The Weslaco East Wildcats reeled off five straight wins in District 16-5A DI after dropping the district home opener 7-3 to Harlingen South in Week 5.
The Wildcats had the 3-0 advantage over the Hawks for most of the game. A bad snap during a punt attempt gave Harlingen South prime field position and the Hawks slowly moved in for the touchdown.
A massive win over the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers in Week 7 gave the Wildcats the opportunity to win a district championship.
The Chargers’ victory over the Hawks in Week 10 knotted the district three ways. The Lower Valley schools took the top two seeds. The Wildcats ended up with the third seed and a bi-district matchup with the Edinburg Vela Sabercats.
The Wildcats lost to Edinburg Vela 55-17 in non-district play earlier this season.
“Of course, Vela is one of the best teams in South Texas. We realized that when we played them, we realized that when we watched film,” Wildcats head coach Mike Burget said. “They are very well-coached and the kids are very talented, but I think we have made a lot of changes.”
Weslaco East moved Ashton Guajardo to quarterback and Alex Martinez back to wide receiver, and the Wildcats have gone 5-0 since then.
“When we played them the first time, I cannot tell you how many times we turned the ball over, it was a like a slot machine,” Burget said. “Coming back and winning the rest of our games, our kids got some confidence. We are going to show up Friday and give it the Wildcat effort, we always do when we are in the playoffs.”
The Wildcats (6-4, 5-1), face the SaberCats (9-1, 6-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers (8-2, 5-1) meet the McAllen Rowe Warriors (6-4, 4-3) at 7 p.m. today at Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School.
The Chargers, under second-year head coach Kelley Lee, returned an abundance of starters and lettermen. Brownsville Veterans lived up to the expectations thrusted on teams with experience.
Every point is important, and the Chargers scored 323 during district, averaging 53 points per game. The triple-option offense secured the No. 1 seed in the district and the home meeting with Rowe.
Harlingen South dropped down to Class 5A with only a handful of returning starters.
The only blemish on the Harlingen South district schedule was a loss to Brownsville Veterans, where the Hawks gave up 47 points. The Hawks only gave up 27 points to the other five district opponents.
Harlingen South took the second seed in the district. The Hawks (7-3, 5-1) face the McAllen High Bulldogs (5-5, 4-3) today at Boggus Stadium in Harlingen.
Donna High breezed through non-district and beat out Brownsville Pace for the fourth spot in the district. The Redskins lost to the tri-champions in the district.
The Redskins (7-3, 3-3) face the PSJA North Raiders (10-0, 7-0), the No. 8 Class 5A DI team in Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s latest rankings, at 7:30 p.m. Friday at PSJA Stadium.
District 15-5A DII
Two Coastal Bend schools were pushed down into the Valley. Gregory-Portland High School to Valley View is 171 miles apart and so is Brownsville Porter High School.
Gregory-Portland and Corpus Christi Flour Bluff squared off in Week 11 with Flour Bluff coming out on top 36-34 to win the district championship.
It was always going to be a fight between Brownsville Porter, Mercedes, Valley View and Edcouch-Elsa for the other two spots.
Mercedes easily beat all three to claim the third spot in the district. The Tigers were rewarded with a meeting with Sharyland Pioneer at 7 p.m. today at Richard Thompson Stadium.
Edcouch-Elsa defeated Valley View in Week 11. Both teams beat Brownsville Porter to set up the play-in game in Week 11.
The Yellow Jackets face the District 16-5A DII champions, the Sharyland High Rattlers at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Richard Thompson Stadium.