DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
David Duty coached Abel Gonzalez III decades ago as an eighth grader at Ringgold Middle School in Rio Grande City.
Duty coached defense and the offensive line. Gonzalez was the quarterback who also played outside linebacker on third downs.
Duty said Gonzalez is the “hardest-hitting eighth grader I ever saw.”
“People told me I was a linebacker who played quarterback,” said Gonzalez, who went on to star at quarterback at Texas A&M-Kingsville and professional arena football leagues. “But Coach Duty was a great motivator and you wanted to play hard for him and go out there and hit somebody.”
Years later, in 2001, the two met again, this time working together on the same staff at PSJA Memorial. Duty was the offensive coordinator and Gonzalez coached the quarterbacks.
“I know what kind of job he does,” Duty said. “He’s a darn good coach. I knew he was going to be a good one right away.”
Now the two friends meet up yet again Friday night, this time as head coaches. Duty’s Hidalgo team hosts Gonzalez’s Grulla team at 7:30 at Pate Stadium in Hidalgo.
As if their history wasn’t enough of a storyline, there’s this: the winner likely assures itself a playoff spot in District 16-4A, Division I, where four of five teams make the postseason. That was the case last year when Grulla, despite finishing with a 1-8 record, still made the playoffs because it beat Hidalgo, 19-7.
Grulla is 2-4, 0-1 in district. Hidalgo is 2-5, 0-2.
“After this weekend, someone in 16-4A has one (district) win and someone has zero, and the one that has one has a better chance of making the playoffs,” said Duty, in his first year as a head coach. “That’s the bottom line.”
Grulla’s read-option offense is potent, led by junior quarterback Fabian Anzaldua. Anzaldua has rushed for 499 yards and seven touchdowns and thrown for 575 and 6, respectively.
“He’s one of the best dual-threat QBs,” Duty said. “He doesn’t make bad decisions, and it will come down to if we can slow him down and eliminate our mistakes.”
Hidalgo’s pistol offense is directed by senior quarterback Peter Quiroz, who has ran for 714 yards and three touchdowns and thrown for 685 and 7, respectively. But more than that, Gonzalez, in his fourth year at the helm of Grulla, said the Pirates are fundamentally sound.
“They’re athletic, play hard and are hardly ever in the wrong position,” Gonzalez said. “They play sound football.”
Duty admitted the winner Friday has the inside track to the playoffs.
“We’re going to have kids fighting and playing for their lives,” he said. “They realize the gravity of the game. Kids are smart. They know what’s at stake.”
Gonzalez, meanwhile, is taking the “next game up” approach. He said the kids understand the situation, but he’s emphasizing playing better, particularly coming off a bye week following losses to Rio Hondo (23-7) and La Feria (27-7).
Those were games Grulla was in at halftime — down 10-7 against Rio Hondo and 13-7 against La Feria — before things got out of hand in the second half.
“We need to worry about finishing,” Gonzalez said. “In a small district, every game is magnified. A win goes a long way and we can’t look ahead or behind. We’ve been struggling and now we had a bye to get ourselves re-focused.”
Friday will be intense, Gonzalez said. That’s because of what the game means and “I’ve got a buddy coaching across the other side of the field.”
Though the tension may be thick on the field, it won’t be on the sidelines. When scouting Hidalgo last week at La Feria, Gonzalez and his family sat with Duty’s family in the stands.
“It’s amazing how time flies,” Gonzalez said. “It doesn’t feel that long ago that he was my coach, and in the blink of an eye we’re head coaches going against each other.”