Throughout the majority of the head-to-head matchups between Delhi High School and Denair High School boys soccer programs, it’s been a one-sided rivalry, especially within the past decade. Coming into Friday’s match, Delhi had an unbeaten streak of 23 games in head-to-head matchups against Denair - 17 of which were wins - dating back to September 2012.

While Delhi’s extended to 24 games, the two rival programs had an intense outing against one another with a 0-0 draw on Friday at Jack W. Lytton Stadium.

Denair now sits at 6-6-4 overall and 5-1-2 in Southern League play.

JoseAntonio Padilla - one of the two assistant head coaches - knew that this matchup would bring the best out of the players and fans who wanted to make sure that they were heard during every possession.

“Being able to compete and play with the players that we had … it shows that they play with heart and they’re willing to give everything out on the field for their team,” Padilla said. “When you have people yelling for your team … especially if you’re feeling almost out of energy.”

Throughout the game, Denair and Delhi players collided and pressured one another as multiple scoring opportunities were missed due to timely stops.

As the match got more intense, tensions ensued between players. In the 28th minute, players started to exchange words with one another as the physicality between the two teams got more physical. The tensions drew the attention of the fans who cheered for their respective teams at the stadium’s two bleachers.

During the second half, Denair’s junior goalkeeper Eduardo Lucatero collided with another player resulting in him missing the rest of the match with an injury. Filling in for the injured Lucatero was sophomore goalkeeper Fabian Sanchez.

Junior Aaron Aguilar had an opportunity to give the Hawks a lead in the 48th minute. As he approached the left side of the Coyotes’ penalty box, his attempt went past the right side of the goalpost, leaving Denair fans from anxious to a sense of relief in a matter of seconds.

Every passing minute left both crowds in a frenzy as they cheered loudly when their team was dribbling down the field or voiced their disapproval when a call did not go their way.

Within the final minutes, Delhi missed all their shot attempts as Sanchez stepped up by blocking close shots from going in and diving for the ball to provide any secondchance opportunities.

As time expired, Denair’s sideline and crowd cheered loudly while Delhi’s players walked off the field in disappointment.

Denair will host Le Grand High School on Jan.31 at Jack W. Lytton Stadium. Kickoff begins at 5 p.m.