District play starts in earnest across the Valley this week, and the guys are back to reevaluate their preseason picks in Districts 30-6A, 31-6A, 32-6A and 32-5A. Host Greg Luca is joined by the Valley Morning Star’s Kevin Narro and The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata to predict the playoff teams in each league and break down some of the week’s most intriguing matchups.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
RGVSports.com
The Los Fresnos Falcons made a major return to the RGVSports.com top 10 poll. The Falcons hadn’t been ranked since the preseason but shot up to No. 6 in this week’s top 10 on the strength of a resounding 24-7 win against McAllen Memorial on Thursday.
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.
The top four teams in last week’s rankings — No. 1 San Benito, No. 2 Weslaco East, No. 3 Edinburg Vela and No. 4 Harlingen High — all maintained their positions after having Week 4 off.
Last week’s No. 5, McAllen Memorial, slipped into a tie for 10th as a result of the loss to Los Fresnos, which moved the Mustangs to 2-2 on the year.
Sliding up to take Memorial’s place is Mission Veterans, which defeated Roma 40-10 on Saturday to remain unbeaten at 4-0.
Mercedes and PSJA High, which both had open weeks, held steady at No. 7 and 8, respectively. Brownsville Veterans checked in at No. 9, while Sharyland Pioneer was tied with McAllen Memorial at No. 10.
Edcouch-Elsa, which owns a win over Los Fresnos and beat La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 14-13 on Friday, narrowly missed cracking the poll.
Los Fresnos’ newfound ranking will be immediately tested, as the Falcons face No. 1 San Benito 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 (11) 4-0 110 1
2. Weslaco East 2-1 88 2
3. Edinburg Vela 3-0 84 3
4. Harlingen High 2-1 76 4
5. Mission Veterans 4-0 70 6
6. Los Fresnos 2-1 43 NR
7. Mercedes 2-1 40 7
8. PSJA High 3-0 29 8
9. Brownsville Veterans 2-1 15 10
T-10. Sharyland Pioneer 2-1 13 9
T-10. McAllen Memorial 2-2 13 5
Other teams receiving votes: Edcouch-Elsa (11), Raymondville (6), Brownsville Lopez (6), Grulla (1).
Week 4 might have been a smaller slate of games than usual in the Rio Grande Valley, but there was no shortage of exciting finishes. Edcouch-Elsa vs. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln came down to the wire, and the matchup between PSJA North and La Joya High was also decided in the final seconds. Meanwhile, in one of the Valley’s top matchups, Los Fresnos made a statement against McAllen Memorial. Host Greg Luca is joined by The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata to break down all the action.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
Week 4 of the Rio Grande Valley high school football season doesn’t have the big-name matchups that have highlighted most of the first month of 2017, but the latest slate of games offers much to be intrigued about. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln has a chance to make a major statement against Edcouch-Elsa, McAllen Memorial faces a stiff test in Los Fresnos, and District 31-5A has another full slate of games. Host Greg Luca is joined by The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata to break down all the action.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
RGVSports.com
The San Benito Greyhounds left no doubt in the minds of the RGVSports.com top 10 poll voters, earning all 10 first-place votes after a resounding 31-7 win against the then-No. 2 McAllen Memorial Mustangs.
San Benito cemented its status at No. 1 — a position the Greyhounds held in the preseason rankings and regained entering Week 3 — by becoming the first unanimous selection of the year.
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.
Weslaco East, the No. 1 team entering Week 2, moved up a position to No. 2 after soundly defeating Edinburg Economedes 56-14.
Also rising in this week’s poll were Edinburg Vela, up from No. 4 to No. 3 following a 34-20 win against Brownsville Veterans, and Harlingen High, jumping from No. 6 to No. 4 after pulling off an upset of San Antonio Reagan 22-20. Mercedes, too, moved up one spot, from No. 8 to No. 7 after a 21-20 win against Weslaco High.
PSJA High, undefeated at 3-0 after a 37-21 win against Brownsville Rivera, moved up from No. 10 to No. 8.
Following the Week 3 loss to San Benito, McAllen Memorial falls from No. 2 to No. 5. And Brownsville Veterans, after the loss to Vela, falls from No. 7 to No. 10.
Slipping in this week’s poll was Mission Veterans, down from No. 5 to No. 6 after a 42-24 win against Laredo Cigarroa.
Sharyland Pioneer stands pat at No. 9 on the heels of a 34-12 win against Laredo Cigarroa.
Week 4 does not feature any matchups between top-10 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 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.
Record Pts. Prev.
1. San Benito (10) 3-0 100 1
2. Weslaco East 2-1 80 3
3. Edinburg Vela 3-0 73 4
4. Harlingen High 2-1 71 6
5. McAllen Memorial 2-1 70 2
6. Mission Veterans 3-0 50 5
7. Mercedes 2-1 39 8
8. PSJA High 3-0 27 10
9. Sharyland Pioneer 2-1 18 9
10. Brownsville Veterans 2-1 10 7
Other teams receiving votes: Los Fresnos (5), Edcouch-Elsa (2), Brownsville Lopez (2), Grulla (1), La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (1).
Week 3 was a week of statements across the Rio Grande Valley. San Benito asserted itself as No. 1 with a win over McAllen Memorial, Harlingen High proved it should be in the conversation with an upset against San Antonio Reagan, and many other schools picked up emphatic victories. Host Greg Luca is joined by The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata to review all the action.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
The No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll are going to clash this week, and the guys are back to break down all the action. Host Greg Luca is joined by The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata discuss the upcoming battle between San Benito and McAllen Memorial, with the Valley Morning Star’s Kevin Narro joining to give his perspective. The guys also cover the top 10 rankings and the rest of the Week 3 highlights.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
RGVSports.com
The San Benito Greyhounds have reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the RGVSports.com high school football top 10 poll, moving back up to the top of the rankings after the previous No. 1 Weslaco East Wildcats suffered a 28-14 loss Friday against the McAllen Memorial Mustangs.
San Benito was voted the No. 1 team in the preseason but was supplanted by Weslaco East after the Wildcats scored a dominating 62-0 win against Sharyland High in Week 1. East’s loss in Week 2, coupled with San Benito’s 44-18 win against San Antonio East Central, was enough to move the Greyhounds back up to No. 1.
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.
East didn’t drop far, settling in at No. 3. Memorial hopped up one spot from No. 3 to No. 2 and was the only team other than San Benito to receive first-place votes.
The Edinburg Vela SaberCats also moved up one spot, shifting to No. 4 after defeating Edcouch-Elsa 56-35 in The Monitor’s Game of the Week.
Vela ended up trading spaces with Mission Veterans, which dropped from No. 4 to No. 5 after narrowly escaping Mission High 18-14.
Harlingen High, Brownsville Veterans and Mercedes held steady at No. 6, 7 and 8, respectively. Harlingen defeated Laredo United South 21-6, Brownsville Veterans outlasted Brownsville Rivera 43-28, and Mercedes pulled out a 27-20 win against McAllen Rowe.
Sharyland Pioneer slides up one position to No. 9 after a hard-fought, 34-28 win against Brownsville Pace. And PSJA High makes its 2017 debut in the poll at No. 10, beating Harlingen South 31-24 to improve to 2-0 on the year.
Edcouch-Elsa falls from No. 9 to unranked after losing to Vela.
The poll could easily be headed for another tumultuous week, with No. 1 San Benito and No. 2 McAllen Memorial set to clash 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 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.
Record Pts. Prev.
San Benito (8) 2-0 98 2
McAllen Memorial (2) 2-0 92 3
Weslaco East 1-1 71 1
Edinburg Vela 2-0 65 5
Mission Veterans 2-0 58 4
Harlingen High 1-1 45 6
Brownsville Veterans 2-0 42 7
Mercedes 1-1 37 8
Sharyland Pioneer 1-1 16 10
PSJA High 2-0 8 NR
Other teams receiving votes: Edcouch-Elsa (5), Brownsville Lopez (4), Los Fresnos (4), Weslaco High (3), Grulla (1), La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (1).
For the second week in a row, the Rio Grande Valley could be headed toward a new No. 1 team in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll. Host Greg Luca is joined by The Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nate Kotisso and Nathaniel Mata to recap a busy week of games that included No. 1 Weslaco East falling to No. 3 McAllen Memorial, Edinburg Vela outlasting Edcouch-Elsa in The Monitor’s Game of the Week, and Mission Veterans prevailing in a city rivalry game against Mission High.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.
The RGVSports.com top 10 poll saw some major shakeups entering Week 2 after an opening slate of games filled with surprises. Host Greg Luca is joined by Monitor writers Saul Berrios-Thomas, Nathaniel Mata and Nate Kotisso to evaluate the latest rankings and break down the Week 2 slate, with focus specifically on Edcouch-Elsa at Edinburg Vela, McAllen Memorial at Weslaco East and Mission Veterans vs. Mission High.
The podcast is available on iTunes. Follow this link to subscribe.