MCALLEN – The Bulldogs are pumped to still be in the battle. A couple of weeks ago, McAllen was 1-3 in district play. That’s when Kevin Brewer’s team turned things around, closing out the regular season with a pair of comeback wins over Palmview and Mission.

“Been more consistent offensively,” said Brewer. “We’ve cut down on our turnovers. Defensively, we’re making some key stops in some critical times in the second half. Giving us an opportunity late in the games. We’re just playing with a lot of heart and effort right now.”

“I think we’re playing our best football at the end of the season,” said McAllen senior linebacker Wilbert Murillo. “We knew it was crunch time and we just put everything to work. We just didn’t let all the losses early in the season get us down.”

Receiver Gunnar Henderson, who is drawing interest from division 1 schools like Louisville and Yale, played in a big role in McAllen’s win against Mission scoring three touchdowns. Another of his memorable moments came at the beginning of the second half, when he ran onto the field with a young McAllen fan named Logan Flores.

“He really loves football,” said Henderson. “He won’t ever be able to play because he had a kidney transplant. It really touched me that he wanted to take a picture with me and run out there at halftime with me. I just try to do whatever I can to put a smile on his face.”

The Bulldogs take on Eagle Pass Friday on the Eagles’ home field in the first round of the playoffs.