One of the most bitter rivalries in El Paso is renewed on Thursday night as the Franklin Cougars take on the Coronado Thunderbirds in the “West Side Bowl.” The schools are just two miles apart, but the 21st matchup of these two 1-6A squads will take place in the Sun Bowl. Typically, these two teams are competing for a district title, but it’s been a different story in 2016.
The Cougars picked up a big win last Friday night, beating the Socorro Bulldogs 59-14. More importantly, the Cougars kept hold of that valuable fourth and final playoff spot in District 1-6A. The Cougars are 3-2 in District play and maintain a tiebreaker over Eastwood for the playoff spot. Seth Dominguez eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark last Friday and he will be the main workhorse for the Cougars offense. Eric Phillips scored three touchdowns (2 run, 1 pass) last week and is expected to be a go-to weapon for quarterback Kaleb Hatch. One thing to keep an eye on for the Cougars is how disciplined they are. They committed 14 penalties last week and in a rivalry game, those can come back to bite a team.
As for Coronado, they’re trying to play spoiler against a Franklin team still in contention. They enter Thursday’s contest 1-4 in district play, but they’ve had several close losses in 1-6A including: Montwood by seven, Americas by three, and four points last week against El Dorado, all teams vying for playoff spots. In order for Coronado to win this game, it’s going to be all about the ground game as Julian Madrid, Alex Chavez, and Jose Luis Herrera will be key for the Thunderbirds. Herrera and Angelo Donatelli will split time at quarterback, as the Thunderbirds would love nothing more than to pull the upset over their archrivals.
In the series, Franklin leads Coronado 15-6, including wins the last two years. Can Franklin put a firm grip on a playoff spot? Or will Coronado play spoiler and keep the race alive for the last playoff spot in 1-6A heading into the final week of the regular season? We will find out Thursday night at the Sun Bowl.
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