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.
McAllen stays perfect; Rowe takes control of second
McAllen High continued its unbeaten run Thursday with a 49-7 win over PSJA Memorial.
The Bulldogs improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in District 16-5A Division I, clinching a postseason spot while keeping firm control of the district race.
Cole Morley finished with 198 rushing yards and five touchdowns against the Wolverines, pushing him past 1,100 yards for the season. McAllen has now scored 370 points while allowing only 44 through eight games.
Behind the Bulldogs, Nikki Rowe took a significant step Friday.
The Warriors defeated McAllen Memorial 36-19 after jumping ahead 21-0 and then weathering a Memorial comeback that cut the lead to 21-19 in the fourth quarter.
Ramiro “Alex” Leon answered with a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jakob Faz, and Rowe eventually pulled away to improve to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in district.
That leaves the Warriors alone in second place behind McAllen.
The battle immediately behind Rowe is getting tighter.
Memorial dropped to 3-2 in district, while Palmview improved to the same mark with a 50-6 win over Donna North on Thursday. Those two teams meet next week in a game that could carry major playoff-seeding implications.
Rio Grande City also kept itself in the conversation Friday with a 27-17 win over Mission.
The Rattlers improved to 2-3 in district play after scoring once in the third quarter and again in the fourth to hold off the Eagles. Mission fell to 1-4.
Rio Grande City now gets Rowe next week, giving the Rattlers another opportunity to work their way deeper into the playoff race.
Sharyland survives rivalry test
Sharyland High did not have an easy night in the Snakeskin Classic, but the Rattlers found another way to win.
Sharyland rallied from a 13-0 deficit to beat Pioneer 17-13, improving to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in District 16-5A Division II.
The Rattlers were held without an offensive touchdown until the fourth quarter, but a defensive score in the third helped change the direction of the game before Sharyland took the lead and added a late field goal.
It was the Rattlers’ fifth consecutive victory.
Sharyland has now won in several different ways during that streak, from its 37-29 shootout against Mission Veterans to a 24-2 defensive win over Juarez-Lincoln and Friday’s four-point rivalry victory.
Next week brings another important test.
Cigarroa improved to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in district with a 14-7 win over PSJA Southwest on Thursday. The Toros are now within one victory of securing their first playoff berth since 2006.
Sharyland and Cigarroa meet next Friday. A Rattlers win would guarantee Sharyland at least a share of the district championship heading into the regular-season finale.
Mission Veterans, which was off this week, also remains firmly in the race after entering the open date at 3-1 in district.
Roma added a 24-3 win over Juarez-Lincoln on Friday to remain in the postseason picture as well.
Vela stays unbeaten in 31-6A
Vela continued to set the pace in District 31-6A with a 55-20 win over Economedes.
The Sabercats improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in district, extending their winning streak to seven games.
The result gives Vela a one-game advantage over both Weslaco and Edinburg High with two district games remaining.
Weslaco followed its 64-21 win over Economedes last week with another dominant performance Friday, shutting out Edinburg North 51-0.
The Panthers improved to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in district.
Edinburg High joined Weslaco at 2-1 after holding off La Joya 24-17 on Thursday. The Bobcats improved to 6-2 and have now won consecutive district games after opening district play with a loss to Economedes.
That sets up one of next week’s biggest Valley games.
Vela travels to face Edinburg High, while Weslaco heads to La Joya. A Vela win would put the Sabercats in commanding position heading into their finale against Edinburg North.
Harlingen remains alone atop 32-6A
Harlingen also kept its district record perfect Friday.
The Cardinals defeated Brownsville Veterans Memorial 24-13 to improve to 3-0 in District 32-6A and 6-2 overall.
Harlingen built a 14-0 lead and never surrendered control, although Brownsville Veterans remained within one possession late in the third quarter at 21-13.
The Cardinals now sit one game ahead of both PSJA North and Los Fresnos.
PSJA North bounced back from last week’s loss to Harlingen with a 45-17 win over San Benito, improving to 2-1 in district.
Los Fresnos also moved to 2-1 after pulling away from PSJA High for a 48-13 victory.
That game was much closer at halftime, with Los Fresnos leading 21-13 before the Falcons broke it open with 27 unanswered points in the third quarter.
The results leave Harlingen alone at the top, followed by PSJA North and Los Fresnos at 2-1. Brownsville Veterans and San Benito are both 1-2, while PSJA sits at 0-3.
Harlingen travels to San Benito next week before closing the regular season against Los Fresnos, a matchup that could still have the district championship riding on it.
Elsewhere, Harlingen South’s postseason hopes took another major hit with a 48-31 loss at Flour Bluff. The Hawks entered the night needing a win to strengthen their position in District 15-5A and now face an increasingly difficult road over the final two weeks.
With two weeks remaining, several Valley district championships remain unsettled.
But after Week 9, the teams at the top — McAllen, Sharyland, Vela and Harlingen — are still the ones everyone else is chasing.
