Less than 24 hours after the Chicago Cubs ended their 108-year title drought, the Bowie Bears ended one of their own on Thursday night, clinching a share of their first district title since 1971 with a 52-6 win over the Jefferson Silver Foxes on a windy night at the Sun Bowl.
“It’s been 45 years in the making. If the Cubs can do it, the Bears figured out a way to do it too,” head coach Robert Padilla said after the game.
Entering Thursday’s game, Padilla said that his team looked calm and ready to take on their archrivals in the Battle of the South Side. After each team went three-and-out to open the game, Bowie quarterback German Carrasco found Jonathan Madrigal for a 16-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
Jefferson would come back quickly and respond with a 56-yard touchdown pass from David Martinez to Aaron Zsako. The Bears would block the extra point and take it back for two points for an 8-6 lead that the Bears would never relinquish.
“This wasn’t about the usual rivalry,” Padilla said, “We knew we had a lot at stake but the bottom line is our kids were ready to play. I told them that this is the game where you get to show all the emotion and put your hearts on their sleeves and I’m glad they did.”
The Bears were able to establish the ground game with a steady mix of Josh Hidalgo and Justin Mendoza. Mendoza finished with 99 yards and two scores while Hidalgo added 62 yards and a score on the ground and another 34 yards receiving. They also were solid through the air as well with German Carrasco, finishing 14 of 19 for 233 yards and three touchdowns and Dominic Johnson, who caught 6 passes for 144 and two scores and called the win “one of the best games we’ve ever played.”
For the core group of seniors on the Bears offense, winning the title has been a goal they’ve worked towards since their early days at Bowie.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Carrasco said, “We’ve been working towards this since our freshman year and we knew we had a great team this year and there is no better feeling than this.”
The win was also special for “La Bowie”, a nickname for the school by players, fans, and alumni of the tight-knit community in South El Paso.
“I’m so happy for our fans, our community and our school,” Hidalgo said, “we showed we have enough pride to be the Pride of the South Side.”
Finally, the Bears won a title with a much smaller squad than most 5A teams in Texas. According to Padilla, the Bears have 32 players on their varsity team this season. He knows they may not have the numbers like other schools, but he acknowledges he’s coaching a special group.
“We do what we can with the kids that we have,” he said, “We wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.”
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