PHARR - If two or more teams share a district title in football, sports reporters will often say that a team has claimed a piece of the championship trophy.  The truth of the matter is that if two or more teams have the identical district record at the end of the season, all of the tied teams will get hardware for the school's trophy case.  Head-to-head outcomes are only used as tiebreakers for playoff positioning.  So each team with the district's best record is a district titlist, and  gets a trophy of its own.

That was important to remember on Thursday night as schools used wins to clear a space in the trophy case.  In 32-5A, Brownsville Veterans clinched at least a tie for the championship by blanking Donna North 49-0.  Our "Game of the Week," played for the first time this season on a Thursday, saw Vela pound PSJA 70-22 in a match-up of regular season unbeatens.  Vela can clinch an outright title in 31-6A with a victory in week eleven.  Two other teams set themselves up for potential championship showdowns next week.  McAllen Memorial remained perfect in 30-6A with a 50-7 decision over Juarez-Lincoln.  If Rowe beats La Joya on Friday, next week's matchup between the Mustangs and Warriors will be for an undisputed championship.  Lyford beat Santa Gertrudis 50-7 to set up a 16-3A, Division 1 showcase next week.

Other games on Thursday saw Economedes defeat PSJA North 28-14.  Nixon struggled past Valley View 16-6.  Lopez defeated Edcouch-Elsa 23-14.

CHANNEL 5's Joel Villanueva has the story on Thursday's First & Goal action.