(Mercedes, Texas)-“We have played nine playoff-bound teams this season, and tonight, we defeated Sharyland Pioneer. They were our tenth playoff team we played this season,” said Mercedes HS head football coach, Roger Adame.
The Tigers (6-5) defeated Pioneer (7-4) at Richard Thompson Stadium on Thursday night in the Class 5A DII Bi-District Championships, winning 37-27. ”We will play 13-5A DII Liberty Hill (9-1) next Friday 7:30p in San Antonio at Dub Farris Athletic Complex,” says Adame. The Liberty Hill Panthers lost in the UIL State 5A DII finals in 2021 to South Oak Cliff HS 23-14 at AT&T Stadium.
On Thursday night, the Tigers quickly put points on the scoreboard leading 16-6 after the first quarter. It was Mercedes QB Joe Cisneros sparking the Tigers with 102 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He also passed for another 117 yards and one score. RB Tyrell Trevino took 65-yards from those stats and turned it into a touchdown. He finished the night with 133 yards rushing and one touchdown.
In the second half, Mercedes added 14 more points to lead 30-20 at the half over Pioneer. The Tigers defense kept pressure on leading RGV quarterback, Pioneer Julian Valdez (2,481 yards passing 23 TDs) throughout the night to end Pioneer’s hopes of advancing to play in round two. Mercedes DB Aaron Alvarez picked Valdez for two interceptions.
