The Edcouch-Elsa Yellowjackets will square off against the Pioneer Diamondbacks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Edcouch-Elsa will be strutting in after a victory while Pioneer will be coming in after a defeat.
Edcouch-Elsa is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Lopez 48-17. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Ayden Mercado
| 11/07/25 vs Lopez | 4 |
| 10/17/25 vs Porter | 1 |
| 09/26/25 vs Port Isabel | 1 |
| 09/18/25 vs Edinburg | 1 |
| 09/05/25 @ Mission Veterans Memorial | 1 |
Ayden Mercado had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 154 yards and four scores while picking up 9.6 yards per carry. Those four rushing touchdowns gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jason Pena, who rushed for 112 yards on only five carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Edcouch-Elsa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 381 rushing yards. They are a perfect 4-0 when they've run for more than 200 yards.
Edcouch-Elsa didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. Andrae Martinez was the real danger to the passing game, picking up two interceptions all by himself. Brandon Ibarra got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Pioneer played a tough matchup on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They came up short against Mission Veterans Memorial, falling 27-6. The contest marked the Diamondbacks' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Edcouch-Elsa will have to contain William Goodloe as he made an impact in Pioneer's last game. He rushed for 86 yards and one touchdown on only nine carries. Goodloe's longest rush was for an impressive 69 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.
Even if they lost, Pioneer's defense still kept up the pressure with three sacks. Damian Hernandez refused to say out of the backfield, picking up two sacks all by himself. Another thorn in Mission Veterans Memorial's side was Hernandez, who picked up two sacks and made eight total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Edcouch-Elsa is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to yards per carry: they averaged an imposing 6.87 yards per carry in those games compared to only 2.78 in the others. As for Pioneer, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-4.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Edcouch-Elsa has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 171.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Pioneer struggles in that department as they've been averaging 224 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Edcouch-Elsa ended up a good deal behind Pioneer in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, losing 48-29. Can the Yellowjackets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
