The Weslaco Panthers will face off against the Mission Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Weslaco will be coming into the match with an undefeated record on the line.
It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Weslaco ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They managed a 27-21 win over San Benito. The score was all tied up 14-14 at the break, but Weslaco was the better team in the second half.
Weslaco's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Andres Sepulveda led the charge by throwing for 201 yards and three touchdowns on only 19 passes. Weslaco also got help from Elias Rodriguez jr who showed off his sure hands for 85 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, Mission put the finishing touches on their fourth blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They took their matchup on the road with ease, bagging a 45-10 win over La Joya. The win was just what Mission needed coming off of a 55-14 loss in their prior match.
Diego Salinas had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, and also threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.9% of his passes. Salinas really tore up the turf during one magnificent 70-yard run. Another player making a difference was Thomas Aparicio, who rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries.
Weslaco pushed their record up to 10-0 with that victory, which was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 2-8 Hanna and 2-8 Rivera (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 43.5% over those games). As for Mission, their win bumped their record up to 4-6.
Weslaco came out on top in a nail-biter against Mission when the teams last played back in September of 2021, sneaking past 23-20. Does Weslaco have another victory up their sleeve, or will Mission turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
