BY MARIO AGUIRRE, GREG LUCA, DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITERS
One week remains in the high school football regular season. McAllen Memorial has already clinched an outright district championship, but others remain up for grabs.
Meanwhile, many teams are simply hoping to keep playing beyond Week 11. A lot of fates rely upon games yet to be played.
Here are the scenarios for each Class 6A and 5A district moving forward.
District 30-6A
McAllen Memorial is 5-0 and has clinched the outright district championship and the No. 1 seed in Division I.
McAllen Rowe and La Joya Palmview have secured playoff berths at 3-2. Palmview and Rowe will both compete in Division II. Either McAllen High, La Joya High or La Joya Juarez-Lincoln will claim the final playoff spot and take the No. 2 seed in Division I.
La Joya High is almost certainly in with a win against La Joya Palmview on Friday. The only scenario in which a win does not grant La Joya High a playoff berth is if McAllen Rowe loses to McAllen Memorial, and McAllen High wins against Mission High, and La Joya High’s win against Palmview is by only one point. La Joya High is out with a loss.
McAllen High needs help to reach the playoffs. The Bulldogs need to win and get either (A.) a La Joya High loss or (B.) a McAllen Rowe loss, and La Joya High’s win is by only 1 point. McAllen High is out with a loss.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln has an outside chance at the postseason, as they would advance from a four-way tie at 2-4 if McAllen High and La Joya High were to both lose. The Huskies have a Week 11 bye.
District 31-6A
Edinburg Vela (6-0) has secured at least a share of the district title. It can clinch outright with a win over Edinburg Economedes (4-2). If Edinburg High wins and Edinburg Vela loses, they share the title. Either way, they’ll be the two representatives in Division II, with Vela the No. 1 seed and Edinburg High No. 2.
The two remaining playoff spots will come down to Edinburg Economedes (4-2), PSJA North (4-2) or Edinburg North (3-3) in Division I. Econ faces Vela and PSJA North takes on Edinburg High. Even with a win over PSJA High (1-5), Edinburg North is not assured a postseason berth. If Econ and PSJA North win their respective games, Edinburg North is out.
If Econ and PSJA North lose and Edinburg North wins, the three teams would finish tied with 4-3 district records. In that event, Edinburg North would secure its berth via points (+2). The final berth then would come down to Econ and PSJA North, who are tied in points (-1).
If Edinburg North and PSJA North win and Econ loses, then Edinburg North would get in the playoffs because it beat Econ head-to-head. And if Edinburg North and Econ win and PSJA North loses, then PSJA North is in because it beat Edinburg North.
District 32-6A
Undefeated San Benito and Harlingen High meet Friday to determine the outright district champion. Both teams are already assured playoff berths.
The other two playoff spots will be decided by two Friday games: Weslaco High at Los Fresnos and Brownsville Hanna at Weslaco East.
Weslaco High, Los Fresnos and Weslaco East are all 3-3, and each can secure a postseason berth with a victory.
Hanna beating East would set up two possible tiebreaker arrangements to determine the fourth seed, which would go to either East, Los Fresnos or Weslaco High.
If Hanna defeats East and Weslaco High beats Los Fresnos, Weslaco High is the No. 3 seed. This sets up a three-way tie for fourth place at 3-4 between Hanna, East and Los Fresnos. In this scenario, Los Fresnos advances by virtue of head-to-head wins against both East and Hanna.
If Hanna defeats East and Los Fresnos beats Weslaco High, Los Fresnos is the No. 3 seed, setting up a three-way tie for fourth place at 3-4 between Hanna, Weslaco East and Weslaco High. In that scenario, Weslaco East advances if Hanna’s win against East is by 13 points or fewer, and Weslaco High advances if Hanna’s win against East is by 14 points or more.
Harlingen High will be competing in Division I. Every other seeding or divisional assignment hinges on Week 11 results.
District 31-5A
Laredo Nixon and Sharyland Pioneer have clinched playoff spots. Pioneer has clinched for the first time in its three years of varsity competition.
Nixon and Pioneer are each 6-1 in district and in line to share the district title. Nixon plays Laredo Martin (3-4) on Friday; Pioneer hosts Roma (3-4). Nixon will be a Division I playoff representative in 31-5A. Pioneer will be a Division II representative.
Sharyland High is third in district at 5-2. Mission Veterans Memorial and Rio Grande City are tied for fourth at 4-3 each.
If Sharyland High beats Rio Grande City next week, it clinches a playoff spot. If Mission Vets beats Valley View, it’s in. The only way Rio Grande City can make the playoffs is if it beats Sharyland High by 16 or more points.
Even if Rio Grande City wins by fewer than 16 points, the Rattlers are out based on positive points in a three-way tiebreaker should Mission Vets beats Valley View.
Going into next week, the positive points for the three teams look like this: Sharyland High at plus-14, Mission Vets at plus-3 and Rio Grande City at minus-17.
If Mission Vets wins, it has already set up its Division I bi-district pairing against Brownsville Veterans Memorial. The game would take place Nov. 11 in Brownsville.
District 32-5A
Mercedes, Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Edcouch-Elsa have clinched playoff spots in District 32-5A. Brownsville Lopez has the edge on the final playoff berth at 4-2, but if 3-3 Brownsville Pace beats Lopez next week, Pace gets in on a head-to-head tiebreaker.
It’s possible Edcouch-Elsa, Pace and Lopez finish in a three-way tie, but the Yellowjackets would be fine since they beat Pace and Lopez this season.
Mercedes and Brownsville Vets are each 5-1 in district. Edcouch-Elsa is 4-2, but beat Lopez 33-6 on Friday.
Edcouch-Elsa and Mercedes will be the Division II playoff representatives in 32-5A, with Mercedes being the higher seed. Brownsville Vets will be the No. 1 seed in Division I.