PORTLAND, Texas — The Battle of the Wildcats rivalry has been in favor of Calallen over the last decade, but two years ago Gregory-Portland won the battle. Then Calallen stole it right back in a 42-40 thriller. It starts the season off with a great test, and that's why it's our KRIS 6 Game of the Week.
"It's going to be a great battle again. You know two good teams and right off the bat you've got to come out and you've got to play well," said Calallen football head coach Charlie Reeve. "I don't expect anything less than a four quarter game. You know it's G-P and Calallen and we're looking forward to it."
This rivalry goes back decades. Last year Calallen won 42-40.
"I mean it's just a traditional rivalry for South Texas," said Gregory-Portland football head coach Brent Davis."Lot of people, even if they aren't associated with either school, they know about it. Guys that have really you know been South Texas legends have been a part of this tradition. We love playing them and I'm sure they fell the same way."
It's a great test to prep both Wildcats for district and playoffs.
"Tough non-district schedule, and G-P is one of those hard games," said Calallen senior wide receiver and defensive back Reese Rusher, "Their 5A. We're 4A. It's just a back and forth game every year."
Calallen's deep receiver corps will help quarterback Connor Klostermann get comfortable in the pocket. While he was not the starter last season, he did get varsity playing time.
"We're all building chemistry with Connor. He's came in and he did a great job the last scrimmage," said Calallen senior wide receiver and defensive back Drayson Gamez, "All of our receivers are really excited for this year spreading the ball out all around."
Calallen has about 6-7 athletes that play both ways. All those guys are starters on defense, so coach Reeve and staff make adjustments to keep those guys ready.
"How we personnel things on offense and get those guys some reps," Reeve said. "I think we got a little more depth at receiver this year."
Gregory-Portland's roster will feature a few new faces as well. Supporting first-year starting junior quarterback Carter Dominguez.
"We've got three new offensive linemen that played JV last year and two wides that played freshman last year, so we got a lot of learning to do," Davis said. "They're good kids and they're working hard.>
The Wildcats defensive linemen are young, and they'll be looking to senior defensive end Cole Zipprian who totaled 74 tackles and three sacks last fall.
"They just got to focus you know. Listen to their defensive keys and pay attention," Zipprian said. "Everyone has got to communicate. I feel like as a team we have good chemistry, so should do way better this year."
G-P has an experienced lineup around the line, returning eight varsity players on defense. Head coach Brent Davis said if they can win the turnover battle, it's already improvement from last year.
"I just hope we can have a better year than last year," said Gregory-Portland senior cornerback Cooper Edwards. "We let up a lot of yards last year, but we fixed our problems and our mistakes. We're ready now."
Gregory-Portland hosts Calallen for the Battle of the Wildcats and our Game of the Week on Friday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. at Ray Akins Wildcat Stadium.
