Bowie and El Paso High opened up district play at R.R. Jones Stadium, where both teams combined for seven touchdowns on the ground as the Tigers were able to rally in the second quarter and hold on for a 31-20 victory over the Bears.

“We got to get in our minds that we are better than most of these teams, right now we aren’t playing at our highest potential and there is still lots to unlock about ourselves. We’ll learn from our mistakes and we’ll keep moving forward,” defensive lineman Jose Varela said.

All scores combined came by the run, as Bowie running backs Nathan Felix and Andrew Gallardo rushed for a combined 160 yards out of 224 total rushing yards and three touchdowns. El Paso High running back Mario Chavez was tough to contain for the Bears through the last three quarters, racking up all four touchdowns for the Tigers.

Bowie scored on back-to-back drives to take the lead 14-0 as Felix took a 3-yard run and a 37-yard run, respectively, into the endzone for his second-straight game with two touchdowns.

El Paso High would answer back their next three drives, as Chavez would find his way into the endzone with a 7-yard, 31-yard and 49-yard touchdown runs, respectively, on each possession to take the lead 21-14 into halftime.

After the Bears’ turned the ball over on downs on their first possession of the second half, a John Moran interception at El Paso High’s 27-yard line made way for a 4-yard touchdown run by Gallardo. A missed extra-point would keep El Paso High’s lead at 21-20 with 4:02 remaining in the third quarter, and gave life to a Bowie offense that went stale after their second score.

“We adjusted well to their offense but we adjusted too late. From here we just got to go to practice, get better every single day, work on our mistakes and capitalize on our opportunities”, defensive end Emmanuel Marquez said.

El Paso High converted two crucial fourth down plays on their ensuing possession, including a fake punt that placed them in Bowie territory, and a 26-yard run that took them inside the Bears 5-yard line and put them in position for Chavez’s fourth touchdown of the game to take the lead 28-20.

A successful 37-yard field goal attempt by El Paso High with 59 seconds remaining in the game sealed the game for the Tigers, as the Bears fall 31-20 to the Tigers.

“We just got to look forward and prepare for two weeks from now. We just got to fix our mistakes and not make those mistakes again. I’m proud of my team and we just got to keep moving forward”, defensive back John Moran said.

The Bears fall to 0-1 in district play and 2-3 overall, as they arrive at their bye week and will play next on Friday, Oct. 12 at home vs the Irvin Rockets for Bowie’s Homecoming game.