EDINBURG — Edinburg High and McAllen High’s football programs have played a combined 2,008 games in their storied histories as the original high schools in their respective cities.
Friday night, the rivalry between the Bobcats and Bulldogs was reignited, but McHi ended the non-district bout with its hand raised after a 14-6 victory at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
“It was a tough-fought ballgame from a good Edinburg team,” McHi head coach Patrick Shelby said. “I’m happy our kids were able to see this Week 1 to start preparing for Week 2 and understand what it’s going to take to finish a ballgame when you’re ahead like they did tonight, so really proud of them for doing that.”
The Bulldogs held an eight-point lead late during the fourth quarter but were forced to punt to the Bobcats for a final effort. With less than a minute to play, McHi’s defense created a turnover and seal the victory.
McHi cornerback Kolten Ottmers nearly came down with an acrobatic interception during the first half. He had another opportunity during Edinburg High’s final offensive drive that he didn’t let slip away.
“I saw the ball in the air and all I could think in my head was, ‘It’s mine.’ I missed one earlier, so I was like, ‘I have to redeem myself.’ I made sure to keep my feet in bounds so I could come down with that pick and seal the game for us,” he said.
Shelby credited his defense for holding strong when their backs were pushed against their own end zone.
“They stepped up and did a great job. We talked to them about bend but don’t break,” Shelby said. “They got some yardage on us, but the defense stood strong and was able to get them off the field, get us back on the field and give us another opportunity on offense.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs capitalized on short field position during the first half to score their first touchdown as senior quarterback Hunter Curl delivered a pass to a wide open Weston Guzman in the left flats from 10 yards. Their second score came on a 95-yard bomb as Curl connected with receiver Christian Echazarreta during the second quarter to go ahead 14-0.
Edinburg High swung the momentum in its favor to start the second half, as defensive lineman Yael Herrera forced a fumble on a reverse and linebacker Jonathan Duran scooped and scored from 5 yards, but the extra point was no good. That would be the only points the Bobcats scored on the night, but first-year head coach Rene Guzman’s group fought until the end.
“That’s indicative of what our program’s about. I think it opened their eyes tonight that we have to scrap from beginning to the end,” Guzman said. “We’ll go back and watch film and we have to eliminate the mistakes, early season mistakes. But we have one more non-district game left against Brownsville Rivera, and hopefully to get better from this, learn from this and make our team better and then open up district. I think these kids are resilient and they’re relentless and they have a chip on their shoulder for a reason, and they want to come out and prove it and get better.”
The Bobcats will look to bounce back in Week 2 as they hit the road against Brownsville Rivera at 7 p.m. Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are headed into the meat-grinder as they open District 16-5A DII play, which features 10 team
