MISSION — For a little more than a half, Pioneer had Mission Veterans in trouble.

Then the Patriots took over.

Mission Veterans erased an eight-point second-half deficit and scored the final 24 points Friday night to defeat Pioneer 44-28 at Richard Thompson Stadium, closing the regular season with a win before both teams head into the Class 5A Division II playoffs.

The victory sends Mission Veterans into the postseason at 8-2 overall and 5-1 in District 16-5A Division II, securing the district’s No. 2 seed behind Sharyland.

Pioneer finishes the regular season 5-5 overall and 3-3 in district, entering the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.

McALLEN — Nikki Rowe will enter the postseason having won five straight games.

The Warriors closed the regular season Friday with a 48-14 win over PSJA Memorial at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, finishing 7-3 overall and 6-1 in District 16-5A Division I.

Rowe had already secured the district’s No. 2 seed, but the regular-season finale gave the Warriors another opportunity to work through adjustments before their first-round matchup with Flour Bluff.

Junior quarterback Ramiro “Alex” Leon finished with 202 passing yards and three touchdowns.

“We had stuff to fix, and we came in and we fixed it,” Leon said of Rowe’s halftime adjustments. “We had a reverse come in. That was a big key to our momentum, and that helped us a lot.”

PHARR — Sharyland got everything it wanted from the regular season.

An outright district championship. A perfect 6-0 district record. Seven consecutive wins.

It also got a reminder Thursday night of what could become a problem once the playoffs begin.

Sharyland defeated PSJA Southwest 42-15 to finish the regular season 8-2 overall and undefeated in District 16-5A Division II, completing a run few expected before the season.

“It feels awesome,” Sharyland head coach Craig Krell said. “Especially when no one picked you to win it. Most people, at the beginning of the year, had us finishing third or fourth. For us to get a share of the district championship last week, and then this week to be undefeated district champs, is pretty special.”

MISSION — Mission Veterans took care of the game in front of it Friday night. Now the Patriots can turn their attention to where they will enter the postseason.

Mission Veterans defeated Juarez-Lincoln 43-10 at Tom Landry Stadium, improving to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in District 16-5A Division II.

The Patriots led 7-0 after the first quarter before putting the game away with 22 points in the second.

Quarterback Roman Reyna directed an offense that found success both through the air and on the ground. Alejandro Melendez caught the first touchdown of the night, while Fabian Ruiz and Joseph Vazquez also reached the end zone before halftime.

SHARYLAND — Sharyland High entered Friday night knowing a win would guarantee two things.

A share of the District 16-5A Division II championship and the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs.

The Rattlers took care of both.

Sharyland defeated Cigarroa 31-12 at Richard Thompson Stadium, improving to 7-2 overall and 5-0 in district play while extending its winning streak to six games.

“So if we won, we were going to have at least a share of the district championship no matter what happens next week,” Sharyland head coach Craig Krell said. “And if we win today, we got the number one seed in the playoffs. So, for us, that was huge.”

McALLEN — Close games have followed Palmview all season.

Friday night, one of them put the Lobos in the playoffs.

With the score tied at 35, Palmview converted a fourth-and-two deep in its own territory, drove into McAllen Memorial territory and watched Rosbel Rebollozo hit a 26-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining for a 38-35 win at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The victory improved Palmview to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in District 16-5A Division I and secured the Lobos a postseason berth.

PHARR — PSJA North took control of the Tri-City Classic early and stayed in front the rest of the way Friday night.

The Raiders defeated PSJA High 38-14 at PSJA Stadium, improving to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in District 32-6A.

Antwon Estrada gave North the lead on its opening possession with a short rushing touchdown. A few minutes later, he made another impact on defense.

With PSJA quarterback Dylan Rodriguez under pressure, Estrada intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown, giving the Raiders a 14-0 lead with 5:16 remaining in the first quarter.

McALLEN — Patrick Shelby smiled and pulled out his play sheet.

On the back was the McAllen Bulldog logo. Underneath it was the year 1952.

It has been there since Shelby began coaching at McAllen High, a reminder of the last time, he said, the Bulldogs reached 10-0.

After Thursday night, McAllen is one win away.

The Bulldogs overwhelmed Donna North 77-6 on homecoming night at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, improving to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in District 16-5A Division I while securing the outright district championship.

Now only Mission stands between McAllen and a 10-0 regular season.

“1952 was the last time McHi football went 10-0,” Shelby said. “So it would be huge for us this year, in 2026. It’s a long time coming.”

RIO GRANDE VALLEY — Week 9 brought a little more clarity to the Rio Grande Valley playoff picture.

McAllen High, Sharyland High, Edinburg Vela and Harlingen all remained unbeaten in district play, while several teams behind them picked up wins that could prove important over the final two weeks of the regular season.

SHARYLAND — Sharyland High remains unbeaten in District 16-5A Division II after escaping defeat at the hands of their crosstown rivals Sharyland Pioneer in the Snakeskin Classic Friday night.

It was a classic rivalry type of game between the Rattlers and Diamondbacks with Sharyland High ultimately prevailing 17-13. The Rattlers now have firm control of their district-title destiny.

It was a battle in the trenches Friday night, and a low-scoring game validates that. There was not much time in the pocket for either quarterback and the yards on the ground were hard earned.

McALLEN — Christian De Leon started Friday night with a microphone in hand.

The Nikki Rowe senior middle linebacker stood alone and sang the national anthem at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium. Then he traded the microphone for a helmet.

A few hours later, De Leon and the Warriors walked off the same field with a 36-19 win over McAllen Memorial, a victory that moved Rowe into sole possession of second place in District 16-5A Division I.

For De Leon, both parts of the night fit together.

“I love to stay involved in our community,” De Leon said. “I do choir, theater, wrestling — I’m in everything. I’m everywhere.”

PHARR — Another week, another win for the Bulldogs.

McAllen remained unbeaten Thursday night, rolling past PSJA Memorial 49-7 at PSJA Stadium to improve to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in district.

A week after shutting out Palmview 55-0, McAllen came very close pitching back to back shutouts.

Sophomore running back Cole Morley powered the offense, rushing for 198 yards and five touchdowns on 11 carries.

EDINBURG — With its offense struggling to put the game away and scoreless in the second half, Edinburg High’s defense delivered the play the Bobcats needed.

Senior defensive end Uziel Flores scooped up a La Joya fumble off a botched toss and returned it for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, providing the difference as Edinburg held off the Coyotes 24-17 Thursday night at Richard R. Flores Stadium.

The victory improved Edinburg to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in District 31-6A, while La Joya fell to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in district.

LA JOYA — Palmview went two consecutive games without putting a point on the scoreboard.

It took the Lobos less than three minutes Thursday night to change that.

Palmview recovered a muffed kickoff to open the game, Adrian Rivas turned the posession into one of his touchdowns on the night, rolling past Donna North 50-6 at La Joya Stadium.

The win snapped Palmview’s two-game skid following consecutive shutout losses to Rowe, 33-0, and unbeaten McAllen High, 55-0.

McALLEN — Seven games into the season, McAllen High has yet to lose.

Four times, its defense has pitched a shutout, marking McAllen’s first season with at least four shutouts since 1979.

The Bulldogs continued their unbeaten run Friday night, overwhelming Palmview 55-0 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium behind six touchdown passes from junior quarterback Luke Laurel, five touchdown receptions from senior Joaquin Alvarez and another dominant performance from a defense that has become one of the defining pieces of McAllen’s season.

McAllen improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in District 16-5A Division I, remaining alone atop the district standings. Palmview dropped to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in district.

For senior linebacker Hayden Helgeson, the formula behind the Bulldogs’ defensive success is not complicated.

“It comes from practice,” Helgeson said. “It comes from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. We grind all week during practice. Every single day of practice was physical. All of our guys were working. We were working against the offense, the offense was working against us. It really just takes practice. That’s where it all comes from.”