Football Preview: Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North Raiders vs. Weslaco East Wildcats
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North has won nine straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Weslaco East has won nine straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North Raiders will face off against the Weslaco East Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial 54-0 on the road. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 267th, while the Wolverines are ranked 825th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ethan Guerra continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 245 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries. His longest rush was for an incredible 79 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Daren Garcia, who rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 498 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 234 rushing yards in 20 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Weslaco East). They took their match at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 49-6 win over Donna North. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
It was another big night for Margarito Pompa, who rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries. Malachi Rodriguez was another key player, rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North's win bumped their record up to 7-0. As for Weslaco East, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 348 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Weslaco East struggles in that department as they've been averaging 324. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North ended up a good deal behind Weslaco East in their previous meeting back in October of 2015, losing 36-22. Thankfully for Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North, Emilio Tamez (who rushed for 184 yards and a touchdown while picking up 10.8 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
