SINTON, Texas — The Sinton Pirates are looking to win their fourth Friday Night Fever Game of the Week trophy in-a-row. They’re (5-0) undefeated hosting the (4-1) Calallen Wildcats who took the trophy week one, so who is going to shine on Friday night?
“It’s a South Texas matchup that you want to see,” Sinton football head Coach Michael Troutman said.
It’s a rivalry that kicked off 75 years ago. The Battle of Highway 77 has been played 20 times. It’s finished in favor of Calallen for 12 matchups, Sinton for 7 and ending in 1 tie. This year stopping Calallen’s run game will be a challenge.
“They’ve got huge linemen," Troutman said. "They have a quarterback that can run. They have a running back that’s tough, so out of respect we’re going to work.”
Calallen totals 1,261 yards on the ground, and it starts in the trenches.
“Most of us are seniors, so we’ve played with each other at some point in our whole high school career," Calallen senior offensive tackle Brady Buchanan said. "It helps a lot that we have that chemistry between each other. Like we know how fast each other are. We know how fast we’re going to get to the next person. We know what’s possible on combos.”
After five weeks, Sinton is one of the few Coastal Bend teams on Dave Cambpell's Texas Football rankings at No. 4 in UIL 4A-DII.
“You know it starts with the quarterback," Calallen football head coach Charlie Reeve said. "I think they’ve got two backs in the backfield that are good players. Hard to take down, physical runners. They’ve got one of the elite receivers in probably in the state of Texas, so we’ve got a big challenge ahead of us, but I think our guys are ready.”
That elite receiver is Jacoby James. Sinton has combined for 1,553 rushing yards and 630 passing yards. Getting through their line is no easy task.
“One of our main goals every week is to play on the opposing team’s line of scrimmage, so I think that’s one of our biggest things is being able to get that little bit of a push where everybody, not just the linebackers, can see the play a little better," Calallen senior running back and linebacker Jude Hernandez said. "Really know what’s happening.”
Their last meeting in 1995 was won by Calallen 62-0. Since then, this rivalry has taken over other sports like baseball where that series is split with 5 wins each over the last decade.
“It’s kind of fun know that some of the guys that I play baseball against at Calallen I’ll see on the football field, so it’s going to be a good game,” Sinton senior running back Derek Garcia said.
Another rivalry is in powerlifting. Sinton senior middle linebacker Aiden Galvan competed against Calallen running back Ricardo Rodriguez at state in the 165 weight class.
“I mean we’ve just been talking trash to each other since then, so it’s going to be fun to finally see who’s really going to show up,” Galvan said.
Our week 6 Game of the Week between Calallen and Sinton kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Pirate Stadium. Catch the highlights on the Friday Night Fever and see which team brings home the trophy. It’s Sinton’s homecoming.
Calallen vs. Sinton Football History (Stats Courtesy Steven Floyd)
1995: Calallen wins 62-0
1994: Calallen wins 41-13 (Phil Danaher's 100th win at Calallen)
1989: Calallen wins 39-0
1987: Sinton wins 20-10
1986: Calallen wins 12-6
1985: Calallen wins 20-7
1984: Calallen wins 13-12
1983: Sinton wins 33-0
1982: Sinton wins 19-0
1981: Sinton wins 36-30
1980: Calallen wins 27-0
1979: Tie game at 15
1978: Calallen wins 36-6
1977: Calallen wins 34-0
1976: Calallen wins 17-14
1975: Calallen wins 42-8
1974: Sinton wins 28-13
1973: Sinton wins 29-6
1972: Sinton wins 70-8
1949: Calallen wins 13-7
