La Porte vs Deer Park: 65th Border Battle - 8/29, 7:00 p.m., Bulldog Stadium

[OlDawg]

A little early, but ready for the new season in the new digs.

This meeting marks the 65th Border Battle between these two heated rivals. The rivalry began in 1946, and is one of the oldest town vs. town, big school rivalries in the state.. It was honored as one of the Great American Rivalry Series Games in the nation in 2015. La Porte leads the all-time series 32-31-1. Deer Park has won the last 4 contests. This will be the first time the game has been played at La Porte since 2022. Not a more fitting game to initiate the new Bulldog Stadium than this long time rivalry. The capacity of the stadium will be tested right off the bat.

La Porte finished last season 10-4 in 11-5A D1 with a second consecutive District Championship under Coach Berneathy and staff, and eventually lost to district mate Angleton in the R3 Finals 24-21. They return a solid core of players with an eye on a bigger prize in 2025. Gone is the three-headed monster of Barnes, Sandolph & Simon. So, it will be interesting to see how the offense is adapted with Simon as the feature back. La Porte returns 7 on offense, and 7 on defense. La Porte is ranked 6th in the State in 5AD1 by DCTF.

Deer Park finished last season 8-3 and 6-1 in 24-6A and lost to North Shore in Bidistrict. They will have new--but talented--skill position players. They return solid, experienced, big (as always) lines on both sides of the ball. The Deer return 4 on offense, and 5 on defense. DCTF is predicting a 3rd place finish for the Deer behind Dickinson & Clear Springs, and another playoff appearance in 6AD1.

This rivalry game always has some unexpected twists and turns. It's like NASCAR having Daytona right out of the gates to start the season. Emotions are always high for both teams. But, this year may have added incentive as La Porte will want to record a tone setting inaugural victory even more at the new Bulldog. Deer Park will want to ruin the opening with a win of their own.

Deer Park won the last meeting in 2024 at Abshier 25-22.

The game should be broadcast on the free LPSportsnet YouTube channel for those not lucky enough to get seats.