East Valley Football: Week 2 matchups interesting

Week 2 begins today for Texas high school football, and there are some enticing matchups for East Valley teams.

One of the biggest contests on the books pits the No. 1 Edinburg Vela Sabercats (1-0) against the No. 3 Harlingen High Cardinals (1-0). Both teams picked up convincing wins in Week 1, with Harlingen High defeating Laredo United South 34-10 and Vela beating McAllen Memorial 42-6.

Vela won the only game between these teams 42-35 in 2019. The Cardinals will look for revenge at 7 p.m. today at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.

Brownsville Veterans Memorial (0-1) and Brownsville Porter (1-0) will continue their rivalry in a District 16-5A Division I opener at 7 p.m. at Sams Memorial Stadium. Porter will aim to build on the momentum from its convincing Week 1 victory over Grulla to hand Brownsville Veterans a second straight loss in their head-to-head series.

Brownsville’s additional District 16-5A Division I teams will play Friday. Brownsville Pace (0-1) and Brownsville Lopez (0-1) will be chasing their first win of the season at 7 p.m. at Brownsville Veterans’ practice field.

In Class 6A action happening Friday, the Brownsville Rivera Raiders (0-1) play host to the Edinburg High Bobcats (0-1) at 7:30 at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville. Harlingen South (1-0) will travel to Richard Thompson Stadium to face Sharyland Pioneer (1-0). The No. 10 San Benito Greyhounds (1-0) play host to Mission Veterans Memorial (0-1) at 7 p.m. at Bobby Morrow Stadium.

All East Valley sub-5A teams will compete Friday. The Rio Hondo Bobcats (1-0) will play under the lights in front of their home crowd for the first time since 2019 when they play host to PSJA Memorial (0-1) at 7:30 p.m. Bobcats coach Rocky James was tabbed as the Class 4A coach of the week by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football for leading Rio Hondo to a 65-0 Week 1 victory.

Raymondville (0-1) and Grulla (0-1) will aim to bounce back from season-opening losses at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium in Rio Grande City. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. The Port Isabel Tarpons (1-0) will visit the Valley View Tigers (0-1) at 7:30 p.m. The No. 9 La Feria Lions (1-0) play host to La Joya High (0-1) at 7:30 p.m. at Lions stadium.

The Lyford Bulldogs (1-0) will travel to La Villa to face the Cardinals (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Santa Maria (0-1) plays host to Monte Alto (0-1) at 7:30 p.m. The Santa Rosa Warriors (0-1) and Brownsville St. Joseph Bloodhounds (0-1) will match up at 7:30 p.m. at Canales Field in Brownsville.

On Saturday, the Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles (0-1) will try for their first win at 11 a.m. at Sams Memorial Stadium against Sharyland High (1-0).