EDINBURG — There was not much sympathy in McAllen High’s approach to its season opener.

The Bulldogs scored three times before halftime, kept the pressure on after the break and shut out Economedes 41-0 at Richard R. Flores Stadium to open the 2026 football season with a strong win.

For senior Hayden Helgeson, the mindset behind the performance was simple.

“You know it felt good,” Helgeson said. “Going into this game it was... Be the hammer, not the nail, as they say.”

WESLACO — Coming into the 2026 season, Weslaco High has one of the best defenses in the Rio Grande Valley and they showed why people are rating that unit that high on Friday night against cross-town rivals Weslaco East in the Tinaco Bowl.  

The Panthers hardly let the Wildcats sniff the end zone let alone the red zone in a 30-0 win at a packed Bobby Lackey Stadium for the first Friday night of the high school football season. 

“Defense,” Weslaco High head coach Roy Stroman said when asked about what he thought of the game. “Our defense was solid tonight. Coach Ramirez had a great game plan and our kids executed.” 

PHARR — Mercedes junior Frankie Salinas barely had time to catch his breath during Thursday’s season opener against PSJA High.

From playing safety to lining up at wideout to returning kicks, the third-year letter winner did it all for the Tigers.

The Tigers needed every bit of it after a shaky start, with Salinas finishing with an unofficial 140 yards and one touchdown on eight catches while adding an interception on defense to lead Mercedes past the Bears 20-10 in a non-district contest at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.

SAN ANTONIO — There was a common theme across the Class 5A girls relays during the Region IV-5A & 6A Track and Field Championships.

Each time the first-place team crossed the finish line, it was clad in purple and gold with “McAllen” written across the uniform.

By the end of the meet, the Lady Bulldogs left little doubt they were top dogs on the track, as a sweep of the relay events helped McHi capture its third straight Region IV-5A team championship Saturday at Heroes Stadium.

McAllen High opened Saturday’s running finals with a statement in the 5A girls 4x100-meter relay, edging Leander Rouse for its first gold medal and state bid of the night.

UTRGV closed its inaugural regular season perfect at home, beating East Texas A&M 33–14 at Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium. After falling behind 7–0, senior Logic Hudgens flipped the night with a 52-yard pick-six, and the Vaqueros rolled into halftime up 20–7. Kicker Brysen Gardner stayed automatic—career-high four field goals, from 31 and 36 plus two more after the break. Hometown QB Eddie Lee Marburger went 17-for-22 for 141 yards and two touchdowns—20 yards to Ismael Smith Flores, then 4 yards to Kyran Lee. Final tally: 9–3 overall, 5–3 in the Southland, tied for third with Lamar—and history made: the only FCS program to go undefeated at home in year one and the only debut team with more than seven wins. As Coach Travis Bush put it: “They came here on a dream—and set the standard.”

UTRGV finished the year tied for third in the SLC with Lamar, with both teams going 5-3 in league play.

The Vaqueros’ inaugural season also set multiple FCS records, becoming the only program to go undefeated at home in its first year and the only one to win more than seven games in its debut season.

“It’s just a special group, man,” Bush said. “Nobody knows outside of our building this group and what they’ve done. They came here on a dream. They came here on a vision, especially those seniors. They exemplify everything we want to be. We talked in a team meeting a year ago about looking for seniors with the mindset of coming in and setting the standard and foundation for this program and the future. That’s exactly what these guys did.”

CORPUS CHRISTI — McAllen Memorial closed a 9–3 season Friday at Buccaneer Stadium, falling to New Braunfels 63–29 in the UIL 5A Division I area round. With starting quarterback Kane Coy sidelined by a recent collarbone injury, sophomore No. 14 Vicente Valdez took the reins and kept the Mustangs organized, leaning into the team’s identity: a physical run game and clock-chewing drives.

New Braunfels landed first and often, capitalizing on an early turnover on downs and a muffed kickoff to build a 42–7 halftime margin. Memorial’s lone first-half score came after the Mustang defense forced a three-and-out and the ensuing punt glanced off a Unicorn blocker, setting the ball at the 1. Running back Braxton Speights powered in behind the offensive line to cut the deficit to two scores at the time.

PHARR - PSJA North left little doubt in its playoff opener, rolling past Mission 65–14 in a Class 5A Division I bi-district game Friday at PSJA Stadium.

The Raiders, now 11–0, scored on their opening drive and led 52–0 by halftime. Mission closes its season at 4–7.

PSJA North methodically moved from its own 23 to the Mission 3 on the first series, finishing with a 3-yard rushing touchdown by senior quarterback Daren Garcia for a 6–0 lead. After a defensive stop, Garcia capped another drive with a 1-yard score, and freshman tight end Jaxon Evans added a 2-point conversion to make it 14–0.