Previously: No. 10 — Harlingen vs. San Benito

When it comes to longevity, Bay City-El Campo has a leg up on the state of Texas. After the series began in 1911, the Ricebirds and Blackcats have played at least once in every year since 1920.

When the teams first started playing, defense dominated. After tying 0-0 in the inaugural matchup, El Campo edged out two shutout victories over Bay City later in the 1911 season – 6-0 and 2-0. Three of the first seven games ended in scoreless ties.

For the next ninety years or so, it was a back-and-forth game that was almost even as a whole. But the tide began to turn in 2005, as El Campo now has an 11 game winning streak – and an overall edge of 63-43-9 – heading into this year’s matchup.

The Ricebirds started to pull away under the guidance of legendary coach Bob Gillis, who was inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor in 2014.



Gillis retired after the 2014 season, but not before taking El Campo all the way to the state championship game in 2012. While El Campo thrived under the stability of Gillis’ leadership, the Blackcats struggled mightily in the years following the Chad Morris era.

Morris, the current head coach at SMU, left Bay City to take over in Stephenville after the 2002 season. The Blackcats advanced to the state championship game in 2003 before things started to deteriorate.

“There really wasn’t any stability there after Chad [Morris] left,” the Victoria Advocate’s Mike Forman said. “After that, things kind of fell apart.”

Bay City went through four different head coaches from 2003-2014 while Gillis led El Campo to consistent success, and the Blackcats failed to make the playoffs for nine straight seasons from 2007-2015.

Both programs hired new head coaches prior to the 2015 season – Wayne Condra in El Campo and Lupe Florez in Bay City. That’s when things finally started to trend upwards for the Blackcats. After narrowly missing the playoffs in year one, 2016 was almost a complete turnaround.

Florez finally led the program back into the postseason, and fell just short of getting the highly-sought after win over El Campo to close out the regular season. Bay City lost 35-28 in overtime, but the writing is on the wall – the state’s longest continuous rivalry is back as a marquee matchup this season.

“It’s a pretty big deal around here,” Florez said. “Most of the people around here are always asking, ‘Are we going to beat El Campo this year?’ We made it back into the playoffs, but people are still worried about beating El Campo – so it’s definitely a pretty big game.

"It makes for a great football game, especially when we have a sellout crowd the way we did last year. It’s just a great experience.”

With the game again serving as the season finale for the district rivals, playoff positioning will almost certainly be on the line this year. A win would catapult the turnaround in Bay City for Florez and the rest of the coaching staff.

“It’d be big,” Florez said. “Over the last few years it’s been all El Campo. Beating them would kind of mean the tide has turned in our direction. That’s important for our staff, our kids and it’s important for our community.”

Quick hits on El Campo vs. Bay City: 

How many years has it been played?: 114 years (First game was in 1911)

Overall record: El Campo leads the all-time series 61-43-9 and has won every game since 2005.

Distance between schools (in exact miles): 32.2 miles

State titles won and/or appeared in for each team: El Campo lost the 1967 Class 3A title to Brownwood and the 2012 3A DI title to Stephenville. Bay City lost the 1979 Class 3A title to McKinney, won the 1983 Class 4A title over Lubbock Estacado, lost the 1998 4A DI title to Grapevine, won the 2000 4A DI title over Denton Ryan, lost the 2001 4A DII title to Ennis, lost the 2003 4A DI title to North Crowley.

Average attendance and/or combined average of both stadiums’ capacities: El Campo holds right around 8,000 while Bay City’s capacity is just over 6,000. Recently, crowds have been better in El Campo than in Bay City. But last year, Bay City had a sellout crowd after fielding a successful team.

How much animosity is there, really? Is it a fun rivalry, or does it always get chippy and cross the line? The game used to be one of the more heated in the state, but died down in its intensity as Bay City began to struggle over the last few years. The animosity should return as the Blackcats continue to grow into an annual contender under Florez.

Does the game have a nickname? What’s the story behind it? No nickname despite being the longest running matchup in the state.

WHY do the schools dislike each other? What’s the town history? The schools aren’t in the same county, but it is still one of those games that feels like a family affair. Players often have relatives on the other side of the matchup. As the longest consecutive game in the state, it’s something they learn growing up.

How has the rivalry changed over the years? Bay City has two state championships to its name while El Campo has yet to push through despite making two appearances, but it’s the Ricebirds that have pulled away in the series. A lack of stability in Bay City prior to Lupe Florez’ arrival is one of the main reasons El Campo has controlled things so dominantly over the last decade or so.

Any famous alumni? Coaches? Bay City – coaches: Ron Mills, Warren Trahan and Chad Morris. Players: Simon Fletcher (Denver Broncos), Roland Mitchell (Buffalo Bills), Hart Lee Dykes (New England Patriots), Mark Dennard (Miami Dolphins), Joe Deloach won gold in the 200 meters at the 1988 Olympics. El Campo – coaches: Buzzy Kieth, Ed Hickman and Bob Gillis. Players: Heath Sherman (Philadelphia Eagles), Arkeith Brown (Texas A&M), Joey Hunt (Seattle Seahawks).

How’d the first-ever game go? What is known about that one? 0-0 tie in 1911. The teams played three times that year, with El Campo taking the other two games 6-0 and 2-0.

Greatest game ever? Bay City won 34-31 in OT in 2003. In one of the few overtime games between the two teams, the Blackcats held on for a thrilling victory after El Campo stormed back from a 31-14 fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime.