McALLEN — McAllen High’s run to the area round of the postseason for the first time since 2014 didn’t come without a couple hurdles in its way.
A Week 9 loss by the Bulldogs forced them into must-win mode — needing wins in their two final games just to have a chance at the playoffs. Both of those games happened to be against crosstown rivals McAllen Memorial and McAllen Rowe.
The problem? McHi hadn’t recorded a victory against the Mustangs since 2009 and the Warriors since 2016. The Bulldogs’ last city championship came all the way back in 2007.
That changed this year as McHi mauled McAllen Rowe 40-21 and fought off McAllen Memorial 27-14 to earn their spot in the playoffs and bragging rights with a city championship.
Then, the Bulldogs stunned District 15-5A DI tri-champion Harlingen South in the bi-district round of the playoffs 24-15 at Boggus Stadium in Harlingen last week.
“I think everything that we’ve been trying to do every single week, talking to our guys about getting better every single week, they came on with it tonight,” McAllen High head coach Patrick Shelby said after the Round 1 win over South. “To be able to be (in the playoffs) again, understand what it’s all about and come up on the good side of it, I’m very proud of them.”
Now, the Bulldogs (6-5, 4-3) will look to stay hot when they take on San Antonio Southside (10-1, 8-0) in a Region IV-5A DI area-round playoff game at 7:30 tonight at Wildcat Stadium at Calallen High School in Corpus Christi.
“It’s been an amazing run, and we’re still pushing hard. We’re just going to keep pounding the rock against each team, playing good defense and we’re going to go as far as we can,” McHi junior defensive lineman Salomon Arroyo said.
The Bulldogs have been led by a deep arsenal of offensive weapons. Receivers Bryan Alaniz, Max Alvarez, Christian Echazarreta and Nick Karam have all made clutch catches during McHi’s three-game winning streak. The addition of a running game with Zachary Hernandez and Jayden Herrera has come on strong as of late, and sophomore quarterback Joaquin Valdez has continued to blossom since earning the starting spot in Week 2.
They’ll look to light up a San Antonio Southside team that’s lost just once all year, a 23-14 defeat against Somerset back in Week 2. The Cardinals squeaked out a bi-district playoff win against Victoria East 37-36 last week to set up the matchup with the Bulldogs.
“We have to keep improving, play better on offense, defense and all-around,” Echazarreta said.
RGV VS. COASTAL BEND
Four of the top high school football programs from the Rio Grande Valley and Coastal Bend will collide tonight, with PSJA North (11-0, 7-0) facing Corpus Christi Miller (10-1, 6-1) and Edinburg Vela (9-1) taking on Corpus Christi Veterans (9-2, 7-0) in Round 2.
The Raiders rolled through the regular season to clinch their third 10-0 campaign in program history and first district championship since 2008.
PSJA North then powered through Donna High 41-7 during the bi-district round to draw Corpus Christi Miller in an area matchup.
The Raiders bring a bully-ball style of play on both offense and defense. They win the battle at the line of scrimmage and wear opponents down for 48 minutes while running backs Jaden Fuentes (741 yards, nine touchdowns), Ethan Guerra (904 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Jason Montez (1,445 yards, 13 touchdowns) run wild. Meanwhile, Corpus Christi Miller prefers to fly around the field in a spread offense that has averaged 49.1 points per game. PSJA North, however, has limited opponents to 8.6 points each outing while also scoring 45.3 points per game.
The Raiders and Buccaneers will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Cabaniss Stadium in Corpus Christi.
“That singular focus that they’ve been having all year at the task at-hand. Every single week, it doesn’t matter the opponent, if they’re going to be on the field they’re going to play at 1,000 miles an hour, and that’s what they’ve been doing,” Kaufmann said. “If we continue to do that, we’ll be successful down the road.”
Edinburg Vela is making its seventh area-round appearance during the past eight years and has done so with a balanced offensive attack. While young up front, senior quarterback Bobby Garcia (1,318 yards, 16 touchdowns) and perimeter weapons Justin Navarro (831 total yards, 17 touchdowns) and Carlos Tamez (722 total yards, seven touchdowns) have shown off their connection time and time again this season. Running back Jamal Polley (1,370 total yards, 20 touchdowns) has emerged as one of the best ball-carriers in the Valley and normally requires more than one defender to bring him down.
Defensively, Jake Dufner is a force to be reckoned with as the senior defensive end routinely disrupts offensive game plans and makes momentum swinging plays on special teams.
The SaberCats stormed past Weslaco East 49-3 last week in bi-district action, and Corpus Christi Veterans put up 70 points in a 56-point win over Medina Valley.
“Everybody needs to play their part, offense and defense. That’s the key to going on a playoff run,” sophomore defensive back Derek Rodriguez said.
The SaberCats and Eagles are slated for a 7:30 p.m. start at Buccaneer Stadium in Corpus Christi.
