PHARR — The last time Mission Veterans walked off the field at PSJA Stadium, the Patriots had just been handed a 56-14 loss by PSJA North.
Mission Veterans head coach David Gilpin said that night forced his young team to make a choice.
“PSJA North gave us a wake-up call,” Gilpin said. “We’re either going to strap up and we’re going to go out there, we’re going to go toe to toe with whoever’s in front of us, or we’re going to have to go hide somewhere. And our kids made a decision to come out swinging. And they have ever since.”
The Patriots haven’t lost since.
Mission Veterans picked up its fourth straight victory Friday night, defeating PSJA Southwest 44-20 in a District 16-5A DII contest at PSJA Stadium.
LA JOYA — For a moment Friday night, Palmview quarterback Edgar Villalpando admitted his confidence wavered.
The senior quarterback and the Lobos found themselves trailing Mission at halftime after a back-and-forth first two quarters, but Palmview leaned on its ground game and defense down the stretch to rally for a 25-21 win Friday night at La Joya ISD Pack Stadium.
“At a point, I lost faith, I’m not gonna lie,” Villalpando said. “But, you know, I’m glad that we trust our whole team, and I’m glad that our team was able to execute at the end. Big moments, you know, we’re destined for big moments. So I trust my whole team. I trust my O-line. I trust my defense.”
McALLEN — The McHi Bulldogs found themselves in an unfamiliar spot for the first time this season — behind on the scoreboard — during the first quarter of their District 16-5A DI rivalry game against Nikki Rowe.
The deficit would last just one snap and 22 seconds, however, as McHi running back Cole Morley proceeded to rip off a 66-yard touchdown run on the very next play, re-taking the lead before leaving Rowe in the dust for a 33-7 rivalry win Friday night at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
After delivering a 34-14 beat down of one of their crosstown rivals McAllen Memorial a week ago, the Bulldogs took care of business against the Warriors to claim their first city championship in four years.
LOS FRESNOS — From the game’s opening drive, Edinburg Vela Caidyn Hoover made his presence felt.
The SaberCats two-way star came up with the game’s first two tackles, including a big hit in the back field on second down.
Hoover was only getting started.
Four plays later, the senior was sprinting his way to the end zone for a 59-yard pick-6, giving the Falcons an early 7-0 lead.
The defensive touchdown was a sign of things to come, with Hoover accounting for all of Edinburg Vela’s touchdowns during a 49-42 win over the Falcons on Friday at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium in Los Fresnos. Hoover finished with four passing touchdowns, two rushing and one defensive touchdown during the win.
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.
MISSION — For a second straight game, the Sharyland High Rattlers found themselves with a big lead at the break.
For a second straight game, the Rattlers saw that lead disappear in the second half, with their opponent battling back to make it a tight contest late.
For a second straight game, Sharyland High found a way to close out with a win, holding off the Gladiators’ second-half comeback attempt for a 41-34 District 16-5A DII win Friday at Richard Thompson Stadium in Mission.