The Vela Sabercats are taking a road trip to face off against the McAllen Memorial Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Vela is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games.
Vela's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They took down Rowe 16-0.
Christopher Caballero was a one-man wrecking crew as he rushed for 131 yards and one touchdown while picking up 8.2 yards per carry.
Vela's run defense was locked in: Rowe could only muster 2.9 yards per carry. The team can thank Mario Cavazos, Jr. for the heroic effort on defense: he. Vela's ground attack was stronger, having averaged 4.8.
Meanwhile, McAllen Memorial humbled Juarez-Lincoln with a 42-14 victory. The victory continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Huskies: they've now won nine in a row.
McAllen Memorial's win came from a few key players Vela will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Braxton Speights, who rushed for 234 yards and three TDs while picking up 13.8 yards per carry. Speights is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 103 every time he's taken the field this season. Jayden Soliz was in the mix too, providing McAllen Memorial with three scores.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to McAllen Memorial's defense and their 3.5 sacks. In that department, Javier Aaron Izaguirre was the leader with 2.5. He also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with 11. McAllen Memorial got some further help from Dalton Keller: he made 15 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Vela's record now sits at 6-1. As for McAllen Memorial, their record is now 5-2.
Thursday's game might be decided on the ground. Vela has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 148 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like McAllen Memorial struggles in that department as they've been averaging 339.3 rushing yards. There's a good chance Thursday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Vela against McAllen Memorial in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 56-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Sabercats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
