‘Skins, Panthers to not play each other, how bizarre

It was a cool Fall day in the Valley.

The year was 1991 and it was an early October evening. Usually on those circumstances, we’d be talking about college football. Not that day. All the passion and the focus belonged to the Mid-Valley. Two teams at the time were unbeaten, and the match-up was being called “The Game of the Year.”
Yes I’m talking about the fierce and much talked about district battle between the Weslaco Panthers and Donna Redskins.

How big was this game? So big that it was originally scheduled for Bennie La Prade Stadium, but was moved a week earlier to McAllen Memorial Stadium in an effort to handle the anticipated crowd.

Everyone knew this was the game many circled at the beginning of the year and many from across the Valley, let alone from as far as San Antonio (at least that’s what I heard) wanted to see. There were as many as 16,000 people in attendance, including those who didn’t mind standing along the fence surrounding the stadium. The atmosphere was awesome.

For most of the contest, it lived up to the hype until Weslaco pulled away in the fourth quarter, but that’s beside the point.

The point here is that Weslaco and Donna was a must see game year in and year out. Fans want to see it, they certainly embrace it. 1991 is proof of that.

Too bad fans will miss out on one of the Valley’s fiercest rivalries once again unless the teams meet each other in no earlier than the second round of the playoffs.

After it was announced on Monday that both schools would remain in their respective districts in the new realignment, the next shot at renewing the rivalry was non-district.

I mean, it had been done before in their historic series, which has featured great games and many upsets.
And both coaches did come out and say they wanted to play each other. At least they said it after the realignment was announced.

But it was not to be.

Neither Weslaco head coach Tony Villarreal nor Donna head coach Manny Moreno stepped up to the plate to rekindle this rivalry that has been dormant for two seasons.

I actually find that hard to believe, considering both have strong personalities. Villarreal insists he sent his assistant (likely Gabe Peña if this is indeed true) to Donna and asked if they wanted to play.

Moreno said nobody approached him and said Villarreal nixed a non-district clash two years ago.

It’s a classic “he said, he said” scenario. Even if he sent an assistant as his representative, Villarreal should’ve asked for this game personally. It’s a simple — “Hey coach, let’s get this series back, how about a Week 0 showdown?”

Or if you’re coach Moreno, who maintains Villarreal is the one who backed out two years ago, an easy, “Coach Tony, forget about what happened two years ago, what do you say we just get this rivalry going again?” would’ve worked out just fine.

Being from Donna, Moreno can attest to the spirit of this rivalry, having played for the Redskins in the early 1980s. For whatever reason, neither of these coaches wanted to make the first move.

It could’ve and should’ve been done for all the reasons in the world. This rivalry deserves better than that and so do the fans across the Valley, especially those from the two communities. In a way, it’s kind of embarrassing. 

While we see the other Valley rivalries add new chapters to their proud and respected history, the fans of Donna and Weslaco will have to wait until next time - just like we all waited on Monday.

And all because of two coaches who just refused to break the ice.