Week 5 had it all. McAllen Memorial made a shocking comeback to beat Mission High, PSJA High quarterback Trey Guajardo tied a Valley record for touchdown passes, Brownsville Hanna pulled off a win against Amarillo Tascosa, Edcouch-Elsa and Mercedes renewed their storied rivalry, and so much more. The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata join host Greg Luca to recap the week that was.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
Is Mission High ready to end McAllen Memorial’s reign atop the District 30-6A standings? Will the rivalry between Edcouch-Elsa and Mercedes have its usual luster? Will District 32-6A get the better of its matchups with District 2-6A? The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata join host Greg Luca to answer all those questions, review the top 10, break down the most interesting games and pick their locks of the week.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
Week 4 may have been light on games, but it was heavy on drama. Edinburg Vela and Los Fresnos met in a battle of top-10 teams, No. 2-ranked San Benito took an unexpected loss, Weslaco East knocked off Harlingen High on a one-of-a-kind finish, and Brownsville Hanna needed a major comeback to beat Sharyland High. The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata join host Greg Luca to recap the week that was.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
Though Edinburg Vela‘s game against Los Fresnos is the only matchup of top-10 teams, Week 4 still offers plenty of intrigue. Who is on the way up, who should still be worried and who is in position for a playoff push as the regular season hits full swing? The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata join host Greg Luca to discuss the top 10, dissect the most interesting games and select their locks of the week.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
RGVSports.com
Entering the year off a 3-6 campaign in 2017, the Weslaco High Panthers were slow to gain traction in the RGVSports.com top 10.
After not receiving a vote in the preseason, the Panthers started to make a blip on the radar with a 28-7 win against McAllen Rowe in Week 1. Then, Weslaco broke into the rankings at No. 10 after a 58-7 victory against Edcouch-Elsa in Week 2. And now, the Panthers are up to No. 7 as the biggest risers this week after beating PSJA North 45-27 on Thursday.
The nine 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.
Mission Veterans was the other significant riser in the poll this week, moving up from No. 5 to No. 3 after defeating Brownsville Veterans 45-24 on Saturday. Brownsville Vets made the biggest drop in the poll as a result, sliding from No. 7 to No. 10.
Edinburg Vela retained its stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in the poll, earning all nine first-place votes by toppling McAllen Memorial 40-21 on Friday. Memorial fell one spot in the poll from No. 8 to No. 9.
No. 2 San Benito also bested a ranked foe, holding steady in the rankings after taking down then-No. 9 PSJA High 46-20. The Bears fell out of the rankings this week.
No. 4 Brownsville Hanna and No. 5 Harlingen High both sit one spot lower than last week after their Week 3 matchups were canceled due to inclement weather.
Los Fresnos dominated Edcouch-Elsa 42-13 on Thursday but slipped from No. 5 in the rankings to No. 6.
Mission High made its debut in the poll this week, checking in at No. 8 after downing Sharyland Pioneer 21-17. The Eagles are 3-0 this year, beating Mission Veterans 24-12 in Week 1 and Donna North 56-12 in Week 2.
Edinburg Vela continues a tough non-district slate this week, traveling to face No. 6 Los Fresnos in the only Week 4 game pitting two ranked teams.
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 nine 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 Record Points Previous
1. Edinburg Vela (9) 3-0 90 1
2. San Benito 2-1 75 2
3. Mission Veterans 2-1 54 5
4. Brownsville Hanna 1-1 52 3
5. Harlingen High 2-0 46 4
6. Los Fresnos 2-1 45 5
7. Weslaco High 3-0 41 10
8. Mission High 3-0 21 NR
9. McAllen Memorial 1-2 20 8
10. Brownsville Veterans 2-1 17 7
Other teams receiving votes: PSJA High (16); La Joya High (11); Edinburg High (4); Harlingen South (2); McAllen Rowe (1)
Many of the marquee games from Week 3 turned into one-sided affairs, and not always in the way most expected. Mission Veterans steamrolled Brownsville Veterans to take control of District 16-5A Division I, Edinburg Vela asserted itself as the Valley’s top team with a convincing win against McAllen Memorial, San Benito continued its reign of dominance by sliding past PSJA High, and La Joya High inched toward the Valley’s elite by crushing Sharyland High. The Monitor writers Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata join host Greg Luca to break down a busy week.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
Week 3 is a week of major tests for most of the RGVSports.com top 10. No. 1 Edinburg Vela faces No. 8 McAllen Memorial, No. 2 San Benito hosts No. 9 PSJA High, No. 5 Brownsville Veterans and No. 7 Mission Veterans fight for supremacy in District 16-5A DI, and No. 4 Harlingen High draws one of the state’s top teams in Converse Judson. The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata join host Greg Luca to review the top 10, break down all the best games and pick their locks of the week.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
Many Valley teams used Week 2 as a chance to make a statement. Edinburg Vela staked its claim to No. 1 by beating No. 2 Brownsville Hanna, Weslaco High and others announced themselves as potential Valley elites, and Edcouch-Elsa was among the group of teams giving fans cause for concern. The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata join host Greg Luca to break down all the action.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
A matchup of the top two teams in the RGVSports.com top 10 highlights the Week 2 slate as squads around the Valley try to find their identity during the early part of the 2018 season. The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata join host Greg Luca to recap the top 10 after a topsy-turvy week, break down the best games on the schedule and pick their Locks of the Week.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
RGVSports.com
After a wild Week 1 during which six of the teams in the preseason RGVSports.com top 10 lost, a reshuffled poll produced the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown of the year entering Week 2.
Edinburg Vela secured eight of nine first-place votes after a dominating 48-27 win against Laredo United during which the SaberCats took a 34-6 lead into halftime.
Brownsville Hanna received the other first-place vote, sliding up from No. 5 in the preseason to No. 2 this week on the strength of a 49-28 win over preseason No. 3 McAllen Memorial. The SaberCats and Golden Eagles will meet in a pivotal non-district showdown at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Edinburg.
The nine 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.
Brownsville Veterans was the biggest riser in this week’s rankings, moving from unranked to No. 5 after a 50-13 romp of Brownsville Rivera.
Six teams ranked in the preseason top 10 suffered losses to top-flight competition in Week 1, impacting their rankings for Week 2:
>> Preseason No. 2 Mission Veterans lost 24-12 to Mission High, falling to No. 4
>> Preseason No. 3 McAllen Memorial dropped into a tie for No. 6 after the loss to Hanna
>> Preseason No. 4 San Benito lost 28-21 to Corpus Christi Calallen, but rose to No. 3
>> Preseason No. 6 Los Fresnos lost 16-13 to El Paso Montwood, holding steady in a tie for No. 6
>> Preseason No. 8 Weslaco East lost 26-21 to Manor and slid just slightly into a tie for No. 10
>> Preseason No. 9 PSJA High lost 33-28 to Flour Bluff, also bumping down just a bit into a tie for No. 10
Preseason No. 7 Sharyland High survived Brownsville Pace 20-17 in OT but slid to No. 9 in the poll, while preseason No. 10 Harlingen High was dominant in a 64-17 rout of Sharyland Pioneer to move up into a tie for No. 6.
In addition to the Vela-Hanna showdown, No. 6 McAllen Memorial hosts No. 9 Sharyland High at 7:30 p.m. Friday in another matchup of ranked teams.
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 nine 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 Record Points Previous
1. Edinburg Vela (8) 1-0 89 1
2. Brownsville Hanna (1) 1-0 80 5
3. San Benito 0-1 67 4
4. Mission Veterans 0-1 40 2
5. Brownsville Veterans 1-0 34 NR
T-6. Harlingen High 1-0 33 10
T-6. Los Fresnos 0-1 33 6
T-6. McAllen Memorial 0-1 33 3
9. Sharyland High 1-0 21 7
T-10. PSJA High 0-1 18 9
T-10. Weslaco East 0-1 18. 8
Other teams receiving votes: Mission High (15); Grulla (8); Weslaco High (3); Mercedes (2); Brownsville Lopez (1)