Preview: Mission Veterans Memorial Patriots vs. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial Wolverines
The Mission Veterans Memorial Patriots will head out on the road to face off against the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial Wolverines at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Mission Veterans Memorial, who comes in off a win.
Mission Veterans Memorial put the finishing touches on their third blowout victory of the season on Friday. They blew past Sharyland 30-8. Mission Veterans Memorial didn't have much to brag about two games back, but this win makes it their second in a row.
It was another big night for Braden Luedeker, who threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.8 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 83 yards on only six carries. Luedeker hasn't dropped below three passing touchdowns for four straight games. Abel Lucio was in the mix too, providing Mission Veterans Memorial with two touchdowns.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Sharyland to a paltry 218 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Mission Veterans Memorial's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out seven times before it was all said and done. Sharyland's QB won't forget Chris Garza anytime soon given Garza sacked him seven times.
Meanwhile, after a string of seven wins, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They took a 48-40 hit to the loss column at the hands of Roma. This was one game where the offenses had no trouble playing at a high level.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Emiliano Colunga, who rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.3 yards per carry. Colunga really tore up the turf during one magnificent 73-yard run. Robert Moralez was another key contributor, picking up 130 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Mission Veterans Memorial has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 4-4 record this season. As for Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-1.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Mission Veterans Memorial has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 310.9 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial, though, as they've been averaging only 61.5 per game. How will Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial fare against such a dominant passing game?
Mission Veterans Memorial and Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, but Mission Veterans Memorial came up empty-handed after a 22-21 loss. Thankfully for Mission Veterans Memorial, Oziel Flores (who rushed for 193 yards while picking up 8.4 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
