Football UIL STATE
PLAYOFFS > Class 5A DI Regional
Championships Mission Veterans 35 Dripping Springs 69
> Class 5A DI Regional
Championships Edcouch-Elsa 0 Victoria East 48
>Class 6A DI Regional
Championships Los Fresnos 7 Austin Lake Travis 54
>Class 6A DII Regional
Championships Weslaco East 0 Cibolo Steele 56
November 20-December 20, 2016
Football Playoff Highlights All-District Selections
Season Patriots Make Third Round
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Edcouch-Elsa Yellowjackets Wins 5A DII Area Championships
(Edcouch, Texas)-Edcouch-Elsa High School head football coach, Joe Marichalar led his Yellowjackets to its second straight Class 5A Division II Area championship title by defeating Corpus Christi King 58-28. “Winning a second straight area championship title is tough,” says Marichalar. The Jackets started its season with a loss against Los Fresnos (40-50) and then surprised top-ranked Edinburg Vela (34-30) in non-district action. That win ignited three more wins over Donna North, LJ Juarez-Lincoln, and Donna. Still, many fans questioned Marichalar’s success after two losses to Brownsville Vets and Mercedes. Those losses cost the Jacket a district title. “Playing for a district title every year is great, but we want to play for state titles,” added Marichalar. “We were the last team standing in the Class 5A DII playoffs from the Rio Grande Valley.” Most importantly, the Yellowjackets advanced to its second straight regional championships. Senior quarterback Marco Aguinaga was the main reason the Jackets went three rounds deep in 2016. He passed for 2,166
(Defending 2015 5A DII Area Champions)
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Los Fresnos 50-40 Edinburg Vela 34-30 LJ Juarez-Lincoln 47-14 Donna North* 45-12 Donna HS* 53-14 Brownsville Vets* 50-20 Mercedes HS* 27-12 Brownsville Pace* 41-7 Brownsville Lopez* 33-6 Brownsville Porter* 56-14 2016 UIL State Playoffs
W Pioneer Bi-Dist Champs 45-28 W CC King Area Champs 58-28 L Victora East Reg Finals 0-48 Edcouch-Elsa HS head football coach, Joe Marichalar watched his team drop another loss in the third round of the UIL State 5A DII Regional Championships. (HSSMImages/Montalvo)
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November 20-December 20, 2016
District 32-5AAAAA Overall Record 9-4, 5-2
Edcouch-Elsa H against Victoria
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yards yards passing and 30 touchdowns. He also rushed for 948 yards to lead the team and scored nine more times. In the UIL State 5A DII Regional Finals, the Victoria East Titans scored 27 points in the first quarter and twentyone more points in the second quarter to defeat the Jackets 48-0. The Titans QB Bailey Zappe (6’4 200lbs) passed for 141 yards and three touchdowns, completing 10-of-11 passes. Most of the damage by the Titans came on the ground as they rushed for 319 yards and four more scores.
HS Aaron Rodriguez tries to make a catch a East Titans. (HSSMImages/Montalvo)
Edcouch-Elsa HS RB John Michael Gonzalez is tackled by Victoria East Titan defenders in the Class 5A DII Regional Championships. (HSSMImages/Montalvo)
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24 carries and one touchdown to lead the Cardinals. The Jags have made the playoffs four times since 2010 under Pena. District 31-6A champion, Edinburg Vela had high hopes of going deep in the playoffs after last year’s Class 5A Regional championships against Austin Vandegrift. Head coach Michael Salinas was named the new head football coach at Vela High School back in 2012 and went from 0-10 that first year, followed by a 5-5 season in 2013. His third season with the Sabercats proved to be a huge turn around, finishing second overall in 31-5A and he led the Sabercats to a 10-2 finish and second round playoff appearance. The Sabercats ended
their season that year with an area championship loss to Victoria East 61-45. The Sabercats took off quickly in 2015 by outscoring their opponents 602 points and allowed just 324 points on defense. Another rematch with Victoria East in the Class 5A Division I Area championships favored the Sabercats as they won 42-33. With all the emotions from that game, the Sabercats faced Austin Vandergrift in the third round and lost 49-39. With high expectations in 2016, the Sabercats faced many obstacles throughout the season and were eliminated in the first round of the Class 6A Division I Bi-District Championships against Weslaco East
Here comes the Jags! The 31-6A Edinburg Economedes HS head coach Gabe Pena leads his Jaguars to an overall 7-4. The Jags lost to Harlingen 43-28 in the Class 6A DI Bi-District Championships. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)
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November 20-December 20, 2016
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The Edinburg Vela HS Sabercats were eliminated in the first round of the UIL State 6A DI Bi-District Championships by Weslaco East HS 31-28. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)
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31-28 after winning their second straight district title. The Sabercats were led by junior quarterback Nathan Garcia (1,809 yards passing 22 TDs/803 yards rushing, 8 TDs) and sophomore running back Cristian Flores (984 yards rushing, 11 TDs). Sophomore quarterback/all-purpose player Marc Buhidar also gave the Sabercats the spark they needed on offense. Defensively, junior Nathan Enriquez led the team with
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138 solo tackles along with Luis Vasquez 72 tackles. After two straight frustrating seasons, the Edinburg Bobcats went 3-17 under then Joaquin Escobar, the Bobcats hired J. J. Leija to take over the struggling program. The Bobcats started off their season with non-district losses to McAllen Nikki Rowe (30-14) and Brownsville Lopez (20-15). “We’re not done yet,” Leija told
his team. And boy, was he right too. The Bobcats posted a 7-1 record from that moment and made the playoffs. Their biggest win of the season came on November 3rd against PSJA North 10-7. That win over the Raiders eliminated the black and silver from playoff contention. In the Class 6A DI playoffs, the Bobcats travel to play runner-ups, San Benito from 32-6A at Bobby Morrow Stadium. The Greyhounds won 47-10 to end the Bobcats state title run. The Bobcats will return twenty-six underclassman for 2017. If there was one team that never stopped fighting on Friday nights, that team was the Edinburg North Cougars and head coach Rene Saenz. The Cougars entered the season as a playoff hopeful. Those hopes started to fade after the Cougars posted a 1-5 record in their first six games. Saenz still kept his team believing as the Cougars faired much better to end their season at 3-1. That finish vaulted them into the playoffs as the fourth place team, leaving PSJA North out. In the State 6A Division I Bi-District playoffs, the Cougars hosted Los Fresnos and lost a heart-breaker 19-17. The Cougars will graduate thirty-three seniors but they will will also return 23 underclassmen. Junior running back Ethan Vela (805 yards rushing 142 carries) will return to give the Cougars the much needed running game for 2017. The 31-6A Edinburg North HS Cougars was one of four Edinburg CISD schools to make the playoffs in 2016. The Cougars (4-7) lost a heart-breaker to Los Fresnos 19-17 in the Class 6A DI Bi-District Championships. Pictured are Brandon Vega (91), Julius Jimenez (54), and Sebastian Bulos (50). (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)
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November 20-December 20, 2016
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The Edinburg Bobcats finished in second place overall in District 31-6A. The Bobcats made the playoffs for the first time since 2011 under first-year head coach J. J. Leija. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)
High School Sports Magazine
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