To the rescue: Former UC Davis receiver has MVP day as Fire Dogs top Hogs in 49th Pig Bowl
Corey Galindo shook off any rust with his first catch Saturday afternoon. The contact of helmets and shoulder pads helped the former UC Davis receiver get up to speed in a sport known to be contested in fast forward, even for men in their 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond.
Galindo is a firefighter in Riverside of the Inland Empire, having witnessed horrors only first responders can comprehend beyond taking on burning buildings. He jumped at the opportunity to suit up in a football game, the 49th Pig Bowl pitting Sacramento-area law enforcement Hogs against state-wide fire service Fire Dogs.
Galindo caught two first-half touchdown passes from Cameron Barrios and his team’s defense yielded little against the Fire Dogs as the Hogs celebrated their 12-5 victory at sun-splashed Hughes Stadium. Galindo was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
A Bay Area native who graduated from UC Davis in 2014, Galindo competed in his third Pig Bowl. He was a welcome last-minute addition.
“Flew in Wednesday and had one practice, on Thursday,” the 6-foot-4 Galindo said. “For all the crap and things we have to go through as firemen and law enforcement guys, the things we see and experience, to just play a game was great. We didn’t have to worry about a tragedy. Just play.”
The Pig Bowl is for charity and to honor co-workers killed in the line of duty. A Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department helicopter dropped the game ball off, hovering above midfield, and then there was a moment of silence to recognize two men this game was designed to honor.
Ty Lenehan of the Elk Grove Police Department was killed just over a year ago when, on his way to work for an early shift, he was struck by a wrong-way driver. A freeway dedication — Tyler “Ty” Lenehan Memorial Highway — was announced by the EGPD on Jan. 17.
Stockton Fire Department captain Vidal “Max” Fortuna was also remembered. He was shot and killed in January 2022 while responding to a fire in Stockton. Family and friends of both men attended the game.
Galindo said he competes in honor of his father, Mike Galindo, and grandfather, Jerry Galindo. Both worked in law enforcement in the Bay Area for decades. Both have since died.
“I think of them both a lot,” Galindo said. “My dad played in a game like this for years in the Bay Area. This has been a great game here, too.”
Barrios hit Galindo for a 21-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 22-yarder with 2:29 left in the half for a 12-3 lead. Both Fire Dogs point-after touchdown attempts were blocked. The Hogs managed just a 26-yard field goal by Scott Brown with 4:23 left to play in the second quarter. The Hogs’ final points were on a safety when a Fire Dogs player was tackled in the end zone in the fourth quarter.
The offensive MVP was tailback Komi Tay of the Fire Dogs. The Defensive MVP was Thadon Haley, also of the Fire Dogs.
The game included a lot of punts, stalled drives and some turnovers, but the crowd of some 6,000 soaked it in. There were some hard hits, some trash talk, some sportsmanship, and a lot of tired souls. The game had it all, except a lot of points. But it wasn’t just a game. It was an event with food trucks, barbecue smoke, a kids safety fair and cannon blasts from an actual cannon after touchdowns — or just because. There was also a Darth Vader sighting, flanked by Storm Troopers.
All in all, a good day, regardless of the score.
“It was a success, a great day, great weather, great cause, and everyone got to see law enforcement and fire fighters as real people,” said Cary Trzcinski of the the Sacramento sheriff’s department. He is the Pig Bowl game director tasked with making sure things run smoothly and to build up the milestone 50th Pig Bowl next year. Saturday marked the event’s return to Hughes Stadium, where in the 1970s and early 80s fans tailgated overnight in the Hughes Stadium parking lot, a sea of motor homes.
On Saturday, there was tailgating, if not overnight tailgating.
“We’re going to do everything we can to build this up, to hype it up, for next year’s 50th Pig Bowl,” Trzcinski said. “What an event.”
Among the attendees was Gregg Lukenbill, an area developer and builder who purchased the NBA’s Kings and brought them to Sacramento in 1985. A Sacramento High graduate, Lukenbill recalled to The Bee on Saturday his joys of playing football games at Hughes Stadium in 1971. He said he is pleased to see that the Pig Bowl still resonates.
“Really a cool thing,” he said.
The only thing not cool will be all the sore bodies. No amount of ice or beer is going to soothe all those aches and pains. That included Hogs quarterback Andrew Bettencourt, a longtime Sacramento-area high school coach. He was engulfed by Fire Dog defenders most of the second half and then some more after the game. Bettencourt was greeted by old friends from the Fire Dogs who came over to chat and to rib him.
“These are friends, and now I have to hear about this for a year,” Bettencourt said with a laugh.
The Pig Bowl lives on.
