Week 8 featured a pair of showdowns in District 32-5A, as Mercedes topped Edcouch-Elsa and Brownsville Veterans pulled away from Brownsville Lopez. Surprises were the story in 32-6A, as Brownsville Hanna upset Los Fresnos and Weslaco East pulled out a tough game against Harlingen High. In other action around the Valley, Sharyland High won a wild affair against Sharyland Pioneer, PSJA High stayed unbeaten with a win against Edinburg High, and 30-6A produced a week of close results. The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nathaniel Mata and Nate Kotisso join host Greg Luca to review all the action.

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Heading into Week 8, plenty of promising teams are still yet to be tested in district competition. That ends this week, with Brownsville Lopez putting its undefeated record on the line against Brownsville Veterans, PSJA High testing its unbeaten run against Edinburg High and Sharyland High questing to stay unblemished in district against rival Sharyland Pioneer, on top of a rivalry showdown between Mercedes and Edcouch-Elsa. The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas and Nathaniel Mata and the Brownsville Herald’s Andrew Crum join host and Monitor sports editor Greg Luca to break down all the action and review the latest RGVSports.com top 10.

The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.

RGVSports.com

The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers were the big movers in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll, jumping from No. 8 to No. 5 following a 21-19 win against Edcouch-Elsa on Thursday.

For the year, Brownsville Vets is 5-1, with wins against Edinburg North, Brownsville Rivera, Brownsville Pace, Mercedes and E-E. The team’s only loss is to Edinburg Vela.

The poll’s 10 responding 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.

San Benito maintained its stranglehold on the No. 1 spot, remaining undefeated at 6-0 with a dominating 49-21 win against Brownsville Rivera. The Greyhounds got nine of 10 first-place votes.

The lone remaining first-place vote went to Edinburg Vela, which took down PSJA Southwest 53-0 to also remain undefeated at 6-0, holding steady at No. 2 in the poll.

Harlingen High outlasted Weslaco High 24-7 to stand pat at No. 3, while Mission Veterans remained No. 4 after defeating Laredo Nixon 48-17 to stay unbeaten at 7-0 and take control of the District 31-5A title race.

Brownsville Veterans’ jump up the ranks forced Los Fresnos and PSJA High to each slide back one place despite winning weeks. Los Fresnos went from No. 5 to No. 6 after a 17-14 win against Weslaco East, and PSJA High went from No. 6 to No. 7 following a 41-22 victory over Edinburg Economedes.

McAllen Memorial moved from No. 9 to No. 8 after routing McAllen High 55-21, and Brownsville Lopez entered the rankings at No. 9 with a 21-7 win against Donna High.

On the heels of the loss to Los Fresnos, a banged-up Weslaco East team slid from No. 6 to No. 10.

Brownsville Veterans will have a chance to continue its rise this week, squaring off against Lopez on Saturday. Week 8’s only other matchup between ranked teams sees Weslaco East traveling to face Harlingen High on Friday.

1. San Benito (9)	6-0	99	1
2. Edinburg Vela (1)	6-0	87	2
3. Harlingen High	5-1	78	3
4. Mission Veterans	7-0	74	4
5. Brownsville Veterans	5-1	47	8
6. Los Fresnos	4-2	46	5
7. PSJA High	6-0	49	6
8. McAllen Memorial	5-2	29	9
9. Brownsville Lopez	6-0	15	NR
10. Weslaco East	3-3	11	6

Other teams receiving votes: Mercedes (9), Raymondville (9), Edcouch-Elsa (4), McAllen Rowe (2), Sharyland High (1).

Many teams saw their playoff and district title chances drastically altered during Week 7. Mission Veterans moved into the driver’s seat for the District 31-5A championship, Brownsville Veterans did the same in District 32-5A, and Sharyland Pioneer was one of many teams that seemed to slide into into prime position for a postseason berth. The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas and Nathaniel Mata join host Greg Luca to review a busy week.

The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.

The stakes continue to rise as the season goes on, and Week 7 features plenty of games that can shape playoff races across the Valley now and for weeks to come. Weslaco East at Los Fresnos, Laredo Nixon at Mission Veterans, Sharyland Pioneer at Rio Grande City, Edcouch-Elsa at Brownsville Veterans, Edinburg High at PSJA Memorial and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at Mission High are among the many highlights. 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.

RGVSports.com

The Weslaco East Wildcats dropped from No. 2 to a sixth-place tie in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll after a 44-21 loss to top-ranked San Benito on Friday in Weslaco.

The Wildcats had been ranked in the top three all year, including holding down the No. 1 spot heading into Week 2. East is 3-2 on the season, with wins over Sharyland High, Edinburg Economedes and Weslaco High and losses to McAllen Memorial and San Benito.

The poll’s 10 responding 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.

San Benito held steady at No. 1, earning all but one first-place vote in the poll. The remaining vote went to Edinburg Vela, which moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 to mark its new highest ranking of the year following a 43-21 win against Edinburg High.

Harlingen High jumped up one spot to No. 3 after a 45-20 win against Brownsville Rivera, while 6-0 Mission Veterans also slid up one position to No. 4 after exploding on offense in a 61-38 win against Sharyland Pioneer.

Los Fresnos bumped up two spots, from No. 7 to No. 5, after a 35-7 win against Harlingen South. PSJA High, undefeated at 5-0 after a 23-0 win against PSJA North, slid up from No. 8 into a tie with Weslaco East at No. 6.

Brownsville Veterans also jumped up one space to No. 8 after a 24-17 win against Mercedes, and McAllen Memorial moved from 10 to 9 after routing Mission High 63-28.

Mercedes slipped out of the poll as a result of the loss to Brownsville Vets, replaced by rival Edcouch-Elsa, which entered the rankings at No. 10. E-E is 4-1 on the year with wins over Los Fresnos, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, Donna North and Donna High. Edcouch-Elsa’s only loss is to Edinburg Vela.

E-E’s new ranking will be tested this week with a matchup against No. 8 Brownsville Veterans. No. 6 Weslaco East will also be looking to rise up the rankings once again when it faces No. 5 Los Fresnos.

Record Pts. Prev.

1. San Benito (9) 5-0 99 1

2. Edinburg Vela (1) 5-0 87 3

3. Harlingen High 4-1 78 4

4. Mission Veterans 6-0 73 5

5. Los Fresnos 3-2 43 7

T-6. PSJA High 5-0 40 8

T-6. Weslaco East 3-2 40 2

8. Brownsville Veterans 4-1 36 9

9. McAllen Memorial 4-2 22 10

10. Edcouch-Elsa 4-1 11 NR

Other teams receiving votes: Brownsville Lopez (11), Raymondville (6), Mercedes (5), McAllen Rowe (1).

Week 6 saw huge offensive performances across the Valley, with 17 teams scoring 35 points or more. San Benito won a showdown against Weslaco East, Mission Veterans posted prolific numbers in a rout of Sharyland Pioneer, and Edinburg Vela soared past Edinburg High. 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.

No. 1 San Benito and No. 2 Weslaco East are set to clash in a District 32-6A showdown, while Brownsville Veterans and Mercedes battle for the upper hand in District 32-5A and Mission Veterans and Sharyland Pioneer look to stake their claim to the top spot in District 31-5A. Host Greg Luca is joined by The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nathaniel Mata, Nate Kotisso and the Valley Morning Star’s Kevin Narro to break down all the action and take a look at the latest RGVSports.com top 10.

The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.

RGVSports.com

The top five teams in last week’s RGVSports.com top 10 poll all won by an average margin of 30.4 points, leading to very little change in the rankings entering Week 6.

Only No. 1 San Benito was truly tested in Week 5, as No. 2 Weslaco East, No. 3 Edinburg Vela, No. 4 Harlingen High and No. 5 Mission Veterans steamrolled their competition. All five teams retained their rankings from Week 5.

The poll’s 11 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.

San Benito survived a game Los Fresnos team 43-33, while Weslaco East beat Weslaco High 35-7, Edinburg Vela topped Edinburg North 52-14, Harlingen High took down Harlingen South 36-7 and Mission Veterans defeated Laredo Cigarroa 63-14.

Los Fresnos didn’t slip far as a result of the loss, moving from No. 6 last week to No. 7 this week. Mercedes slid up into the sixth position after toppling Donna High 35-7.

PSJA High held pat at No. 8 with a 41-14 win against PSJA Southwest, Brownsville Veterans secured a 27-14 win against Brownsville Pace to stay at No. 9, and McAllen Memorial cruised past La Joya Palmview 49-7 to hold strong at No. 10.

Sharyland Pioneer was tied for No. 10 last week but fell out of the rankings after losing 36-14 to Laredo Cigarroa.

Week 6 features two district matchups between top-10 teams, as No. 1 San Benito travels to face No. 2 Weslaco East and No. 9 Brownsville Veterans visits No. 6 Mercedes.

Pioneer will have a chance to earn its way back into the rankings this week, hosting No. 5 Mission Veterans on Friday.

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 11 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.

Record Pts. Prev.

1. San Benito (10) 4-0 109 1

2. Weslaco East 3-1 93 2

3. Edinburg Vela (1) 4-0 88 3

4. Harlingen High 3-1 77 4

5. Mission Veterans 5-0 69 5

6. Mercedes 3-1 45 7

7. Los Fresnos 2-2 35 6

8. PSJA High 4-0 28 8

9. Brownsville Veterans 3-1 21 9

10. McAllen Memorial 3-2 17 10

Other teams receiving votes: Brownsville Lopez (11), Raymondville (7), Edcouch-Elsa (5).

Week 5 featured a high-profile showdown between San Benito and Los Fresnos, a slew of blowouts to open district play and a few teams picking up critical wins in close contests. The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata join host Greg Luca to break down all of the week’s action.

The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.