By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
HARLINGEN – Bird Bowl XXIII will be, as it always has been, about crosstown rivals playing for bragging rights.
When Harlingen and Harlingen South face off at Boggus Stadium tonight, however, a district title and a chance at a postseason berth will be on the line as well.
For Harlingen, a victory will mean its streak of winning at least a share of a district title will extend to eight seasons.
A win also means they open the playoffs at home.
“Homefield advantage is super important,” Harlingen head coach Manny Gomez said. “I loved watching games at Boggus as a kid and I definitely loved playing and coaching games there. The goal is to have another opportunity to play there this year.”
The Cards will face the winner of Edinburg Economedes and Edinburg North with a win.
If they lose, they’d face the same Weslaco team that dismissed them from bi-district play last year in a 3-0 win.
For the Hawks, they take the field with their fate in the hands of the Brownsville Lopez Lobos.
Not only will the Hawks need to win their first Bird Bowl since 2007 — their fifth overall, but they’ll need for the Lobos to knock off the Brownsville Veterans Chargers.
The Hawks and the Chargers are each 3-3 in league play, but the Chargers own a head-to-head victory.
Still, the Hawks are going in excited to face their rivals.
“We’re not going to quit,” said Hawks head coach Lanny Wilson. “We’re not going to worry about what we can control. We have a great opportunity for us this week to play our crosstown rival. It’s a team South has seldom beaten. (Harlingen) is as good as or better than anyone in the district, so we’re looking forward to the game.”
The Cardinals have all the momentum in this game, coming in winners of three straight.
Meanwhile, South comes in after a disappointing 17-13 loss to San Benito in which a pair of touchdowns were called back due to penalties.
As a result, the Hawks will come in a desperate team looking for an upset. But, Gomez isn’t looking at it that way.
“I don’t focus on who we’re facing; we just worry about us,” Gomez said. “However, looking at the film, it was a heart-wrenching loss for them. It is what it is. The bottom line is that we have to go out and play our best. We know (South) is going to bring their best and we wouldn’t expect it any other way.
“Coach Wilson will worry about his nest and I’ll worry about mine.”
Both Harlingen and Harlingen South bring defenses ranked in the top half of the district and give up less than 300 yards a game to opponents.
Harlingen is coming off a 48-0 win in which it held Lopez to less than 80 yards of total offense, while South held high-scoring San Benito to just 17 points.
Both are formidable on offense as well.
The Cards are led by the district’s top rusher Leo Tienda, who has 1,166 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season.
He found the end zone once last week and rushed for just 47 yards, but only because teammate Michael Allen Gonzalez scored four touchdowns and had 217 all purpose yards.
If South hopes to keep up, quarterback Brandon Villarreal (1,244 all purpose yards, six rushing TDs, 10 TD passes) will need to have one of his finest games and get the ball to his playmakers.
Receiver Alec Garza has been Villarreal’s favorite target as the two have hooked up for eight touchdowns.