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Tag: Carl Abseck

Manor knocks out Cedar Park in close playoff win.

Written by River Tompkins on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

The conditions were harsh, the stakes were high but the will to win was even stronger as a Round Three Regional Playoff game took place in the foggy and damp P-field Stadium between the Manor Mustangs and the Cedar Park Timberwolves. The Wolves were highly favored coming into the game but the Mustangs put that aside and pushed right through them for a 17-14 nail-biter victory.

Cedar Park received the ball to start the game, and came out firing. Junior quarterback Ryder Hernandez completed three passes all to Josh Cameron for 14, 7, and 23-yards. In the dangerous conditions, Hernandez bobbled and fumbled the snap leading to a Manor Mustang recovery.

The Mustangs were determined to do the opposite of Cedar Park as they worked the ground-and-pound game with three consecutive runs. Manor ran themselves straight into a 3 & out and were forced to punt. Luckily for them, they got the ball right back as the Timberwolves receiver Gunner Abseck coughed the ball up for another turnover.

After both teams punted the ball Manor was in possession. Junior running back Lavonte Benford found a seam and exploited it for a whopping 52-yard run placing Manor on Cedar Park’s 23-yard line. The Mustangs than found themselves in a 4&13 situation, choosing not to kick the 42-yard field goal, Manor went for it on 4th down and somewhat predictably did not get it.

Coach Mitchell celebrates with his team after the 17-14 win over district rival Cedar Park.

“Well, we just have to keep working hard, we need to throw the ball better”, said Manor head coach Jimmie Mitchell.

After Manor missed a field goal from 42-yards out the Timberwolves were on the attack. Cedar park mounted a strong drive in which they ran it nine times successfully. Running back Jonathan Stockwell lead the pack with explosive runs of 16 and 18 yard carries. Cedar Park would cap the drive off with a 14-yard flip pass to Jordan Cameron for the first score of the game.

Heading into halftime Cedar Park was in the lead but neither team felt satisfied or comfortable with their position. For Manor it was about getting Tahj Brooks going, the Mustangs were a power run offense and they needed to act like it. Brooks had only six carries and 6-yards going into halftime. For Cedar Park, it was simply about holding onto the ball. The last drive looked great but they could not afford to turn the ball over anymore.

“We had to start running the ball with Tahj Brooks he is our star running back and he didn’t do much in the first half, so we needed to get him going and we did. We put him [Tajh Brooks] at quarterback, we put him at running back, we put him everywhere”, said Jimmie Mitchell.

Manor followed the advice and immediately started using Brooks. Brooks was lined up all over the place at quarterback, running back and occasionally receiver, no matter where he was he was touching the ball. On their first drive, Brooks carried the ball nine times for 62-yards as well as a touchdown to tie the game up.

Manor’s defense would then stand strong forcing a Cedar Park punt. Mustang quarterback Matt Hill tried to dance in the pocket but could not avoid big-boy Ben Bell who sacked, striped, recovered and ran the ball in for a Cedar Park TD. Manor would immediately go back to what worked for them in Tajh Brooks who had 29 touches and 145-yards from scrimmage. 16-yards away from the endzone Manor employed a little bit of trickery as running back Che Nwabuko threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Carl Chester.

At this point in the game the energy was high, both teams fighting to stay alive. Once again the Cedar Park offense was unable to get anything going handing the ball over to what was becoming a well-oiled machine in the Mustang offense. Manor once again would drive down the field with ease but fall just short this time. On 4th down quarterback, Matt Hill overthrew his receiver who would have had a walk-in touchdown, giving Cedar Park the ball.

The game was getting down to the wire as Cedar Park was progressing their way downfield. They then found themselves 23-yards away from the endzone in a 4&3 situation. They could risk the field goal at 40-yards or go for it. Head coach Carl Abseck kept the offense on, Ryder hiked it and was immediately brought down in the backfield for a loss.

It was all or nothing, the Mustangs had to get downfield and score. Surprisingly it was not Tahj Brooks that carried them downfield, but Matt Hill who had only completed six passes coming into this drive. He would string together three completions for 10,10 and 20-yards to get the Mustangs in field goal range just like that. It was all up to kicker Yael Sanchez, with the crowd roaring behind him and everything on the line he hit it perfectly through the uprights clinching the win for Manor and sending them to the 4th round of Texas High School Playoffs.

Mustangs advance to the Regional Round at the Alamodome Saturday Dec 7th to face the Shadow Creek Sharks in the 4th round of the State Tournament.

The Mustangs will head onto the quarterfinals where they will square up against Shadow Creek who is fresh off a 35-31 win over Foster. It should be an exciting one as both of these teams have the ability to go all the way.

Cedar Park and Manor Rematch 3rd Round Playoffs.

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

It’s always special when a pair of Austin-area teams meet in the mid-to-late rounds of the Texas High Schools Football Playoffs. So it’ll be a treat for local fans when Cedar Park (11-1) meets Manor (7-5) play in the regional semifinals of the Class 5A Div. I bracket the day after Thanksgiving at The Pfield in Pflugerville at 6 p.m.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun because it’s really a halfway point between Manor and Cedar Park so it’s going to be a real easy game for both of our fan bases to make it to and it’s a great venue,” said Cedar Park coach Carl Abseck. “I think it’s going to be a great crowd, early Friday evening, and on a holiday. I think people are really going to show up and root their teams on so I think it’s going to be a real fun environment, just like the playoffs should be, specifically as you get into the third, fourth rounds.”

The Timberwolves come in wearing a district crown and an 11-game win streak. They rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs with triumphs over McCallum (49-10) and Friendswood (31-14). Junior quarterback Ryder Hernandez was sensational in both victories, completing 82 percent of his passes for 601 yards with seven touchdowns (six passing, one rushing).

“He’s done a great job of allowing our kids to make plays for him by taking what the defense is giving and being extremely accurate, and just making good decisions with where he’s putting the ball or whether he decides to run or scramble a little bit to buy some more time,” Abseck said. “He’s just really making good decisions, putting the ball on a spot, and the kids are making plays for him.”

Cedar Park’s esteemed “Black Rain” defense is in solid form. With 6-foot-2, 255-pound, senior defensive end Ben Bell (a Louisiana Tech commit) disrupting at the line of scrimmage and 3-year starter Tammer Alzer, a senior safety, making plays on the backend, the Timberwolves have allowed an average of just 12 points and 235.5 yards per game through two postseason performances.

“They’ve played well,” Abseck said. “Friendswood was really, really talented on offense and to hold them to 15 points is really an accomplishment because they’re well-coached and have some really talented kids. The defensive kids are playing really hard. They’re being where they’re supposed to be, doing their jobs, playing their technique and really just taking the coaching that our coaches are giving them, and putting it to use on the field. And really just doing a great job of working together and fitting everything.”

Now comes a rematch with Manor, who Cedar Park beat 49-24 on the last week of the regular season to clinch the outright district title. Hernandez accounted for six touchdowns in that game (five passing, one rushing) as the Timberwolves built an insurmountable 32-point lead at halftime. 

“We avoided turnovers on offense and that was (a) huge piece of (that win),” Abseck said. “We had some really nice returns on the kickoff return team, punt return team that allowed us to have a short field. Those were two big critical components. Defensively, we avoided the big plays for the most part.”

Manor, however, has some serious next-level talent. Senior running back Tahj Brooks will be playing for Texas Tech next fall and rushed 163 yards with three touchdowns in the Mustang’s area round playoff win v.s. New Caney Porter. The Mustangs also have 6-foot-4, 250-pound Princely Umanmielen on the defensive line, who is listed as a four-star prospect by most recruiting services.

“They have some extremely talented individuals on both sides of the ball, but the first one that comes to mind is the tailback, Tahj Brooks. He’s an exceptional runner, committed to Texas Tech, and he’s got the full package. He’s got speed and he’s about 220 pounds, so he can run over you or run around you. He’s a tough one and we really have to key on limiting his yards and trying to get a lot of hats to the ball because he’s not easy to bring down,” Abseck said. “But they’re big up front. They really kind of fit each other, being a power-oriented team. They got a big, strong offensive line, and then they do have some really talented receivers that they have to get to the ball to and if they get space they can be really tough. Defensive line-wise, there’s not a better looking defensive line. They got size and speed, and they’ve got some really talented guys on that side, so we got to do a really good job of matching up blocks, staying on blocks, and execute what we’ve been doing, which is make the catches we’re supposed to make, get a little bit of yards after catch and just keep the chains moving.”

Cedar Park defeats Hutto

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

Cedar Park’s 20-16 win over Hutto Friday night at John Gupton Stadium in Leander, TX, was far from a masterpiece. But as the Timberwolves have shown many times before, grit goes a long way in the game of football.
Cedar Park hung around with defense while its offense had an off night. Then, when it mattered most, that same offense flipped the switch with a decisive late touchdown to win the game and put the Timberwolves in the driver’s seat of District 11-5A Div. I.


“They just stuck with it,” Cedar Park coach Carl Abseck said of his team. “It’s a game of ebbs and flows. You’re going to have some good things happen and some bad things happen, but our guys stuck through it and fought until the end… We did enough at the end to pull it out but I couldn’t be more proud of them.”


Going into its final drive, Cedar Park had just 140 yards of total offense on 49 plays for less than three yards per play. The run-game was nonexistent and junior quarterback Ryder Hernandez was misfiring left and right. But with less than three minutes left, no timeouts and the game on the line, Hernandez fired darts of 15, 11 and 20 yards to juniors Josh Cameron, Gunnar Abseck and Preston Scott. A facemask penalty on the last of those got Cedar Park into the red zone, where Hernandez broke through the middle on a quarterback draw for the 15-yard game-winning touchdown.
“We just had to overcome a lot of adversity. (Hutto had) a great squad over there. It was a great game throughout the four quarters. We just came out on top at the end. It’s just a testament to what our coaches are about there. We just had to finish the game out,” Hernandez said. “Their front came after me the whole game. They did a great job of that, and I think on that last drive we were just getting out quick, letting the playmakers make plays.”

The Cedar Park defense did a magnificent job throughout, holding the Hippos to 271 yards on 57 plays for 4.8 yards per play and 4-of-15 on third downs. They also forced back-to-back three-and-outs before the game-winning touchdown drive, ensuring the offense got the ball back with enough time to score.


The unsung hero of the game was senior defensive back Caden Combs, who chased down Hutto senior wide receiver Dajon Harrison on a long pass play to prevent a touchdown in the third quarter. The next play, senior Ronald Caldwell got around the edge for a strip-sack fumble that was recovered by sophomore defensive lineman Murray Robinson and returned to almost midfield. Without that sequence, the Timberwolves almost surely would’ve taken a loss.


“Defensively, I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Abseck said. “(Harrison is) one of the fastest players in Williamson/Travis County, and Caden’s pretty fast, too, but what he didn’t do was give up. To chase him down and make them snap it again and get the turnover, that’s huge… A lot of people don’t remember that. They just think, oh, the fumble happened right after that. But they don’t realize that that kid ran 60 yards to catch one of the fastest guys around.”

Vipers shut out Timberwolves 17-0

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

No. 2 Vandegrift started its season right where it left off. The Vipers delivered a dominant defensive performance, just like they did so many times last year, in a 17-0 shutout of No. 6 Cedar Park at Monroe Stadium on Friday in Austin.

“It’s impressive,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “My defense surprised even me tonight because we replaced a lot of guys. We didn’t have everybody back. We replaced several guys on the defensive line, both corners, replaced a safety and replaced a linebacker, and for us to come out and play like that is just total belief in our system, and they really played with great effort.”

Vandegrift held Cedar Park to 140 yards on 49 plays for 2.9 yards per play and completely stuffed the ground game for two yards on 24 carries. Going back to last year’s matchup, the Vipers have kept the Timberwolves off the scoreboard in seven of eight quarters.

Cedar Park didn’t even cross midfield until the fourth quarter and needed a fake punt to do so. Junior defensive back Kaleb Lewis had two interceptions, the second of which came in the end zone late in the game to extinguish the Timberwolves’ best scoring threat.

“Our coaches really drilled it into our head to stay in coverage and a lot of those two plays were (Cedar Park quarterback) Ryder (Hernandez) scrambling around and I just kept my eyes on him and read his eyes, and when he threw it I was just sinking into place,” Lewis said. “It was just super exciting because I get to trust all those guys and I really trust them and you can tell with how we all play and communicate and I was just in the right position because we trust the coaches and they gave us good play calls.”

Vandegrift leaned on two players for almost all of its offensive production with junior running back Bowen Lewis and senior wide receiver Trey Mongauzy combining for 252 of the Vipers’ 275 total yards. Mongauzy broke the Vipers out of an early funk by breaking free for a 59-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter and finished with 10 grabs for 125 yards. Lewis iced the game with a 54-yard scoring burst in the final minutes while posting 127 yards on 23 carries.

“That’s a play we ran against Klein Collins in the second round (of the playoffs) last year and I caught it for a lot of yards. (Cedar Park) is super aggressive and they tried to undercut, so just putting a double-move corner-post on them, we knew it was going to work,” Mongauzy said of his score. “Just a lot of studying. Throughout the game, we were finding holes in their defense and we kinda just attacked them. We found good rhythm and were just hitting everything.”

Vandegrift follows its resounding season-opening win with a Thursday night road game at Killeen Ellison next week. Cedar Park will hope to rebound with a home game against Round Rock Cedar Ridge on Friday.

Cedar Park Rebounds for District Push

Written by Daniel Jones on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

Cedar Park Rebounds for District Push

BY DANIEL JONES

Cedar Park Timberwolves head coach Carl Abseck is able to put things in perspective as it pertains to football and his team of high school players. “It’s not just about football,” he says in his 22nd year of coaching, his 14th with Cedar Park. “We’re training them to be successful by the lessons that we teach within the game of football.”

That’s saying a lot for a man who led the team to a Class 5A, Division II state championship in 2015, and who also as an offensive coach in 2012 helped guide Cedar Park to a Class 4A, Division II state championship. Coach Abseck’s sense of perspective has surely been tested this fall following last season’s district championship and subsequent loss to Manvel in the third round of the playoffs. This season, Cedar Park’s 28-game district winning streak came to an end when his team lost 65-21 to undefeated, district-leading Hutto.

He says that, while the loss wasn’t indicative of his team’s best, Hutto is no surprise this year, adding that they’re a talented team that will likely win the district championship.           Nonetheless, Cedar Park is still very likely to get a playoff berth. “What we’re playing for at this point is seeding,” says coach Abseck. He’s depending on players like sophomore quarterback Ryder Hernandez, who before the Hutto match had gone five straight games with at least 200 yards passing. His two favorite targets have been senior wide receivers Carson Neel and Brandon Breed, who have scored numerous touchdowns and caught for several hundred yards.

Coach Abseck says Hernandez, who last season played for Cedar Park’s freshman team, is a talented athlete whose maturity and leadership abilities extend beyond his years. “He’s got a bright future, and we’re glad to have him leading our offense,” he says. “He’s multidimensional – he can throw, he can run – and he’s done a good job of catching up to speed as a sophomore … and stepping into that role and running with it.” Hernandez’s voice gives away his youth, but his selfless nature comes out in the words he says. He doesn’t feel a lot of pressure playing at this level because he admits his job is to take the pressure off his teammates, most of whom are older than him.

After this season, his goal is to have Cedar Park win the district championship then win the state championship – which is not necessarily out of the question this season. And competing at the Division I college level would be Hernandez’s next objective. He’s not dwelling on the Hutto loss, but rather looking at how the defeat can benefit the team: “We got worked pretty good by Hutto, but I feel that’s going to prepare us even more to make good run in the playoffs.”

Cedar Park’s season wraps up November 9 at Manor High School. Manor is another district contender.  Coach Abseck says his team will finish strong if it takes care of business each week. “If we improve the way we’re capable of improving, then we’re going to be able to do some damage when it comes time for the playoffs.”