SAN ANTONIO 一 Derek Thompson’s high school track and field career has had a number of up and downs. 

Thompson began his career as the No. 1 ranked freshman in Class 5A, finishing his first year as a regional finalist. 

High expectations for his sophomore year were deterred after a UCL tear during his second meet of the year, sidelining him for the entire 2024 season. 

Despite that, Thompson has managed to come back better than before, running through the competition this season en route to a return to the regional meet. 

He made the most of his second regional championship appearance, securing state berths in the 5A discus and shot put during Day 1 of the Region IV-5A/6A track and field championships at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio. 

MISSION 一 Sharyland Pioneer’s Angel Rodriguez has dreamt of setting records since he began competing in track and field at the age of seven.  Last year, Rodriguez’s record-breaking potential began to show, cracking into the top 40 all-time in the RGV in both the 400-meter dash and long jump. 

WESLACO — From August through December, high school football teams across the Rio Grande Valley battle against each other for bragging rights, district titles and playoff wins. 

At the end of it all, however, is the annual Rio Grande Valley Coaches Association East vs. West All-Star Football Game — an opportunity for the top seniors in the RGV to put rivalries aside, join forces and suit up one final time to close their high school careers.

SAN ANTONIO — With less than two minutes left in regulation, Buda Johnson Joe Margiotta lined up for a 32-yard field goal to give his team the lead.

On the opposite side stood the RGV’s last football team standing, the Los Fresnos Falcons, looking to block the field goal and keep their third round hopes alive.

Their hopes were not to become a reality, with the senior nailing the field goal and the Jaguars defense forcing a turnover on downs on the ensuing drive to end the Falcons season with a 23-20 loss in the Class 6A DI area round Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

EDINBURG — Edinburg Vela started strong, showing flashes of why they were undefeated heading into Friday night’s matchup. Senior quarterback Geoffrey LeFevre connected with wide receiver Juan Garza for a 23-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, bringing the SaberCats within three points of Smithson Valley.

That momentum didn’t last long.

Smithson Valley took control and never looked back, rolling to a commanding 55-13 victory in the Class 5A DI area playoff game at Richard R. Flores Stadium.

Turnovers were the story of the night for Edinburg Vela. Three first-half interceptions set the Rangers up for quick scores, and by halftime, they had built an overwhelming 41-7 lead.

CORPUS CHRISTI — No team in the Rio Grande Valley has won more playoff games over the last five years than PSJA North.

The Raiders established themselves as a gritty group who will punch you in the mouth and fight for 48 minutes until the clock reads zeroes.

Their Region IV-5A DI area round playoff game against the New Braunfels Unicorns was no different, but the Raiders failed to land one last blow in the bout as they fell in a 35-32 thriller on Friday at Phil Danaher Stadium in Corpus Christi.

PSJA North wraps up its season as District 15-5A DI tri-champs with a 10-2 overall record. The win sends New Braunfels to 9-3 overall and into next week’s regional semifinals for a matchup against Smithson Valley.

“These guys have the heart of a champion,” PSJA North head coach Marcus Kaufmann said. “They do not want to lose. They do not want to let anybody down, and it’s more about letting the fans and the community down more than winning and losing for these guys. They’re down because they wanted to win for the community and we weren’t able to pull it out, and you can tell it hurts right now.” 

SAN ANTONIO — With 3:53 left in the third quarter, the Brownsville Veterans Chargers seemed headed to their third straight regional semifinal appearance.

A 42-yard touchdown run by Calvin Trevillion had just given the Chargers a 35-17 lead during the period, the third straight score by Brownsville Veterans.

New Braunfels Canyon wiped away the Chargers third round hopes with three straight touchdowns of their own en route to a 38-35 comeback win over Brownsville Veterans on Friday at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO — PSJA High couldn’t have asked for a better start to Thursday’s 6A DII area round contest against Cibolo Steele.

Less than twenty seconds into the game, PSJA High quarterback Myles Lopez did what he’s done all year, hitting senior Ryan Vallejo in stride for an 80-yard touchdown to take a 6-0 lead.

The lead and momentum were short-lived, however, with Cibolo Steele wideout Royal Capell taking the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to the house to spark a 63-point first half by the Knights en route to a dominant 63-12 win over PSJA High at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.

MISSION — The Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks advanced to the area round of the playoffs after defeating the Brownsville Lopez Lobos 35-21 in a bi-district matchup at Richard Thompson Stadium. "It was just a total team victory," said Pioneer head coach Eddie Galindo. "Offense came up big when they needed to. Defense came up big when they needed to."