RGVSPORTS.COM STAFF
The Sharyland Pioneer defense made its presence felt in its regular-season finale.
Led by senior safety Tyler Bulthuis’ two interceptions, the Diamondbacks forced four turnovers out of the Gladiators en route to clinching the final playoff spot in District 31-5A with a 30-13 win on Friday in Roma.
“We had three turnovers in the first half, one in the second half, and we blocked a field goal,” Pioneer coach Jason Wheeler said. “The defense played real well tonight.”
Senior running back Logan Harris had arguably his best performance for Pioneer (6-4, 5-3) since he posted 158 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Brownsville Pace on Sept. 9.
“Logan popped some big runs,” Wheeler said. “He had a long touchdown up the middle, which was a big help for us. Roma was stacking the box, so when he hit the open field, they didn’t have a safety there, and he was able to score.”
MISSION VETERANS 21, VALLEY VIEW 14: At Hidalgo, Mission Veterans’ win in its regular-season finale locked up Division I’s No. 1 seed. The Patriots (9-1, 7-1) will play Brownsville Lopez in the bi-district round.
Laredo Nixon could win its finale against rival Laredo Martin on Saturday and finish with a 7-1 district record, as well, but Mission Veterans owns the tiebreaker over Nixon.
The Tigers (3-7, 1-7) ended the season on a four-game losing streak.
Time, date and location for Mission Veterans’ bi-district game has yet to be determined.
DISTRICT 31-6A
EDINBURG VELA 52, EDINBURG ECONOMEDES 0: At Edinburg, Edinburg Vela (10-0, 7-0) got rolling and had a dominant performance in its regular-season finale to clinch an outright district title.
“It was a fitting end to the regular season,” Vela coach John Campbell said. “Obviously we wanted to win the district title outright and more importantly finish the regular season undefeated. That was kind of the battle cry the whole week, and I was pleased with how we performed tonight.”
Vela junior Aaron Alvarez had two rushing touchdowns, junior Daniel Enriquez had a punt return for a touchdown and senior Brandon Guzman and sophomore Justin Cantu each caught a pass from senior Nathan Garcia to get Vela going early against Economedes (4-6, 2-5).
“It’s really hard to get caught up right now, because the nature of this business is you are always moving toward the next game,” Campbell said. “It’s a good feeling knowing that you were able to finish this chapter of the first year. It was a late transition. We got in here late. We had to make some tweaks and some adjustments. To go on and be undefeated, I don’t care if you have been here for 10 years or six months, to go undefeated in a season at any level is an accomplishment. I’m proud for the community and more importantly, I’m proud for our boys.”
Edinburg Vela will face Brownsville Hanna in the bi-district round at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
“We don’t know too much about them yet,” Campbell said. “I do know district 32-6A is highly competitive, and they are a playoff qualifier in that district, so we have to be ready. We haven’t initiated the video exchange just yet, but it’s the playoffs, so you are expecting a top-notch opponent. I think they have done a good job. They have surprised a lot of people this year. They have beaten some quality programs, so I think we will have our hands full.”
PSJA MEMORIAL 31, PSJA SOUTHWEST 7: At Pharr, PSJA Memorial finished the season 3-7overall and 3-4 in district. PSJA Southwest finished winless at 0-10, 0-7.
DISTRICT 32-5A
MERCEDES 70, DONNA NORTH 0: At Mercedes, coach Roger Adame Jr. believes his team played its most complete game of the season against Donna North (1-9, 1-6).
“I’ve been saying to the guys that we haven’t played our best football yet,” Adame said. “I think we’re getting pretty close to our best. We want to carry this momentum into the playoffs.”
Mercedes will take on Sharyland Pioneer in the bi-district round at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tiger Stadium.
“Pioneer’s a well-coached and a very explosive team,” Adame said. “They’ve got some playmakers and a quarterback in Rosales who does a great job. It’s going to be a battle.”
EDCOUCH-ELSA 35, BROWNSVILLE PORTER 7: At Elsa, the Yellow Jackets got three rushing touchdowns from senior Jorge Gomez in his final game at Edcouch-Elsa.
E-E ended the year at 5-5 overall and 3-4 in district, while Porter finished 0-10 for the second year in a row.
DISTRICT 16-4A DI
ZAPATA 35, HIDALGO 7: At Zapata, with the win, Zapata (5-4, 2-2) clinched a playoff berth. Hidalgo finished 0-10, 0-4.
LA FERIA 42, GRULLA 9: At Grulla, La Feria improves to 6-3, 3-1. Grulla falls to 5-5, 2-2.
DISTRICT 16-4A DII
RIO HONDO 55, PROGRESO 15: At Rio Hondo, Rio Hondo (8-1, 5-0) clinched an outright district title. Progreso (1-8, 0-5) finishes the district season winless.
DISTIRCT 16-2A D
THREE RIVERS 34, LA VILLA 14: At Three Rivers, Three Rivers (8-2, 4-0) clinched the outright district title. La Villa (4-6, 3-1) comes up just short in the title hunt.