Cowhide 2024 Review: Mount Whitney and Redwood Collide at 69th Annual Meeting

What: The 69th annual Cowhide High School football game between Redwood (3-6, 3-1) and Mount Whitney (2-7, 0-4).

When: November 1, 2024; 18:30

Where: Mineral royal bowl

All-time series record: The Rangers lead the all-time Cowhide series 38-29-1.

Best storylines: Redwood running back Jimmy Burke remembers last season’s final play at Cowhide.

Like tailback Mt. Whitney Kaysen Singh.

On fourth down in overtime, Mount Whitney linebacker Mario Rodriguez tackled Burke at the 10-yard line to seal the 20-14 win over Redwood.

Burke was just a couple of yards shy of a first down, and the Pioneers captured the overall East Yosemite League title and the Sid Hosking Trophy city title in the 68th Cowhide Game.

“It’s one of my favorite football memories when I think about football in general,” Singh said. “It sticks with me.”

Burke has a different feeling.

“It motivated me a lot because I never want to lose like that again,” Burke said. “After all this, after everything that happened, it really motivated me. It made me work even harder than last year.”

This mentality makes the Rangers the computer favorite in this year’s game.

Calpreps.com projects the Rangers to win 31-12.

Redwood won three of its last four games to start the season 0–5.

“We feel mentally prepared going into this game with these three wins,” Burke said. “Our connection, our work together, made us all strong. It helped us stay mentally prepared.”

Preseason expectations were high at Mount Whitney this season, with the Pioneers returning their starting quarterback (Micah Rodriguez), running back (Sing) and Tulare County’s top recruit (Israel Briggs). Rodriguez was named the 2023 EYL Offensive MVP, while Sing and Briggs were first-team All-EYL players.

Recruiting site 247sports.com rates Briggs as a four-star prospect. He reported 20 offers, including one recently from national team Alabama.

But the Pioneers’ season did not turn out as expected due to injuries in key positions.

“Everyone got hurt this year,” said head coach Mt. Whitney Nathan Chamberlain. “The freshmen have already started. Sophomore years have begun. The key in any school sport, especially if you are younger, is to avoid injury. Last year we had no injuries. We’ve had a lot of injuries this year. , to put it mildly.”

However, Mount Whitney is recovering at just the right time.

Sing is feeling his best all season after leading Mt. Whitney for the EYL Championship.

The Pioneers still have a chance to make the playoffs. With a Cowhide win, Chamberlain’s team will meet the section’s requirement of a 30% overall winning percentage, or three wins in a 10-game regular season.

What did this season teach Sing?

“Be grateful for what you have received,” Singh said. “It’s not what we thought it would be, but we just have to make the best of what we have.”

This mentality was instilled by Chamberlain.

“He makes us act like professionals,” Singh said. “We treat every game as a business trip. We do our thing in training, bring it into the game and do the best we can. He does a lot. He keeps us under control.”

Mount Whitney has won two of its last three Cowhide games.

In 2021, Redwood was the favorite and had a chance to capture the West Yosemite League title with a win at Cowhide, but the Pioneers pulled off the upset with a 13-7 win.

Then last season, the Rangers went into contention with a senior heavyweight team, but the Pioneers prevailed in overtime to capture Cowhide and capture their first league title in more than two decades.

“The goal is to win back Hyde,” Redwood head coach Kevin Scharton said. “There are two teams that really want it. In such games you can break records. It has been proven in the past that the team with the most points wins.”

This article originally appeared on the Visalia Times-Delta: Cowhide 2024 Preview: Mount Whitney and Redwood Collide at 69th Meeting