Hat Trick: Bears fight off Coyotes to claim rivalry prize
The Merced High football team won back the Governor’s Hat with a hard fought 43-34 victory over Madera on Friday night at Cathie Hostetler Stadium. The Bears players jumped up and down as head coach Rob Scheidt held the white cowboy hat high in the air as Merced celebrated the win. Players passed the hat around and took pictures with their prize.
“The best thing is to celebrate with these guys,” Scheidt said. “You’re just glad that it means this much to them, because they’ve been working this hard and this wasn’t easy. We knew it wasn’t going to be, but hats off to our guys because they found a way to get it done.”
The cowboy hat was donated to the rivalry between the two schools by former California Governor Goodwin Knight in 1959. The winning school gains possession of the hat until the next game in the rivalry. The trophy just added extra incentive in a battle of two teams that came into Friday’s matchup undefeated.
The Bears (4-0) looked to be in control of the game as they jumped out to a 29-7 lead early in the second half. Merced quarterback Vincente Cortez has thrown three touchdown passes, connecting with Israel Rodas, Brett Parker and Hayden Czirban on scoring tosses. Cortez also scored on a 5-yard run as well.
Meanwhile, defensively Czirban had forced a fumble and recorded two sacks from defensive end. “Hayden was flying all over the place,” Scheidt said.
However, the Coyotes (3-1) never went away. Freshman running back Anthony Estrada showed why he had rushing for over 800 yards in the first four games by racking up 178 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries against the Bears. Madera tight end Jayden Martinez also scored two touchdowns, including a 1-yard run that pulled the Coyotes within 29-21 with 2:23 left in the third quarter.
Merced running back Dougie Andrews delivered some big fourth-quarter runs, including touchdown runs of 25 and 20 yards to help hold off Madera’s late charge. Andrews’ second touchdown run extended the Merced lead to 43-29 with 2:44 left as the junior running back finished with 148 yards on 18 carries. “It's just a blessing to be given the opportunity,” Andrews said. “I just really have to give thanks to my line and my coaching staff to give me that opportunity.”
Madera still answered back with a 44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Elias Mena to Lawrence Flores with 1:44 left, but the Coyotes missed the extra point. Merced was able to field the onside kick and run out the clock to preserve the victory.
A few moments later the Bears players were trying on the Governor’s Hat in celebration. “It feels great,” Cortez said. “We knew this was going to be one of our hardest games of the season so having that ‘W’ under our belt feels really good.”
Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@Muhsd.org.