SAN ANTONIO – This story is part of the Know My Neighborhood: Harlandale-McCollum series.
They were from different sides of the McCollum-Harlandale neighborhood. Fate and football brought them together, along with a chance to sit and talk about those old glory days (with a little trash talkin’) and the community they grew up in.
More than 30 years since they graduated, Joseph Farias was and still is a Harlandale Indian; Gabe Cisneros was and still is a McCollum Cowboy.
Their claim to fame, they played on their respective football teams in the most historic Frontier Bowl ever — the 1989 classic. Both are now in their early 50s, but they still remember that game.
“Yeah, I got hurt so then y’all started scoring,” said Cisneros.
Joseph Farias immediately countered with, “But, that doesn’t matter, you still have other teammates.”
That was pretty much how the afternoon and the conversation went between these two former gridiron warriors. Certain moments and even plays are etched in their minds.
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“It’s amazing that I can’t remember, you know, algebra or geometry to this day, but I can remember when coach called the play. I can remember what to do or I can remember what we did,” Cisneros said.
Even their superstitions are easy to remember.
“I remember breaking the poster, banner, and I would have to be las,t that was just my superstition,” Farias said.
It wasn’t just the plays and superstitions, these players still reminisced about the pad popping.
”I can still feel the snot coming out when you hit somebody,” Cisneros recalled.
Even though they attended different schools growing up on the South Side, it was like one big community and one big family. No matter what school you went to everybody from both sides supported you as long as you were playing a team that wasn’t Harlandale or McCollum.
“We still know we’re family. We’re South Side family. Because if we go up against Judson, if we go up against Clark, you know Holmes? We know we’re going to be rooting for them and they’re going to be rooting for us, yes,” Cisneros said.
Cisneros and Farias agreed people were really nice, opened the door for them and treated them like one of theirs, up until Frontier week.
“You know all that politeness goes out the window, “ Cisneros said and added, “That whole week leading up to the game, like the whole town, the whole South (Side) just got divided.”
The preparations and school pep rallies lasted all week at both schools.
The 1989 game ended in a tie. Harlandale put on a furious comeback. After being down 21 points, they scored a last-second TD and then went for two, and the tie.
Farias received a throwback pass from the quarterback and then took off.
“Actually I juked somebody that was trying to hit me. I juked them first, then I threw the ball.“
The play was called ”Renegade Throwback Pass.”
Cisneros chimed in with his recollection of how the defense played it.
“I see everybody coming up because I guess they saw pass, heard ‘pass’ and sucked up.”
That gave Farias time to find his receiver in the back of the endzone for the game-tying two-point conversion.
Even though they tied, McCollum was the team that made the playoffs with an 8-1-1 record. And they got bragging rights, not just for the year, but for a lifetime.
After the game and swapping memories of those days gone by, it was back to being a community, back to being the South Side family.
“We still know were family, were South Side family,” Cisneros said.