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FARWELL — For the first time in a while, the Farwell-Bovina football rivalry won’t help determine whether either team makes the postseason.
Playing in separate districts this season, the traditional late-season clash between the Parmer County schools has been moved up to Week 2. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (CDT) on Friday.
Both teams are looking to build off opening-week road wins, with Farwell edging Ralls 7-0 and Bovina taking a 36-13 verdict over Boys Ranch.
The teams haven’t played a non-district game against each other since 2009.
“I think the rivalry supersedes whether or not you can win your district,” third-year Bovina coach Cody Emery said. “I think the nice thing is you can win it, but if you don’t it doesn’t affect your chances to win a district championship.”
The Mustangs fell behind Boys Ranch early in the second period, but mustered three consecutive touchdowns to open a 20-7 advantage by the middle of the third stanza.
“We were a little bit lethargic in the first half,” Emery said. “But once we got going, I thought we played pretty well.”
Meantime, the Steers scored on their opening possession at Ralls and were able to make it stand up the rest of the way.
“For us, we’ve just got to be a little more consistent and finish drives,” Farwell coach Darren Kelley said. “We should make a big improvement between the first and second games — hopefully, at least.”
Kelley said the game should be similar to last year’s thriller at Bovina, won by the Steers 20-18 in triple overtime. Farwell has won six of the last seven meetings.
“I don’t think it’ll be much different this year,” he said. “It’s always an exciting game.”
Mules set for home opener — Coming off a 6-0 loss in last week’s opener at Sundown, Muleshoe plays the first of back-to-back home outings when it takes on Lamesa on Friday night.
First-year Mules coach Jason Richards said handling the Tornadoes’ slot-T offense will be a test, adding that he expects Lamesa to run the ball about 75 percent of the time.
“They’re all tough when you’re 1-19,” Richards quipped about Muleshoe’s record over the past two seasons.
Lamesa, which dropped from Class 4A Division I to 3A Division I last season, absorbed a 35-8 setback on Friday night at 4A Division II San Angelo Lake View. Senior quarterback Josh Marquez and junior running back Josiah Zapata are among the leaders for the Tornadoes, Richards noted.
“They’re athletic,” he said. “They have good size and team speed.”
Still, Richards was encouraged by his team’s performance last week at Sudan.
“They’ve got more depth than we do,” he said of the Tornadoes. “But I think we match up pretty well.”