RGVSports.com
The Edinburg Vela SaberCats continued their tear through District 31-6A with a lopsided 38-7 win over the PSJA Memorial Wolverines on Thursday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
Trailing 3-0 in the second quarter, PSJA Memorial took advantage of a short field to punch it into the end zone and take a 7-3 lead on Vela. The SaberCats were forced to overcome a rare deficit.
“I think it was a matter of our players sticking to the game plan and executing their assignments,” Edinburg Vela coach John Campbell said. “You can’t get frazzled. PSJA Memorial has been doing a really good job this year. They’re a lot better football team than people had originally anticipated. We expected to get their best, and that’s exactly what we got in early in the game.”
The SaberCats (7-0) defense set the tone for the remainder of the game, shutting out the Wolverines (2-5) the rest of the way.
“I was impressed with our defensive performance once they settled in after Memorial’s score came on a short field,” Campbell said. “Once we settled down, (quarterback) Nathan (Garcia) made some throws and we were steady running the ball. We were able to share the wealth a little bit. A lot of guys got some touches.”
The SaberCats moved to 4-0 in 31-6A, while the Wolverines fell to 2-2 in district competition.
DISTRICT 31-5A
LAREDO CIGARROA 17, VALLEY VIEW 12: At Laredo, Valley View was unable to rise above the .500 mark in October for the first time since 2012 and dropped a road tilt with Laredo Cigarroa.
Valley View (3-4) running back Brandon Gonzalez ran for a touchdown late in the first half to give the Tigers a 10-6 advantage — their only lead of the game. The touchdown was his seventh of the season.
The win for Cigarroa (1-7) broke a 16-game losing streak and a 24-game losing streak against Class 5A opponents.
Valley View dropped to 1-4 in district play, while Laredo Cigarroa improved to 1-5 in 31-5A.