Veterans Memorial is preparing for their first district matchup of the season on Thursday. They will face off against the Harlingen Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. Veterans Memorial is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
On Thursday, Veterans Memorial got the win against Pioneer by a conclusive 46-21. Considering the Chargers have won five contests by more than 24 points this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Manny Escobedo
| 10/02/25 @ Pioneer | 86 |
| 09/05/25 @ St. Joseph Academy | 63 |
| 09/26/25 vs Pharr-San Juan-Alamo | 50 |
| 08/29/25 vs Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial | 45 |
| 09/19/25 @ Alexander | 7 |
Calvin Trevillion had another great game (as he tends to do), rushing for 217 yards and three scores on only ten carries. Veterans Memorial also got a significant boost from Manny Escobedo, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 86 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Veterans Memorial was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 436 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pioneer only rushed for 160.
Meanwhile, Harlingen came up short against Cuero on Friday and fell 35-27. While losing is never fun, the Cardinals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 695th, while the Gobblers are ranked 129th).
Veterans Memorial will have to keep a close watch on Hassan Woolery and Noah Huerta, a pair of players who had a big impact on Harlingen's prior game. Woolery rushed for 197 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 11 carries, while Huerta rushed for 142 yards and two TDs while picking up 8.9 yards per carry. Woolery's longest rush was for an incredible 82 yards.
This is the second loss in a row for Harlingen and nudges their season record down to 1-5. Those defeats can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 32.0 points over those games. As for Veterans Memorial, their victory bumped their record up to 6-0.
Thursday's game might be decided on the ground. Veterans Memorial has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 455.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Harlingen struggles in that department as they've been averaging 174.2 rushing yards. There's a good chance Thursday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Veterans Memorial against Harlingen in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 40-9 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Woolery, who rushed for 98 yards and one score on only 11 carries. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Chargers still be able to contain Woolery? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
