We’re into the regional semifinals of the Texas high school football playoffs and 88 teams will continue their journey to AT&T Stadium in December. However, that journey has ended in El Paso as the five remaining teams were all eliminated in the area round this past weekend. With the season now over in the Sun City, let’s take a look back at some of the best moments from the Borderland this year.
Hankins and Fields Lead the Way on the Ground
It’s incredibly rare for an El Paso player to lead the state in rushing. It’s quite another where you have the top two from the same city. That’s what happened this year as Parkland sophomore running back Deion Hankins and Americas senior running back Josh Fields both had spectacular seasons. Hankins burst on to the scene this year, finishing with 2,814 yards and 23 touchdowns. Fields was outstanding in his own right, finishing with 2,477 yards and 26 touchdowns, which included a city record 464 yards against El Paso Coronado. Even though Fields’ high school playing days are done, both he and Hankins were the two superstars to carry the El Paso flag and represent the city very well.
Shootouts at the SAC
47-44. 49-48. 60-49. 61-42. 73-52. None of these scores are basketball scores. They’re all football scores from games played at the Socorro ISD Student Activities Complex in 2016. The SAC had a new video board and scoreboard installed in the summer before the season and it’s safe to say that it got tested all year by the likes of El Dorado, Eastlake, Pebble Hills, Montwood, Americas, and Socorro. While many of these teams have work to do defensively next year, some of the most memorable games of the year were played here, including Montwood’s upset of El Dorado, Eastlake’s win over Parkland, and Americas and Franklin playing a shootout Saturday morning after a hail storm wiped out their game on the final Friday night of the regular season. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year.
South Side Success Story
The El Paso Bowie Bears had a historic season in 2016, clinching a 9-1 regular season record and a share of their first district title since 1971. To make the story even more remarkable, they did so with just 32 varsity players, which is very small for a 5A squad. Head coach Robert Padilla called this group a special team and said after the win over Jefferson to clinch the title: “It’s been 45 years in the making. If the Cubs can do it, the Bears figured out a way to do it too.” “La Bowie” has a very special connection with their community and one of the best moments of the year came on a windy night at the Sun Bowl with the Bears holding up their district championship trophy.
Cathedral Wins State
There was some history made in El Paso this season, as the Cathedral Fighting Irish won the TAPPS Division V State Championship by defeating The Village out of Houston in Brownwood. With the win, Cathedral became the first 11-man team in the El Paso area to win a state championship. The Irish went 8-3 on the season and made history along the way.
These are just some of the best moments from the El Paso area for high school football this year. It provided a lot of entertainment, intrigue, and history along the way. We’ll see what the area has in store next year.
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