BISHOP, Texas — A UIL 3A-DI District 16 rivalry will be renewed between Falfurrias and Bishop, but this time the Badgers' field has a new name, George Luna Stadium. Bishop is in a 3-way tie for third, but with the UIL's point system the Badgers rank third in the playoff seeding. Falfurrias is playing their last game of the season on Game Night South Texas.
"It's been a big part of my life," Marcus Lopez, Falfurrias senior middle linebacker, said. "I've been doing it since I was 7 years-old, and it's going to hurt to leave here for my last game."
Falfurrias and Bishop have not faced off for the rivalry in three years. This time the Fightin' Jerseys will rely more heavily on their air attack.
"I think our receivers Kaleb Garcia and Derek Vasquez. Jax Garcia is our quarterback," Arturo Garcia, Falfurrias football head coach, said. "We manage to throw the ball around a little bit and we're going to have too."
Bishop is going back to playoffs for the fifth season in-a-row. One young player that's really stepped up is sophomore dual-threat quarterback Braxten Montalvo. He's got experienced skill players in his arsenal.
"Emmatteo (Pelagio) he can really get the ball, make a move, make people miss and get a touchdown," Montalvo said. "Matthew (Reyna) he can catch aggressive balls. He'll go up there and get it. Aidan (Andalon) he's quick, he can juke and he's a really good agility player. Brendon (Ray) is big, aggressive and 6-foot-4."
This is the Badger's first season without long-time Bishop coach George Luna who passed away last December. Since their loss Bishop re-named their stadium.
"It means everything to me," Pelagio, Bishop senior wide receiver, said. "We've been close family members since we were growing up and he's always been there for me. He's always said when you do things right good things happen, so I'm going to keep living by that and I'm going to keep making him proud up there."
This rivalry between Falfurrias and Bishop kicks off on Thursday at 7 p.m. at George Luna Stadium. You can watch the game live on our sister station KDF and on our website.
