STAFF REPORT
Through the first four weeks of this season, it was easy to forget about the good Sharyland High did in 2017. The Rattlers split the district title between Mission Veterans and Laredo Nixon in the nine-team District 31-5A and had their heart ripped out in a 42-39 triple-overtime loss at Alice in the area round of the playoffs.
Sharyland High was ranked seventh in the RGVSports.com preseason top 10 poll in August, but it tumbled out of the rankings after the first two weeks of this season. The Rattlers lost three of their first four games. They didn’t appear to be meeting their heavy preseason expectations.
Five weeks later, the midseason doubts now look like as a false judgment. Sharyland High, ranked No. 10 this week, won all five of its district games, including a 45-7 victory over Mercedes in Week 9 to clinch a playoff spot and a share of the District 16-5A Division II title. The Rattlers can lock up the district title in this week’s regular season finale against Valley View.
The eight voters are the writers and editors who cover RGV high school football for AIM Media’s three newspapers: The Monitor, The Valley Morning Star, and The Brownsville Herald.
Joining the Rattlers in the latest top 10 are No. 7 PSJA North and No. 8 Raymondville, who are both making their season debuts in this week’s poll. This week, the Bearkats are tied at No. 8 with San Benito.
No. 1 Edinburg Vela (8-0) earned all first place votes in the poll for the seventh time in 10 weeks.
No. 2 Brownsville Hanna and No. 3 Mission Veterans held serve after facing difficult road tests against San Benito and Brownsville Pace. The Golden Eagles shut out the Greyhounds 30-0 while the Patriots wrestled control of District 16-5A Division I on Saturday night. PSJA High remained in the No. 4 spot.
No. 5 Weslaco High and No. 6 Weslaco East are set to meet Friday in the annual Tinaco Bowl. If Weslaco East wins, it will set up a battle for the District 31-6A title against undefeated Edinburg Vela in Week 11.
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 eight 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.
Team Record Points Previous
1. Edinburg Vela (8) 8-0 80 1
2. Brownsville Hanna 6-1 69 2
3. Mission Veterans 7-1 58 3
4. PSJA High 6-2 54 4
5. Weslaco High 7-1 49 6
6. Weslaco East 5-2 48 7
7. PSJA North 5-3 27 NR
T-8. Raymondville 7-1 14 NR
T-8. San Benito 4-4 14 5
10. Sharyland High 6-3 9 NR
Other teams receiving votes: Brownsville Pace (7), La Joya High (6), Harlingen High (4), Harlingen South (1).