mercedes also is giving up 23.8 points per game.

The Tigers have deployed a two-quarterback system this season and both senior Aaron Cortez and junior Diego Bravo have delivered. Cortez is completing 69% of his passes for 535 yards and one touchdown with 185 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Bravo has thrown for 377 yards and three touchdowns, adding 384 yards and two rushing touchdowns on the ground.

While the two signal-callers have seen success this season, junior running back Robert Sanchez has been the motor of the offense with 703 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 75 carries. He also ranks second on the team in receiving with 12 receptions for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

Mid-Valley football fans are in for fireworks as the two rivals and District 16-5A DII championship hopefuls clash Friday night in Edcouch. Four more District 16-5A DII teams also have their sights set on competing for a district title as they kickoff district play across the Valley.

DISTRICT 16-5A DII: BROWNSVILLE LOPEZ AT PSJA SOUTHWEST

The District 16-5A DII action continues as the Brownsville Lopez Lobos (4-1) visit the PSJA Southwest Javelinas (1-4) at 7 p.m. today at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.

Lopez has been a bright spot this season by putting together the program’s best start since 2017, when the Lobos finished 8-3.

The Lobos have been putting up points in bunches behind the connection of quarterback Lupe Ramirez (1,212 passing yards, 17 touchdowns) and receiver Gabriel Rios (28 receptions, 511 yards, nine touchdowns). They’ve helped score 31.6 points per game, and the team allows 19.2 points defensively.

Southwest’s lone victory this season came on a last-second 29-yard Hail Mary from quarterback Joshua Jorge to AJ Arevalo that lifted the Javelinas to a 35-31 win Sept. 5. Southwest has dropped three straight since but is looking to start district play on a positive note.

DISTRICT 16-5A DII: BROWNSVILLE PORTER AT BROWNSVILLE PACE

Brownsville Pace began the season on fire with a 4-0 record before falling to a tough Roma team in Week 5. The Vikings (4-1) are now coming off their bye week and looking to resume their winning ways as they open district play against the rival Porter Cowboys.

Pace running back Adrian Sauceda has surged his way to the top of the RGV rushing leaderboard with 1,078 yards and 13 touchdowns on 125 carries for an average of 8.6 yards per rush. His ability to carry the load offensively has opened up opportunities in the air for quarterback Isaac Solis (685 passing yards, nine touchdowns) and receivers Ricky Martinez (10 receptions, 155 yards, three touchdowns) and David Melendez (21 receptions, 274 yards, five touchdowns).

Porter (0-5) played tough during non-district games against Grulla and Santa Rosa but the Cowboys will have their work cut out for them against a solid Pace squad. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.

HARLINGEN — PSJA North put the pedal to the medal and exploded for six first half touchdowns against Harlingen South for a 42-17 victory on Friday at Boggus Stadium in Harlingen in District 15-5A DI action. 

The win sends PSJA North to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in district, while Harlingen South drops to 3-3 on the year and 2-2 in 15-5A DI competition.

PSJA North set the tone on both sides of the ball early. The Raiders opened with an onside kick and the Hawks recovered and picked up 32 yards before settling for a 34-yard field goal by Gabino Sanchez and a 3-0 South lead.

After gaining 32 yards of total offense on their first possession, the Hawks ended the first half with just 18 total yards as the Raiders’ defense turned up the intensity with tackles for losses and sacks in the backfield. PSJA North also forced a pair of first half turnovers as defensive lineman Andres Garza jumped on a loose ball and defensive back Bryan Guerrero came up with an interception.

“We kind of played where we left off last week (a 35-7 win against Corpus Christi Veterans). The defense, we let them loose and let them do their thing,” PSJA North head coach Marcus Kaufmann said. “That first drive, we tried an onside kick and they ended up getting a field goal out of it, and after that, I don’t know if they had positive yards the rest of the first half. It was a pretty dominating showing on defense, then when we put our 2s and 3s and our freshmen in there, our dogs didn’t even play the third quarter and the rest of the ball game, and that’s crazy that we were able to do that to Harlingen South. That’s a good football team over there.”

The PSJA North offense had it going early with six touchdowns on six first half possessions. Running back Ethan Guerra started the scoring with two touchdown runs from 8-yards out for a 14-0 lead. 

Receiver Nick Torres handled an end around and took it 48-yards to the house. Quarterback Daren Garcia ran for 70 yards and one rushing touchdown while also going a perfect 5-for-5 for 105 yards with two touchdown passes to tight end Darren Guerra and Ethan Guerra. Ethan Guerra finished with 145 total yards and three scores.

“Business is business and we came out here as a group and dominated the first half,” Garcia said. “We put work in the summer for a reason to come out here on Fridays and dominate.”

South got in the end zone twice late during the fourth quarter on a 43-yard interception return from Gian Harvey and a 4-yard touchdown run from Alvin Edwards to make it a 42-17 game.

Harlingen South will look to bounce back next week against Corpus Christi Veterans (3-2, 2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in Corpus Christi.

PSJA North shifts its attention to a Week 7 matchup versus Donna High (2-4, 2-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.

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HARLINGEN — The top four teams in the District 15-5A DI standings are set to lock horns in Week 6 as PSJA North visits Harlingen South and Corpus Christi Flour Bluff takes on Weslaco East in a battle of unbeatens.

While Week 6 marks the midway point of the regular season, Friday night’s 15-5A DI matchups have district championship implications.

PSJA NORTH AT HARLINGEN SOUTH, 7:30 P.M. FRIDAY

PSJA North (4-0, 2-0) enters Week 6 as the No. 1 team in the RGVSports.com 5A/6A Top 10 rankings, with Harlingen South (3-2, 2-1) coming in at No. 10.

South’s offense has found a rhythm with a two-quarterback system featuring Austin Shroyer and Dylan Anaya behind center. Anaya also lines up all over the field as a versatile weapon.

Shroyer is completing 62.1% of his passes for 530 yards and four touchdowns to no interceptions this season. Anaya, meanwhile, has thrown for 197 yards, rushed for 565 yards and caught 14 passes for 191 yards with eight total touchdowns.

South senior running back Alvin Edwards is coming off his best game of the season after rushing for 283 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries during a 44-7 win over Donna North in Week 5. Edwards’ big performance catapulted him to No. 6 in the Valley in rushing yardage with 681 yards and nine touchdowns.

The Hawks will look to get all three going offensively against a Raiders squad playing red-hot defensively.

The “Blackshirts” have been on a tear in recent weeks with a combined 18 points surrendered during their past three wins, including a 35-7 beatdown of Corpus Christi Veterans in Week 5. The Raiders were flying to the ball and forced three turnovers in the win to remain tied atop the District 15-5A DI standings.

Senior linebacker Steven Garza leads the Raiders’ defense with 43 total tackles and eight tackles for loss in four games. Junior safety Ethan Monteymayor and senior linebacker Jesse Montez rank second and third on the team with 32 and 31 tackles, respectively.

They’ll be tasked with flying to the football Friday night as the Raiders and Hawks kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Boggus Stadium in Harlingen.

FLOUR BLUFF AT WESLACO EAST, 7:30 P.M. FRIDAY

No. 3 Weslaco East (4-0, 2-0) has been battle-tested through the first half of the season yet still stands unbeaten, as does the top-ranked Coastal Bend team in No. 1 Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (5-0, 3-0).

The Flour Bluff Hornets have been lighting up scoreboards across South Texas to start the season with an average of 51.6 points per game and have only given up 11.2 points per game defensively.

The Hornets’ offense features a pair of Division I pledges in senior quarterback Jayden Paluseo, a UTRGV football and baseball commit, and senior receiver Cameran Dickson, a Vanderbilt commit.

Paluseo has thrown for 1,305 yards and 19 touchdowns in four games, while his top target Dickson has caught 22 passes for 344 yards and five touchdowns. The Hornets’ receiving corps also includes big-play threats in Andre Mimms (432 yards, seven touchdowns) and James Porter (252 yards, five touchdowns).

Fresh off its bye week, Weslaco East will stand up to the challenge with a number of playmakers at every level of its defense and an offense looking to keep the chains and clock moving.

Senior linebacker Kyle Garcia leads East in tackles with 42 stops, and senior safety Greg Granados is right behind him with 39. The last time the Wildcats were on the field in Week 4, it was their defense who made the game-winning play as sophomore cornerback Ramiro Carrera made a tackle for loss on a two-point conversion attempt by PSJA Memorial that secured a 23-22 overtime victory for Weslaco East.

If the Wildcats can slow the Hornets’ offense while leaning on its one-two punch in the backfield of senior Margarito Pompa (481 yards, four touchdowns) and freshman Malachi Rodriguez (507 yards, seven touchdowns), Weslaco East has a shot to turn this one into a dogfight.

The Wildcats and Hornets are slated for a 7:30 p.m. start Friday at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.

DISTRICT 16-5A DI

District 16-5A DI teams already have two games under their belt but are on a league-wide bye week in Week 6.

Three teams — Edinburg Vela (5-0, 2-0), McAllen Memorial (4-1, 2-0) and McAllen Rowe (2-3, 2-0) — are tied for first place with 2-0 records in district play.

La Joya Palmview (4-1, 1-1) and McAllen High (1-4, 1-1) both sit at .500 in district, while Mission High (2-3, 0-2), La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (1-4, 0-2) and Rio Grande City (0-5, 0-2) look to break into the win column in district play.

DISTRICTS 15-5A DII AND 16-5A DII

The five-team District 15-5A DII and six-team District 16-5A DII are slated to begin league play next week in Week 7.

District 15-5A DII, which includes Alice, Mission Veterans, Roma, Sharyland High and Sharyland Pioneer, closes out non-district action this week. Mission Veterans (0-5) takes on Brownsville Hanna on Friday in Mission as the Patriots chase their first win of the 2024 season. Sharyland (3-2) is slated to face Los Fresnos in the RGVSports.com Game of the Week on Friday in Los Fresnos, while Sharyland Pioneer (4-1) travels for a matchup against Brownsville Veterans on Thursday in Brownsville. Roma (4-1) also plays host to Port Isabel (5-0) on Friday at Gladiator Arena in Week 6 in a matchup of ground and pound offenses. Alice (2-3) is scheduled to close non-district play against Tuloso-Midway on Friday at Tuloso-Midway.

District 16-5A DII, which features Brownsville Lopez, Brownsville Pace, Brownsville Porter, Edcouch-Elsa, Mercedes and PSJA Southwest, appears wide open. The Lopez Lobos and Pace Vikings will begin district play next week with 4-1 overall records, while Edcouch-Elsa and Mercedes are both 3-2 overall. The entire district is on a bye week and returns to the field to begin 16-5A DII play in Week 7.

The Texas high school football regular season has reached the midway point and the top teams in the Rio Grande Valley have established themselves through the first five weeks of the 2024 campaign.

The RGVSports.com 5A/6A Top 10 remains the same at the top as No.1 PSJA North and No. 2 Edinburg Vela picked up dominant district victories in Week 5. Brownsville Veterans’ take down of last week’s No. 3 team, PSJA High, puts the Chargers (3-2) back in the top 10 at No. 6, while the Bears slide to No. 7. Three teams have played their way into this week’s rankings with No. 9 Weslaco High and Harlingen South (3-2) and Sharyland High (3-2), who are tied for the No. 10 spot.

The RGVSports.com Sub-5A Top 4 teams held strong as all four squads earned Week 5 wins. Port Isabel, Santa Rosa and Santa Maria all remain undefeated at 5-0, while Brownsville St. Joseph bounced back from its lone loss with a big win over Edinburg Economedes in Week 5.

The RGVSports.com Coastal Bend Top 4 saw Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (5-0) overtake Corpus Christi Miller (3-2) at No. 1 in this week’s rankings. The Hornets have been on a tear, while the Bucs suffered their second loss of the season against state-ranked Sinton and drop to No. 2. Corpus Christi Moody debuts at No. 3 with their 4-1 overall mark, while Tuloso-Midway stays at No. 4 following their first loss of the season against Corpus Christi Carroll.

5A/6A Top 10
Rank	Team	Record	Last Week
1	PSJA North	4-0	1
2	Edinburg Vela	5-0	2
3	Weslaco East	4-0	4
4	Harlingen High	4-1	5
5	McAllen Memorial	4-1	7
6	Brownsville Veterans	3-2	NR
7	PSJA High	3-2	3
8	Los Fresnos	4-1	6
9	Weslaco High	3-2	NR
T10	Harlingen South	3-2	NR
T10	Sharyland High	3-2	NR

Sub-5A Top 4
Rank	Team	Record	Last Week
1	Port Isabel	5-0	1
2	Brownsville St. Joseph	4-1	2
3	Santa Rosa	5-0	3
4	Santa Maria	5-0	4

Coastal Bend Top 4
Rank	Team	Record	Last Week
1	Corpus Christi Flour Bluff	5-0	2
2	Corpus Christi Miller	3-2	1
3	Corpus Christi Moody	4-1	NR
4	Tuloso-Midway	4-1	4

McALLEN — The seventh-ranked McAllen Memorial Mustangs operated like a well-oiled machine and outmuscled the 10th-ranked Mission High Eagles 48-0 in the RGVSports.com Game of the Week on Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Memorial (4-1, 2-0) opened the game with four first half touchdowns on five drives.

Mission’s five first half possessions, meanwhile, ended with three turnovers on downs, one punt and one as time expired, putting the Eagles (2-3, 0-2) in a 28-point hole at the break.

“It was a total team effort. Offense, defense, they all played together and were hungry all week,” Memorial head coach Moses Patterson said. “We have our goal every year to be the best team in the history of McAllen Memorial and we feel like they’ve worked hard this offseason and they have a chance to hopefully do that. It’s all day by day, step by step. We need to get better and better.”

Mission’s offense moved the ball into Memorial territory multiple times but the Mustangs’ defense never broke. Memorial shut down the run for four quarters and made Mission rely on its passing game. When the Eagles went to the air, the Mustangs’ front seven pinned their ears back and turned up the pressure to throw off timing, resulting in sacks and incompletions.

“We made sure we shut out the running back first and we made sure we were composed and kept our energy up,” Memorial senior defensive lineman Jason Escobar said. “We worked hard for this and we were dominant in this game.”

While the Memorial defense pitched a shutout, the Mustangs’ offense got going on the ground and it opened up the passing game for a balanced attack.

Running backs JP Garza and Braxton Speights scored two rushing touchdowns each and Jorge Muñoz added another on the ground late in the fourth. Quarterback Kane Coy, who kicked off the scoring with a 32-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, connected with receiver Michael Alaniz for a 71-yard score on a catch-and-run in the second quarter.

Garza, who is in his second game back from injury, finished with 97 yards and two scores on 13 carries. 

“From start to finish, we were just driving down the field, ground and pound, we did what we do best. All of our backs got in the end zone and it was just a great game overall, offensively and defensively,” the senior Garza said. “Being back on this field, I’m just so energetic and on an all-time high right now.”

Speights finished north of 100 rushing yards and two scores. Coy completed 3-of-5 passes for 115 yards, ran for 32 yards and scored two touchdowns. Alaniz led Memorial with two grabs for 102 yards and a touchdown.

Mission quarterback Diego Salinas led the Eagles with 230 yards passing. Receiver Jared Castro had seven catches for 58 yards and Yandel Barrera had two catches for 61 yards.

Both McAllen Memorial and Mission now enter their District 16-5A DI bye week in Week 6. 

The Mustangs return to play Oct. 11 against crosstown rival McAllen High at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen.

The Eagles are back in action Oct. 11 against La Joya Palmview at Tom Landry Stadium in Mission. 

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PHARR — The last time PSJA North and Corpus Christi Veterans shared the field, the Eagles’ ended the Raiders’ season with a six-point win in the 2022 Region IV-5A DI final.

The two locked horns again, this time as District 15-5A DI rivals and title contenders, and PSJA North dominated Corpus Christi Veterans from start to finish for a 35-7 victory Thursday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.

The win is PSJA North’s 24th consecutive regular season victory as the Raiders improve 4-0 overall and 2-0 in district. Corpus Christi Veterans drops to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in 15-5A DI.

“This one had me nervous. That’s a really good football team,” PSJA North head coach Marcus Kaufmann said. “Their defensive coordinator, Coach (Wayne) Wilson, shut us down a couple years ago. We kind of had an idea of what they were going to do. They do such a great job of adjusting that we were worried, so we started out throwing it around a little bit, trying to get them off their game a little bit and it worked for a while. The kids did a good job of being able to get back-and-forth, in-and-out of the spread and into the power run game.”

The Raiders won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. PSJA North’s “Blackshirts Defense” set the tone right out of the gate by forcing Corpus Christi Veterans to punt on the opening drive.

The Raiders then hit pay-dirt offensively as running back Ethan Guerra exploded for a 37-yard touchdown on a draw on 3rd-and-9 to put PSJA North ahead 7-0 and they never looked back.

The Raiders put together long drives offensively that ended with touchdowns and smelled blood in the water defensively, forcing three first half turnovers on fumbles caused by linebacker Steven Garza and two by defensive back Bryan Guerrero. PSJA North recovered all three to take the wind out of Corpus Christi Veterans’ sails early.

“We were creating turnovers and getting the ball back to the O. Defense wins championships and we were doing what we gotta do,” Garza said.

“These kids play like that all the time when we let them. Sometimes we’re in games where we have to pull them out of games, but we let them loose today and they looked like they were hungry to hit people and keep on hitting people. They did a great job tonight and we had that team flinching a lot tonight,” Kaufmann said. 

PSJA North’s junior back Guerra finished with 204 total yards and two touchdowns on 21 touches to lead the Raiders’ offense. Quarterback Daren Garcia ran for an 8-yard touchdown and threw a 7-yard pass to receiver Nick Torres for six. Torres also added a rushing touchdown as the receiver took an end around the left edge for a 15-yard score to go up 35-0 midway through the fourth quarter.

“I told my boys I really wanted this revenge,” Guerra said, referencing PSJA North’s 2022 fourth-round playoff matchup against Corpus Christi Veterans. “We practiced hard every morning to get stuff straight. We had to come out here and ball out.”

PSJA North kept Corpus Christi Veterans off the scoreboard until the waning minutes as running back Andrew Charlebois punched in a 1-yard touchdown late in the fourth. The Raiders held the Eagles to 174 yards of total offense.

Next for PSJA North is a matchup with Harlingen South (2-2, 1-1) at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at Boggus Stadium in Harlingen. 

Corpus Christi Veterans enters its bye week in Week 6. The Eagles return to play against Harlingen South on Oct. 11 in Corpus Christi.

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PSJA North and Corpus Christi Veterans are two years removed from their fourth-round playoff collision in the 2022 Region IV-5A DI final.

The game ended in a 20-14 Eagles win.

Now, due to the latest UIL realignment and reclassification, PSJA North and Corpus Christi Veterans are slated to battle head-to-head in District 15-5A DI, one of the toughest districts across South Texas, with seven of the nine teams reaching the playoffs a season ago.

The last time the Raiders and Eagles met, it was a spot in the state semifinals on the line. This time around, PSJA North (3-0, 1-0) and Corpus Christi Veterans (3-1, 2-0) will battle for an early lead in the District 15-5A DI title race.

PSJA North enters its Week 5 meeting against Corpus Christi Veterans scoring 40.3 points per game while allowing just 11 points per game defensively. The Raiders, who are coming off their bye week, have started the season with wins over San Benito (42-22), PSJA High (21-11) and Donna North (58-0).

Corpus Christi Veterans, meanwhile, is averaging 39 points per game while giving up 14.5 points per game defensively. The Eagles have won three-straight since losing their season opener against Corpus Christi Miller (41-7), with victories against Corpus Christi Carroll (35-17), Brownsville Rivera (37-0) and Donna North (77-0).

Kickoff between the Raiders and Eagles is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.

While the Raiders and Eagles meet Thursday, PSJA Memorial (1-2, 0-1) is set to visit Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (4-0, 2-0) for a road test at 7 p.m. Friday at Hornet Stadium in Corpus Christi. The Wolverines are coming off a 23-22 overtime loss against Weslaco East, but PSJA Memorial proved it can hang with the big dogs in District 15-5A DI.

WARRIORS WIN
The McAllen Rowe Warriors secured their first victory of the season by winning their District 15-5A DI opener 21-17 against La Joya Palmview in a comeback effort.

The Warriors (1-3, 1-0) trailed 17-0 before storming back in the second half with 21 straight points against the Lobos.

Rowe ripped off back-to-back scores on a 10-yard run by quarterback Adrian Botello and followed it up with a 19-yard run from running back Samuel Liguez to pull within three at 17-14 with 5:44 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors needed one more stop, and they got it on a fourth-and-1 fumble by Palmview at its own 42-yard line to give Rowe the ball with 3:25 to play.

A 1-yard touchdown run by Liguez gave the Warriors their first lead of the evening with 1:47 remaining. Palmview pushed the ball to the Rowe 46-yard line, but a Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete as time expired for a 21-17 Warriors win.

Next for the Warriors is La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (1-3, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen.

WILDCATS ENTER BYE WEEK
Weslaco East has gone from unranked to start the season to the fourth-ranked team in the Rio Grande Valley following its 4-0 start to the 2024 campaign.

The Wildcats (4-0, 2-0) are on their bye week and coming off a 23-22 overtime win against PSJA Memorial in Week 4.

East is the only team in the Rio Grande Valley with two players ranking in the top 20 in rushing yards, with freshman Malachi Rodriguez and senior Margarito Pompa. Rodriguez has handled a team-high 77 carries for 507 yards and seven touchdowns, and Pompa has rushed for 481 yards and four touchdowns on 56 carries, also adding 122 receiving yards on eight catches.

The Wildcats return to action in Week 6 with a big-time matchup against fellow district title contender Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (4-0, 2-0) on Oct. 4 at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.

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McAllen Memorial has jumped out to a 3-1 overall record and played its first three games of the season without returning leading rusher JP Garza.

During that time, sophomore Braxton Speights and junior Jaydin Soliz handled the majority of touches out of the Mustangs’ backfield and emerged as offensive weapons

Speights is the younger brother of former McAllen Memorial greats Trevor and Campbell Speights, who played college football at Stanford and Navy, respectively.

Braxton has carried the ball 41 times for 219 yards and four scores, and has caught three passes for 49 yards and two more touchdowns.

With Garza making his return to action during Memorial’s most recent win, a 42-0 victory over Rio Grande City in Week 4, the Mustangs have another weapon to add to the mix.

The Mustangs are set to take on the Mission High Eagles (2-2, 0-1) in the RGVSports.com Game of the Week at 7:30 p.m. Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.