By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
District realignment may have separated Lopez and Porter into different districts, but the Battle of Southmost remains just as important to the two schools, its coaches and the players.
“The game of football, in my opinion, is made around rivalry weeks. It’s a big week for us, a big week for them,” Lopez coach Jason Starkey said. “It is important to these kids out here, it’s important to those kids over there. They grew up in the same area.
“Neither (Porter coach) Tom (Campos) or I wanted to be responsible for ending the Battle of Southmost.”
Campos agreed of the importance of continuing the rivalry but said it extends beyond just the players.
“The communities are really close. They grow up in Southmost, they stay in Southmost,” he said. “It’s a good fun/hatred type of thing. Some will go to the same middle school and then go to a different high school. They grow up with each other. (The coaches) are all best friends, our (offensive coordinator) and their (defensive coordinator) went to high school together. We know all about their personal lives, families, wives and kids, and they know about ours. It’s fun.”
Most important to both programs this week is getting a win, as both lost in Week 1. Lopez lost to La Joya Palmview 46-14 and Porter lost to Progreso 7-0. Starkey said his Lobos have things to correct on both sides of the ball. Campos was happy with the Cowboys’ effort except for the multitude of turnovers on offense, especially in the red zone.
East squad would love for the first win of the season to come at the expense of its Southmost rival.
“With it being early in the season, it holds more clout as (one of these two teams) in Brownsville will get their first win,” Campos said.
Starkey added, “A win is a little sweeter, a loss a little more bitter. It really matters. They are two programs that have a lot of similarities across the board. These seniors have been fortunate in the first three games against Porter and are excited and want to go out undefeated.”
Even the coaches want to be the one to hold bragging rights during the season.
“I have a lot of respect for (Campos), he’s a friend of mine. When you play your friends, it means a little bit more,” Starkey said. “I spent a little more time in the meeting room this week. At the end of the day the kids want to win, but the coaches are just as competitive. When we cross that field at the end of the game, we want to shake our friend’s hand with a smile on our face.”
The familiarities between the schools and what the coaches expect are planted in their minds about the opposite sideline.
“It’s just something about a Lopez kid, they fight to the very end,” Campos said. “The defense is hell on wheels, flying around and (they) play like they’re on fire. On offense, they always have an athletic kid at quarterback. They’re young, but sometimes talent supersedes youth.”
Campos knows familiarity aside, the Cowboys must come and be aggressive.
“We’re going to try to be the more physical team (today), and of course take of the ball,” he said. “We’re not going to change anything. We’re going to run the ball and throw when we have to. If we do that and the defense plays even a fraction of how they did last week, we have a hell of a chance.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.