5A Notebook: Top 15-5A DI teams collide in Week 6

HARLINGEN The top four teams in the District 15-5A DI standings are set to lock horns in Week 6 as PSJA North visits Harlingen South and Corpus Christi Flour Bluff takes on Weslaco East in a battle of unbeatens.

While Week 6 marks the midway point of the regular season, Friday night’s 15-5A DI matchups have district championship implications.

PSJA NORTH AT HARLINGEN SOUTH, 7:30 P.M. FRIDAY

PSJA North (4-0, 2-0) enters Week 6 as the No. 1 team in the RGVSports.com 5A/6A Top 10 rankings, with Harlingen South (3-2, 2-1) coming in at No. 10.

South’s offense has found a rhythm with a two-quarterback system featuring Austin Shroyer and Dylan Anaya behind center. Anaya also lines up all over the field as a versatile weapon.

Shroyer is completing 62.1% of his passes for 530 yards and four touchdowns to no interceptions this season. Anaya, meanwhile, has thrown for 197 yards, rushed for 565 yards and caught 14 passes for 191 yards with eight total touchdowns.

Harlingen South running back Alvin Edwards carries the ball against McAllen Rowe during a non-district game on Aug. 26, 2024 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium. Photo by Joel Martinez.

South senior running back Alvin Edwards is coming off his best game of the season after rushing for 283 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries during a 44-7 win over Donna North in Week 5. Edwards’ big performance catapulted him to No. 6 in the Valley in rushing yardage with 681 yards and nine touchdowns.

The Hawks will look to get all three going offensively against a Raiders squad playing red-hot defensively.

The “Blackshirts” have been on a tear in recent weeks with a combined 18 points surrendered during their past three wins, including a 35-7 beatdown of Corpus Christi Veterans in Week 5. The Raiders were flying to the ball and forced three turnovers in the win to remain tied atop the District 15-5A DI standings.

PSJA North defender AJ Villareal (32) celebrates his fumble recovery against PSJA High in a game at PSJA Stadium on Friday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Pharr. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])

Senior linebacker Steven Garza leads the Raiders defense with 43 total tackles and eight tackles for loss in four games. Junior safety Ethan Monteymayor and senior linebacker Jesse Montez rank second and third on the team with 32 and 31 tackles, respectively.

They’ll be tasked with flying to the football Friday night as the Raiders and Hawks kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Boggus Stadium in Harlingen.

FLOUR BLUFF AT WESLACO EAST, 7:30 P.M. FRIDAY

No. 3 Weslaco East (4-0, 2-0) has been battle-tested through the first half of the season yet still stands unbeaten, as does the top-ranked Coastal Bend team in No. 1 Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (5-0, 3-0).

The Flour Bluff Hornets have been lighting up scoreboards across South Texas to start the season with an average of 51.6 points per game and have only given up 11.2 points per game defensively.

The Hornets’ offense features a pair of Division I pledges in senior quarterback Jayden Paluseo, a UTRGV football and baseball commit, and senior receiver Cameran Dickson, a Vanderbilt commit.

Flour Bluff quarterback Jayden Paluseo drops back to pass against Brownsville Porter during a District 15-5A DII game on Oct. 26, 2023 at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville. Photo by Victor Dominguez.

Paluseo has thrown for 1,305 yards and 19 touchdowns in four games, while his top target Dickson has caught 22 passes for 344 yards and five touchdowns. The Hornets’ receiving corps also includes big-play threats in Andre Mimms (432 yards, seven touchdowns) and James Porter (252 yards, five touchdowns).

Fresh off its bye week, Weslaco East will stand up to the challenge with a number of playmakers at every level of its defense and an offense looking to keep the chains and clock moving.

PSJA Memorial’s Emi Colunga , middle, is tackled by Weslaco East defenders Greg Granados, left, and Noah Rosales, right, during the first half at PSJA Stadium Thursday Sept.19, 2024 in Pharr. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])

Senior linebacker Kyle Garcia leads East in tackles with 42 stops, and senior safety Greg Granados is right behind him with 39. The last time the Wildcats were on the field in Week 4, it was their defense who made the game-winning play as sophomore cornerback Ramiro Carrera made a tackle for loss on a two-point conversion attempt by PSJA Memorial that secured a 23-22 overtime victory for Weslaco East.

If the Wildcats can slow the Hornets offense while leaning on its one-two punch in the backfield of senior Margarito Pompa (481 yards, four touchdowns) and freshman Malachi Rodriguez (507 yards, seven touchdowns), Weslaco East has a shot to turn this one into a dogfight.

The Wildcats and Hornets are slated for a 7:30 p.m. start Friday at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.

DISTRICT 16-5A DI

District 16-5A DI teams already have two games under their belt but are on a league-wide bye week in Week 6.

Three teams — Edinburg Vela (5-0, 2-0), McAllen Memorial (4-1, 2-0) and McAllen Rowe (2-3, 2-0) — are tied for first place with 2-0 records in district play.

La Joya Palmview (4-1, 1-1) and McAllen High (1-4, 1-1) both sit at .500 in district, while Mission High (2-3, 0-2), La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (1-4, 0-2) and Rio Grande City (0-5, 0-2) look to break into the win column in district play.

DISTRICTS 15-5A DII AND 16-5A DII

The five-team District 15-5A DII and six-team District 16-5A DII are slated to begin league play next week in Week 7.

District 15-5A DII, which includes Alice, Mission Veterans, Roma, Sharyland High and Sharyland Pioneer, closes out non-district action this week. Mission Veterans (0-5) takes on Brownsville Hanna on Friday in Mission as the Patriots chase their first win of the 2024 season. Sharyland (3-2) is slated to face Los Fresnos in the RGVSports.com Game of the Week on Friday in Los Fresnos, while Sharyland Pioneer (4-1) travels for a matchup against Brownsville Veterans on Thursday in Brownsville. Roma (4-1) also plays host to Port Isabel (5-0) on Friday at Gladiator Arena in Week 6 in a matchup of ground and pound offenses. Alice (2-3) is scheduled to close non-district play against Tuloso-Midway on Friday at Tuloso-Midway.

District 16-5A DII, which features Brownsville Lopez, Brownsville Pace, Brownsville Porter, Edcouch-Elsa, Mercedes and PSJA Southwest, appears wide open. The Lopez Lobos and Pace Vikings will begin district play next week with 4-1 overall records, while Edcouch-Elsa and Mercedes are both 3-2 overall. The entire district is on a bye week and returns to the field to begin 16-5A DII play in Week 7.