Merced High looking to keep Mayor’s Cup for 18th consecutive year against Golden Valley
Merced High School has been in possession of the Mayor’s Cup trophy since 2005.
At times, the trophy has been on display in a cabinet in the front office on campus and also the ASB office.
The Bears have defeated Golden Valley 17 games in a row, keeping a stranglehold on the trophy and the crosstown rivalry.
The Cougars (3-1) will try to finally snap the streak on Friday night as they travel to Cathie Hostetler Stadium for the annual Battle for the Mayor’s Cup against Merced (1-2).
“It’s going on 18 years,” said Golden Valley coach Rick Martinez. “(Merced) is a great program. They’ve earned it. We’re going to have to execute. Now it’s our time to try to change it.”
To be played in new stadium
For the first time, the rivalry game will be played on Merced’s on-campus stadium, which opened last year and seats 3,800 people.
With no track surrounding the field, the fans are right on top of the players.
“Our stadium is nothing like any other venue,” said Merced coach Rob Scheidt. “We’ve never had a crowd like we’ll have on Friday. It’s going to be a special atmosphere for the kids. It’s loud for a regular game, I’m sure it’s going to be super loud on Friday.”
“I think it will be electric, high energy,” Martinez said. “We’ve never played there. It’s going to be exciting.”
This will be the first time the matchup hasn’t been played in the final week of the season since 2009, excluding the shortened season during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Both the Mayor’s Cup and Bloss Bowl between Buhach Colony (0-4) and Atwater (2-2) will kick off the start of Central California Conference play.
It’s a big swing game for either team.
“This game can be a big stepping stone for either team that wins,” Scheidt said.
Both teams healthy
Both teams will be coming in at full strength. Merced will get star running bach Chase Smith back in the lineup.
Smith missed the Bears game against Downey with a hyper-extended elbow. With Merced coming off a bye, he’s had two weeks to rest.
“He’s good to go,” Scheidt said. “The two weeks have been good for him. Thankfully there wasn’t a fracture.”
Smith rushed for 248 yards and three touchdowns in the Bears’ 31-6 win over Golden Valley last year.
Golden Valley star receiver Jonah White is also good to go, according to Martinez. White caught two touchdowns in the first half of last week’s win over Pitman, but played sparingly in the second half after injuring his hip during the second-half kickoff.
“He’s doing good,” Martinez said. “He was just a little banged up. He just got hit on the hip. He’s practiced all week.”
All-time series mark
Scheidt said Merced has been fortunate to keep the streak going for so long. At some point the streak will end, but this team doesn’t want to be the group to end it.
Merced leads the all-time series against Golden Valley 21 to 8.
“We’ve told our guys winning football games is one of the most difficult things to do as an athletes because there are so many components that go into it,” Scheidt said. “We’ve been fortunate during the streak to win some overtime games and have the ball bounce our way. I know this group doesn’t want to be that team that breaks the streak.”
This week’s schedule
Golden Valley at Merced
Atwater at Buhach Colony
El Capitan at Central Valley
Sonora at Livingston
Pitman at Hilmar
Los Banos at Beyer
Johansen at Pacheco
Stone Ridge Christian at Modesto Christian
Gustine at Mariposa
Waterford at Delhi
Orestimba at Le Grand
Chowchilla at Yosemite
