High School Football: Week 1 brings hard-hitting action

High school football in the Rio Grande Valley is alive and well, as schools started Week 1 with a little bit of everything.

From grudge matches to intracity rivals, some big plays were to be made and local student-athletes delivered.

Sharyland Pioneer 49
PSJA Bears 42

Right from the kickoff, Pioneer and PSJA were at each other’s necks throughout the game.

Dylan Rodriguez, who is quarterback for the PSJA Bears, had himself a night with 348 yards passing — and with four touchdowns in his pocket. Although the Bears put up some impressive scoring display and yardage (458), Pioneer was also ready to exchange their fair share of points.

Although PSJA was leading by a touchdown at the end of the first half. The fourth quarter proved crucial as each play proved critical — particularly for Pioneer.

Pioneer had themselves a night full of green has they capped off the game with 504 yards. More notably, they had about 400 yards of rushing.

Pioneer’s Dylan Tijerina had himself an impressive night with six touchdowns on 21 carries. He finished the game with 283 yards.

Weslaco Panthers 49
Harlingen Cardinals 28

This was a game on a bunch of people’s radars — some even having it as their Game of the Week.

Although it’s a new season, sometimes losses from last year can still be a factor for teams and how they play for this year.

Last season, the season opener opened up with both the Harlingen Cardinals and Weslaco Panthers facing each other. However, the Cards had the upper hand when they played on their home turf last year— winning 42-28.

However, on Friday, it was a different ball game.

Right from the jump, Weslaco had themselves a couple of rushing touchdowns to put themselves in a somewhat comfortable spot at the end of the first quarter being up 14-0.

The Panthers’ own Chris Luna — who is a senior — showed he can do it all on the field as he had three passing touchdowns and one rushing. The Harlingen Cardinals did show some life as they put up some points in the second quarter and fourth, but it wasn’t enough to close the 49-28 spread that Weslaco built.

Week 1 Final Scores:

SAN BENITO GREYHOUNDS    14
PSJA NORTH RAIDERS    49

MERCEDES TIGERS        21
EDINBURG BOBCATS    7

HARLINGEN CARDINALS    28
WESLACO PANTHERS    49

SHARYLAND PIONEER    49
PSJA BEARS        42

PSJA MEMORIAL        0
VETERANS MEMORIAL    49

HANNA GOLDEN EAGLES    14
McALLEN MEM. MUSTANGS    37

MISSION VETS MEMORIAL    28
MISSION EAGLES        0

SHARYLAND RATTLERS    45
WESLACO EAST WILDCATS    28

EDINBURG VELA SABERCATS  38
EDINBURG NORTH COUGARS    2

ECONOMEDES JAGUARS    49
DONNA NORTH CHIEFS    0

EDCOUCH-ELSA YELLOW JACKETS    20
DONNA REDSKINS        0

McALLEN BULLDOGS    28
LOS FRESNOS FALCONS    34

PROGRESO RED ANTS    0
MMA BULLDOGS        33

HARLINGEN SOUTH HAWKS    35
NIKKI ROWE WARRIORS    49

LA JOYA COYOTES        45
BROWNSVILLE RIVERA RAIDERS     28

HIDALGO PIRATES        14
BROWNSVILLE PACE VIKINGS    21

PSJA SOUTHWEST        14
LA JOYA PALMVIEW    34

JUAREZ-LINCOLN HUSKIES    23
BROWNSVILLE LOPEZ    40

RIO GRANDE CITY RATTLERS    27
ROMA GLADIATORS    39

MONTE ALTO BLUE DEVILS    6
PREMONT COWBOYS    50

SANTA MARIA COUGARS    45
LA VILLA CARDINALS    50

ST. JOSEPH BLOODHOUNDS    22
RAYMONDVILLE BEARKATS    25

INGLESIDE MUSTANGS    33
LA FERIA LIONS        44

PORT ISABEL TARPONS    12
LYFORD BULLDOGS    13

LA GRULLA GATORS    7
PORTER COWBOYS        35

RIO HONDO BOBCATS    63
VALLEY VIEW TIGERS    0

SANTA ROSA WARRIORS    42
UAT-TAMAULIPAS, MX    0