By FREDDY GONZALEZ
STAFF WRITER
Heading into week six of the Rio Grande Valley Football season the Hidalgo Pirates and the Lyford Bulldogs never envisioned themselves being in the position they are today.
The 1-4 Pirates host the 0-4 Bulldogs at Bill Plate Stadium in Hidalgo and while it may seem like an insignificant game, it is anything but.
Tonight’s matchup offers a chance—nothing more, nothing less. It’s a chance to head into next weeks district schedules on a positive note, and for both teams it’s something they could use.
With a winless record thus far, the Lyford Bulldogs can be easily overlooked by some opponents, however, each loss has only been by an average of nine points.
They are losses that could have gone either way.
“I’ve really liked the progress we’ve made over these games,” said head coach Jaime Infante. “We’ve yet to put a victory on the board but I like the way some the younger kids have gained some experience and I think they’re playing better than they were two or three weeks ago so it’s encouraging and looking forward to the game.”
“Our biggest worry tonight is that we got banged up a bit against Mathis and I’m probably going to hold some people out, but we’re trying to get ready for district run.”
One of the reasons the Bulldogs have been in every game is junior quarterback John Rivera. Having already thrown for 946 yards on 61 of 125 attempts, Rivera has had to grow up fast.
“I think John’s coming around nicely,” said Infante. “He was JV quarterback last year and I think he’s catching up to speed with the varsity game. He’s reading (the game) faster and initially we told John there was a process of getting use to the varsity game and I think he’s realized that and I think he sees the big picture now.”
“The offense feeds off (him) and coming in the next several weeks he’s going to exciting to watch, not just him but the team as a whole.”
On the other side of the field Hidalgo come into the game on a three game losing skid.
With losses to Port Isabel, Rio Hondo, and Santa Rosa, the Pirates will want to go into the game and reverse way things have gone recently.
“Hidalgo is aggressive defensively and I’m really impressed with their secondary and how well they play,” said Infante. “I think they have played well at times I think they’re very similar to us, they’ve done things to hurt themselves in certain games. They’re a young football team that’s steadily improving and I think it going to be a great matchup.”
However the outcome, one thing is certain, time has run out and district play begins next Friday.