A decades-old rivalry got kicked up a notch on Wednesday morning.
High school football fans lined up as early at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to be able to buy tickets to the Harlingen Cardinals and San Benito Greyhounds game.
The two rival teams are facing each other in the playoffs for the first time in recent memory.
Tickets for the game were sold in San Benito on Tuesday but went on sale at the Nix Building in downtown Harlingen at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Harlingen Cardinals fan Jessica Villarreal said she and a friend camped out since 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to buy tickets for their husbands and children.
“It was a lot of fun,” Villarreal said. “There was a lot of excitement with these people. I couldn’t sleep a wink because I was so excited with these people.”
The big game is set for Friday evening at Boggus Stadium in Harlingen.
Organizers said the game’s 10,000 tickets were split evenly between Harlingen and San Benito. They said they expect the game to sell out.
The Harlingen Cardinals are favored to win after taking the annual “Battle Of The Arroyo” against San Benito in a 35-6 game in September.
But Greyhounds fan Noe Aguirre said his hometown team has improved since that the two last saw each other on the football field.
“I hope for the big upset on Friday,” Aguirre said. “The offense is really coming around. Gantt’s done a good job. If the defense can step it up and stomp down Harlingen’s offense, it’ll be real, real good.”
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