Pioneer is on a six-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial is on a six-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Pioneer Diamondbacks will take on the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial Wolverines at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Pioneer has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 370 points over their last eight games.
Pioneer stacked a fifth blowout onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Sharyland 42-7 on the road. With Pioneer ahead 21-0 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Pioneer can attribute much of their success to Julian Valdez, who rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns, and Dylan Tijerina, who rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.6 yards per carry. Tijerina hasn't dropped below two rushing touchdowns for four straight games. Nicholas Jimenez got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Pioneer's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB five times. Leading the way was Kaleb Hernandez and his two sacks.
Meanwhile, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial suffered a tough 49-28 loss at the hands of Mission Veterans Memorial on Friday. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-14.
Despite the loss, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial saw an underclassman step up: Miguel Resendiz rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries. Ryan Reyna was another key contributor, rushing for 79 yards and a touchdown.
Pioneer's win lifted them to 8-1 while Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial's defeat dropped them down to 7-2.
Keep an eye on the end zone in Friday's game as both teams haven't had much trouble getting there this season. Pioneer commands a daunting offense this season, having averaged 6.2 touchdowns per game. However, it's not like Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.6 per game. With these two high-octane teams facing off on Friday, fans should be in for an exciting offensive matchup.
Everything went Pioneer's way against Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial when the teams last played back in November of 2022 as Pioneer made off with a 42-21 victory. Will Pioneer repeat their success, or does Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
