At Rio Grande City High School Tuesday, the 18^th ranked Veterans Memorial Lady Patriots defeated the Laredo Nixon Lady Mustangs in the bi-district round of the state playoffs. After taking the first two sets 25-11 and 25-21, it looked as if Coach Diana Lerma’s Lady Patriots were well on their way to a straight sets victory when the Lady Mustangs bounced back to take the third set 25-22. Not having lost a set to any team other than 8^th ranked Edcouch-Elsa all season, Veterans Memorial got back on their game in the fourth set to finish off the Lady Mustangs 25-12.

Read more: 32-4A V-ball Playoffs: Lady Patriots win, Lady Eagles lose

Progress Times photo by Luciano Guerra.On a cold windy morning at Bentsen Palm Park Saturday, the Mission Lady Eagles cross country team was red hot when they put it all together at just the right time to win the 32-4A district championship. With the sum of their top five runners’ placings giving Mission a team score of 48, Coach Iris M. Garza’s Lady Eagles pulled off what some considered to be an upset, finishing just one point ahead of the Edcouch-Elsa Lady Yellow Jackets.

Read more: Lady Eagles win CC district championship

Patriots' ball carrier Victor Meza (24) gets upended by the Eagles' Nick Garza (3) as fellow Eagles Adonis Juarez (22), Sabas Garcia (55), Erick Flores (13) and Ulises Moreno (27) look on. Progress Times photo by Luciano GuerraFor as long as most Mission residents can remember, Mission High School’s football team has been known as the Mighty Mission Eagles. As is the case with all sports teams, there are good years and there are bad years and while the Eagles have certainly suffered through some bad years, they remained the Mighty Mission Eagles to their fans regardless of their win-loss records.

Read more: Mission Eagles are ‘mighty’ once again

Palmview’s Jose Jaime, La Joya’s Michael Guerrero and Sharyland’s Jose Angel Gonzalez came in first, second and third among the varsity boys in Saturday’s 30-5A Cross Country district meet at Juarez-Lincoln High School. Progress Times photo by Luciano GuerraWith nine schools competing in the 2012 District 30-5A cross country meet at Juarez-Lincoln High School Saturday, it was the Palmview boys and the Sharyland girls that ran away with the district championships at the varsity level.

With four runners finishing in the top 10, the Palmview boys team won the 30-5A championship by a very comfortable margin. The Lobos team score of 41 points left runner-ups Juarez-Lincoln and their score of 69 points in the dust. Sharyland came in a close third with their score of 79 points. All three teams have earned the right to advance to the regional meet which will be held at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) November 3^rd.

Read more: Palmview, Sharyland win CC district championships

Veterans Memorial’s Alfredo Gonzalez fights to break out of a Roma defender’s grasp during the first quarter of the Patriots’ 28-27 come from behind victory against the Gladiators. Progress Times photo by Luciano GuerraIt’s been three years since the Mission Eagles and the Veterans Memorial Patriots took the football field for a district game against each other. With the 2010 UIL realignment, Mission was moved into 5A, while Veterans Memorial remained a 4A school. Going into this year, however, the Eagles were reclassified back into District 32-4A with the Patriots.

Read more: GAME OF THE WEEK: Patriots and Eagles revive gridiron rivalry

Juarez-Lincoln’s Martin Diaz breaks away from La Joya defenders Jorge Guajardo and Frank Munoz as he breaks into the open field during the Huskies 35-0 victory over the Coyotes last week. Progress Times photo by Luciano GuerraThe Palmview Lobos will be entering Cat’s Memorial Stadium in Edinburg tonight for their game against the Vela Sabercats with a 1-3 district record. If all goes as planned for Coach Manuel Flores’ Lobos, not only will they be leaving the field and boarding the buses at 2-3, but they will also be doing so with their playoff hopes still alive.

With a two-point loss to Juarez-Lincoln in Week 2 and a one-point loss to Edinburg North last week, the Lobos could easily be 3-1 right now, if only they had executed two or three plays better. As Flores explains, whether the Lobos emerge victorious from tonight’s game will depend on how well his players execute.

Read more: Palmview faces must-win game against Sabercats