The Rio Hondo Bobcats are in a unique situation. Their Week One game against Sinton was cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey and now they open the 2017 season tonight at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln.
It wasn’t only Week One that Harvey affected, the Bobcats also saw their second scrimmage against Valley View get cancelled. The last time the Cats had live action was in their first scrimmage on Aug. 17 against Edcouch-Elsa.
“Last week it was a little tough to get the energy going, but this week we have a lot of energy and have had a great set of practices,” said Bobcats coach Rocky James. “We had a great first scrimmage and I thought everything went well. Then both our scrimmage against Valley View and our season opener got cancelled, so we haven’t had live action since Week One.”
The Bobcats’ up-tempo offense will need to hit its stride come game time and the question will sit with a young defense that will be making its varsity debut.
One youngster who will make his debut will be Joey Ortega, who is a sophomore and will start at middle linebacker.
“It’s concerning that we haven’t had any live action, although we did have two live quarters against Edcouch,” James said. “Playing against a very good 6A team will benefit us down the road.
“Everyone has handled the situation great and they understand why they couldn’t play. This week knowing they have a game, they came out spirited and our veterans on offense have handled it well.”
Last season the Bobcats beat the Huskies 27-14 in Rio Hondo. Meanwhile, Juarez-Lincoln (1-0) is coming off a Week One win against PSJA Memorial.
