For the past few weeks, I’ve been examining the football schedules of teams out of District 32-6A. It’s time to start looking at our area’s sub-5A teams starting with the Rio Hondo Bobcats, who begin their 2018 season in just 52 days.
Thanks to the UIL’s most recent realignment, the bulk of Rio Hondo’s schedule is now non-district. In fact, District 16-4A Division II consists of only four teams (Rio Hondo, Port Isabel, Raymondville and Progreso). Therefore, the Cats play only three conference games and all of the teams in the league will make the playoffs no matter how they finish.
While I suppose that’s great news for a team like Progreso, which is usually on the outside looking in come playoff time, it makes for an anticlimactic campaign.
Let’s face it, a team from this league can now go 0-10 and still qualify for the postseason. I’m sorry, but there’s something wrong with that.
Oh, well, that’s not the teams’ fault and the Cats will not go 0-10 this year. They are the defending district champions who went undefeated in league play at 5-0 and were 9-2 overall a season ago, losing in the second round of the playoffs to a very solid Navarro squad.
For the most part, the Cats play pretty much the same non-district opponents as last year with the addition of Zapata and La Feria, which are District 32-4A foes in all other sports.
They kick off the season on Aug. 31 at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, which narrowly beat the Cats in last year’s season opener 36-33.
In Week 2 on Sept. 7, Zapata comes to town. Last season the Hawks went 5-5 and were bi-district finalists.
On Sept. 14, the Cats host Brownsville St. Joseph. Over the past two seasons this matchup has been a pretty serious rivalry. In 2016 the Bloodhounds beat the Cats in Rio Hondo 48-28 and in Brownsville last year the Cats rallied from a 27-0 deficit for a 52-48 victory.
Rio Hondo hits the road again in Week 4 as it takes on Hidalgo out of District 16-4A Division I. The Cats really took it to the Pirates last year in a 59-0 rout. It was a rough year altogether for the Pirates as they finished the 2017 season 0-10. Too bad they aren’t in 16-4A DI.
In Week 5, another 16-4A DI school is on the Cats’ ledger as they host the Grulla Gators, who fell to Rio Hondo 33-21 last year in Rio Grande City.
The Cats close out the non-district season at La Feria, which was District 16-4A DI co-champions last season along with Kingsville King.
After a bye week on Oct. 12, the Cats open the district season with a Week 8 contest at Raymondville, which finished in second place in league play behind Rio Hondo in 2017. Last season the Cats beat the Kats 45-24.
On Oct. 26 the Progreso Red Ants come to town. Last year the Ants won only one game and were winless in league play as Rio Hondo beat them in their season finale 55-15. It’s ironic, but the Ants’ 1-9 record would be good enough to make the playoffs this year. Thanks, UIL.
Finally, since the Cats have an open week in Week 11, they close out the regular season in Week 10 at Port Isabel, which limped to a disappointing 2-7 record last year.
Again, under this year’s alignment, the Tarpons would have been postseason bound despite the two-win campaign.
Welcome to the new order – at least for the next couple of seasons.
2018 Bobcats schedule
-Aug. 31: at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln
-Sept. 7: Zapata
-Sept. 14: Brownsville St. Joseph
-Sept. 21: at Hidalgo
-Sept. 28: Grulla
-Oct. 5: at La Feria
Oct. 12: OPEN
*Oct. 19: at Raymondville
*Oct. 26: Progreso
*Nov. 2: at Port Isabel
Nov. 9: OPEN
*District
