PHARR — PSJA North’s quartet of Alejandro Aparicio, Danny Garcia, Dante Garcia and Joe Derek Vecchio were the first high school football players from the Rio Grande Valley to commit to play college football at UTRGV last year.
The four made it official on National Signing Day on Wednesday by putting pen to paper and signing National Letters of Intent to become part of the first signing class in UTRGV football history.
All four were four-year starters at PSJA North and helped the Raiders win two undefeated district championships and eight playoff games during their four years wearing black and silver.
Their football journeys all started together years ago while winning Texas Youth Football & Cheer Association state championships, and now they will play college football for their hometown team at UTRGV.
“It’s just a surreal moment. All those years of hard work, and it’s all coming full circle. That’s just the end of a chapter and the start of a new chapter, and I’m just grateful to God for all the opportunity,” Vecchio said.
Aparicio was a dual-threat quarterback who helped the Raiders’ offense reach new heights. The Raiders set program records in points during each of the past two seasons with Aparicio behind and under center. He was named The Monitor’s 2022 Football All-Area Player of the Year and earned District 15-5A DI’s MVP honors in back-to-back seasons.
He completed 60.2% of his passes for 1,048 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior, also adding 384 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns and four receptions for 83 yards and a score.
He finished his Raiders career with 3,746 passing yards, 2,037 rushing yards and 75 total touchdowns.
“I just want to thank God for giving me and the other guys the opportunity to take our talents to the next level. We want to thank Coach (Travis) Bush as well for believing in us and giving us the opportunity to make this program great,” Aparicio said.
Twin brothers Danny and Dante Garcia were the Twin Towers for PSJA North as forces on both the offensive and defensive lines, splitting The Monitor’s 2022 Football All-Area Linemen of the Year honors. The Raiders established a reputation of playing hard-nosed, physical football during the past four years and they were at the center of it.
Dante manhandled opponents playing left tackle during his first few years before transitioning to play right defensive end during his senior season. The change didn’t stop him from producing like an experienced defender as he finished with 60 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and three sacks in eight games. He also had 131 pancakes as a junior, protecting his quarterback’s blindside.
“It’s been an amazing experience. Big shoutout to Coach (Jeff) Bowen, Coach Bush, all the coaching staff over there for giving us the opportunity to go on to the next level,” Dante said.
Danny was a destructive weapon at left defensive end with 107 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, five sacks and one forced fumble during his senior season, earning The Monitor’s 2023 All-Area Defensive Player of the Year honor. He tallied 129 stops, 28 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks as a junior.
“It’s going to be an amazing feeling,” Danny said about playing at UTRGV with his twin. “We’re just excited to get to play together for four more years, and it’s an accomplishment that I’ve really been chasing to get the opportunity to play with him for as long as I can. We’re going to fulfill all these dreams with him and move on to the next chapter of our lives and have fun while doing it.”
Vecchio led PSJA North’s overpowering offensive line from the center position, helping the Raiders rush for 4,397 yards and 57 rushing touchdowns in 2023. He finished the season with 81 pancake blocks, was voted District 15-5A DI’s Offensive Lineman of the Year and also named The Monitor’s 2023 Football All-Area Lineman of the Year and to the RGVSports.com All-Valley Team. As a junior, Vecchio piled up 65 pancakes.
He showed no problem battling against defensive linemen in the trenches or moving to the next level to take on linebackers and safeties in order to lead punishing drives and explosive touchdown runs.
“UTRGV is home, and I’m just really impressed with the coaching staff and Coach Bush and everything they preach with their philosophies, it just really stuck out to me,” Vecchio said. “It’s a Division I program down here in the Valley, and I hope to be a role model for the younger kids to show them that they can do it as well. It’s home.”
