MCALLEN — For most of his varsity career, Braxton Speights had a familiar group around him; the same group of guys he had grown up playing football with. That group, the class of 2025, closed out their time together as undefeated District Champions last season, a fitting climax to years spent growing up in the game side by side.

This year is different.

The McAllen Memorial senior running back is now one of the veterans on a Mustangs team featuring several players getting their first taste of varsity football. For Speights, that has meant taking on a bigger responsibility beyond simply carrying the football.

“Nothing crazy,” Speights said. “But there’s obviously a lot of young guys, a lot of guys that don’t have varsity experience. So it’s been really just coaching them up and trying to get them ready for the moment.”

WESLACO — PSJA North seemed headed towards back-to-back regular season losses for the first time since 2019 late Friday.

An interception by Weslaco High’s defense put the ball in the Panthers’ hands with a chance to chew up the clock and hand the Raiders a second straight loss.

The Raiders had other plans.

With their backs against the wall, PSJA North’s defense responded with back-to-back punts and an interception, while the defense scored two four quarter touchdowns as the Raiders rallied past Weslaco High during a non-district game at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.

MISSION — For one half, Sharyland looked like it was going to run away with Friday night’s game against La Joya.

By the end of the fourth quarter, the Rattlers were just trying to survive.

Sharyland watched a 28-point halftime lead disappear before sophomore quarterback William Taylor delivered again in overtime, helping the Rattlers escape with a 42-41 win over the Coyotes at Richard Thompson Stadium.

“The game is never over until the clock hits zero,” Taylor said. “It’s never over. Gotta fight every single play, going 100 percent.”

McALLEN — Hate may be a strong word, but when it comes down to crosstown rivals McHi and McAllen Memorial, it fits.

The Bulldogs and Mustangs locked horns to open district competition Friday night, and for the first time since 2022, McHi finished on top, defeating Memorial 34-14 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in this year’s “Battle of the M.”

“Our coaches prepped us well,” sophomore running back Cole Morley said. “We really hate them, so there was a lot of hate going into it and we knew we had to win.”

MISSION — Weslaco East defeated Sharyland Pioneer Thursday night at Richard Thompson Stadium 32-13 in a non-district game. 

The Wildcats (2-2) played solid defense, had takeaways and fourth-down stops that led to points which was the big difference Thursday night in the Wildcats’ win over the Diamondbacks (2-2). 

Sharyland Pioneer had some late fourth-quarter hope when junior running back Cole Scurlock broke loose for a 66-yard touchdown run with nine minutes left in the fourth, that made it 32-13. A stop and score could have made it a two-possession game, but the Wildcats killed the entire clock with a nine-minute drive to win the game. 

“It was a hard-fought win. First off, Pioneer is a very well-coached team. Overall, there is some things we have to fix with our team. I felt like early their was some execution problems that we are going to have to fix, but overall I like how we came out in the second half and executed when we needed to, to finish this game.” 

MISSION — For a second straight week Mission Veterans found itself with its back against the wall late, needing a score to earn a win.

For a second straight week the Patriots completed the comeback, with junior quarterback Roman Reyna orchestrating a seven-play, 66-yard drive in the final four minutes, capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Joseph Vasquez as Mission Veterans rallied past the Los Fresnos Falcons 35-31 during a non-district contest Thursday at Tom Landry Stadium in Mission.

“We just wanted to control the ball, make sure we don’t fumble and drive down the field,” Reyna said. “We tried chewing up as much clock as we could and try to get that last possession to score. Our defense did their thing too and we came out with that win.”

McALLEN — Los Fresnos quarterback Evan McChesney threw five touchdown passes and two-way player Ryan Prepejchal hauled in three as the Falcons soared past the McAllen Memorial Mustangs 54-20 during a non-district game Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen.

The win improves the Falcons to 3-0 on the year, while dropping the Mustangs to 1-2.

McChesney and Prepejchal connected early and often during the first half, with the two hooking up three times to send Los Fresnos into the break with a 35-14 lead.

It’s been three years since McHi has gotten off to a 3-0 start, but the 2026 Bulldogs are moving a bit different.

McHi has been one of the most dominant teams across the state over the first three weeks of the Texas high school football regular season, outscoring opponents 136-0 following a 35-0 beatdown of the PSJA Bears on Thursday at PSJA Stadium.

While the numbers are nice, the Bulldogs have been anything but on the gridiron.

“We’re harping on, especially us captains, we’re harping on being the most physical team in the RGV,” senior linebacker Hayden Helgeson said. “That’s what we want to be. We want to be those guys and we want people to be afraid of us.”

EDINBURG — Edinburg Vela’s Caidyn Hoover didn’t plan on switching positions heading into the 2026 season. Just one year after leading the state in interceptions, the SaberCats senior was asked to move to quarterback for his final year.

Despite being reluctant at first, Hoover made the move for his team, stepping into the QB1 role for Vela.

Hoover’s move paid dividends Thursday, leading the SaberCats to a 42-40 win over the PSJA North Raiders during a non-district game at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.

“I had to do it for the team,” Hoover said. “I didn’t want to move after what I did last year. Being able to move to quarterback though, it shows the type of player I am. It shows I can play anywhere on the field for the team.”