McALLEN — Patrick Shelby smiled and pulled out his play sheet.
On the back was the McAllen Bulldog logo, and underneath it was the year 1952.
It has been there since Shelby began coaching at McAllen High, a reminder of the last time, he said, the Bulldogs reached 10-0.
After Thursday night, McAllen is one win away.
The Bulldogs overwhelmed Donna North 77-6 on homecoming night at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, improving to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in District 16-5A Division I while securing the outright district championship.
Now only Mission stands between McAllen and a 10-0 regular season.
“1952 was the last time McHi football went 10-0,” Shelby said. “So it would be huge for us this year, in 2026. It’s a long time coming.”
The Bulldogs wasted little time Thursday showing why they remain unbeaten.
McAllen led 21-0 after the first quarter and 49-0 at halftime. Cole Morley scored four touchdowns in the opening half and finished the night with five, while quarterback Luke Laurel threw for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Even the offensive line got in on the scoring, with junior tackle Devon James taking a handoff from four yards out for a touchdown that sent the McAllen sideline into a celebration.
McAllen repeatedly started with short fields as its defense and special teams overwhelmed Donna North. Six of the Bulldogs’ seven first-half possessions began in Chiefs territory.
“We talked about starting off fast, playing fast and being more aggressive out there on the field,” Shelby said. “I think that’s what they got done tonight, and it showed in the first quarter of the game.”
Asked what the seniors’ motto has been during this unbeaten season, Shelby answered with one unfamiliar word.
“GABOS,” he said. The slogan belongs to the players. Shelby said the seniors adopted it as their own this season, while he went into the year with a different message for the team.
“GABOS is something the kids came up with, the seniors. It’s their slogan,” Shelby said. “I put a different slogan on the back of our shirt that said, ‘Find a way,’ because I understood what that meant.”
Shelby knew McAllen would have to replace a senior class that included several of the Bulldogs’ biggest contributors from a year ago.
“I knew going into this season we were going to have to find a way to get some wins and be successful,” Shelby said. “Especially after graduating so many seniors last year and guys that were big-time players for us.”
Nine games later, they have found a way every time.
“Our kids this year have done nothing but step up and play lights out,” Shelby said.
But GABOS has continued to follow this particular group of Bulldogs, and the seniors made it part of their identity.
“Game Ain’t Based On Sympathy”
McAllen has gone from a team trying to replace a large senior class to an outright district champion that has yet to lose.
Thursday offered examples throughout the roster.
Morley continued his breakout sophomore season with five scores. Laurel threw three touchdown passes. Junior Ethan Shelby ripped off a 48-yard punt return that helped set up an early touchdown, while his older brother Blake Shelby was part of a defense that gave Donna North little room throughout the night.
After the game, McAllen’s seniors took one more walk around the track they have called home for years before gathering on the field to watch a video together.
For a group in the middle of an unbeaten season, it was a quiet reminder that their time together at McAllen High is nearing its end.
For Patrick Shelby, Blake’s senior season has added another layer to everything McAllen is accomplishing.
Blake, No. 9, has grown up inside the program his father leads. Ethan, No. 3, is a junior, giving Shelby the rare opportunity to coach both of his sons at the varsity level.
“It has been great,” Shelby said. “It’s not easy by any means, but it’s been fun. It’s been a blessing. It’s something that you’re going to look back on and not have any regrets.”
With Blake nearing the end of his senior season, Shelby knows their time together on the sideline will eventually end.
“It’s going to be emotional,” Shelby said. “It always is with your players, but it’s a whole lot more emotional when you’re coaching one of your own.”
He paused when talking about the practices, early mornings and late nights they have shared.
“It might be the last time we get to work together on the sideline, at practice, early mornings getting up for school and late nights after games,” Shelby said. “But I think the biggest thing, as long as he had fun with it, I’m going to be happy for him.”
There is still football left before those emotions have to fully settle in.
McAllen travels to Mission next week with an outright district championship already secured. Shelby said the approach will remain the same one that has carried the Bulldogs through the first nine weeks.
“One, we need to continue to work on ourselves to get better so we can get ready for the playoffs,” Shelby said. “Obviously, we want to keep a 1-0 mentality going into next week. Check another mark off the goal board, going 10-0.”
The number on the back of his play sheet has not changed. And neither has another reminder Shelby keeps around the program: 3-7.
The number is from his first year as McAllen head football coach, in 2019, his inaugural season record, and he has it written on his dry erase board in the field house.
Seven years since that season, McAllen is 9-0, and 74 years since 1952, they are one victory away from an undefeated regular season.
