A former South Texas sports editor who had recently moved to the Lone Star State from Arizona stepped into the press box on an idyllic Friday night and sat awestruck as the scene overwhelmed him.
Both sides of the bleachers were packed to the gills, and marching bands in full regalia took their designated place in the stands as cheerleaders, twirlers and dance team members spilled onto the field in single file.
Members of the student spirit crew exchanged gifts at midfield prior to the coin toss, but even before the kickoff, it was clear the young man was busy taking in every aspect of the scene unfolding below.
“I guess Texas high school football is everything they say it is,” he remarked.
More reports came in from him over the coming months as he got a true taste of the state’s passion for all things gridiron-related. It was enough to realize that something most writers and fans take for granted is truly extraordinary.
And it wasn’t even the playoffs yet.
Yes, it’s that magical time of year when the match-ups become even more meaningful. Legends are born in the postseason, and if your team is lucky enough to capture a state championship, a small piece of immortality comes along with it.
Perhaps Liberty Hill head coach Jeff Walker said it best when he remarked, “Teams to remember play in December.”
Besides doing his best Dr. Seuss impersonation, Walker knows what it takes to run the gauntlet known as the playoffs. So does Lake Travis’ Hank Carter, for that matter.
Those coaches know that the postseason has its own mystique, and that no opponent is to be taken lightly. Since the format expanded to take four teams per district, there have been some memorable upsets every season. It’s unavoidable given the fact that 692 do-or-die games are played during the span of one postseason.
Just last season, Richardson Pearce, a 36-point underdog, took down Cedar Hill in the first round.
Forget March Madness. These are the real bracket busters.
As the final few Austin-area teams continue their march toward glory, the weather will turn colder and the smack talk on message boards throughout the state with undoubtedly heat up. It’s like Christmas come early, except without the cheap gift from your least favorite aunt.
So no matter how your favorite college or pro team is faring at the moment, keep an eye on the biggest ongoing tournament in the state. Who knows? The next Vince Young, Baker Mayfield or Drew Brees could very well be on their way to AT&T Stadium to compete for one of the state’s biggest prizes.
LT Cavs won the State Title in December of 2016 at AT&T Stadium. Photo Texas Sports Monthly
When the smoke has finally cleared, a dozen teams will remain standing. When the postseason began, that number was 704.
So good luck to those still attempting to hoist a state championship trophy in Arlington. And to those who have already moved on to the next sport?It’s only eight more months until two-a-days arrive.
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.
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.”
Texas
Sports Monthly recently chatted with Wimberley head coach Doug Warren
about the Texans’ playoff run, as well as their explosive offense. Coach
Warren also gave his thoughts on the school’s budding athletic rivalry
with nearby Canyon Lake High School.
Q: Coach, your offense has averaged over 40 points per game through the first 12 contests of the season. How has that group been able to light up the scoreboard so consistently?
A:
It starts with our quarterback, Cooper McCollum. The offense runs
through that guy and he gets us in a lot of good spots. Moses Wray, our
running back, had a really good night [against Raymondville] and rushed
for about 200 yards and is a big part of that. We’ve got several
receivers also — Christian Marshall, Josh Limely, Jaxon Watts, Kolby
Goforth, Colby Boyle. All of those guys fit into the picture, and there
are two or three others as well.
Q: Who is anchoring the defensive side of the ball so far?
A: Our linebacker, Cole Schroeder, has really kind of stepped up and settled into a role. (Safety) Colby Wiegman is another guy that’s on that side who flies around and has been somebody to lean on, and I think
Jadon Potts is another one. Those three guys have
really kind of been the steady hands for us.
Q: In the second round of the Class 4A Division II playoffs against Raymondville, you guys won 63-35 in a shootout. What was that game like to experience from the sidelines?
A:
It was back and forth. Neither defense could stop the other’s offense.
At halftime it’s tied 21-all and then it’s 35-35 after the third
quarter. Then from that point on, we were able to hold them defensively
and score 21 in a row. We’ve been in some tough games and some tough
situations already this year, so I think that’s an advantage for us in
these playoffs.
Q: Is your third-round opponent, Rockport-Fulton, going to be similar to any team you’ve faced earlier this year?
A:
They’re a Slot-T based team and run-heavy. Canyon Lake is along those
lines and Navarro is along those lines, so we’ve seen teams that are
like that. We know it’s a tough challenge for us. They’re going to take
the ball and just try to grind it out and shorten the game down and
limit our possessions on offense.
Q: Canyon Lake has become a rival of Wimberley since it opened its doors in 2007. There’s even a name for the prize between the two teams — the Battle of the Backbone Trophy. (The Texans won this season’s matchup 45-7). Has it been exciting for the kids and fans to look forward to that game every year?
Coach Doug Warren Wimberley Texans.
A: Any time you have a rivalry, it adds a little bit to the game. They’re just right down the road, so it’s pretty natural. You don’t have to throw in a trophy to make to special — that doesn’t really add anything in my opinion. It’s already what it is, and it’s not just football. It carries over into basketball, volleyball, you name it. Two schools that compete very hard against each other when they play.
A rematch of last year’s second round Texas high school football playoffs took place at Bobcat Stadium. Friday night the fans cheered on their championship dreams as the Westlake Chaps squared up against the Brennan Bears. Westlake were the kings of the matchup coming into tonight after winning 49-7 last year and they looked to defend that crown in an elimination game. Last year there were fireworks with 99-yard touchdowns and blocked punts and though this game did not light up the sky, it was a fun watch. Westlake stifled Brennan 24-6 in a defensive game.
“We took it more seriously”, says Westlake quarterback Kirkland Michaux about preparation for this game. “Each round it gets tougher and tougher. It’s a lot of being in the film room and practice on the field so I think we prepared well and that showed up.”
Brennan received to start the game. Looking for early momentum the Bears looked deep to speedy receiver Jalen Spells. Spells beat the coverage but could not bring the ball in as it hit off his hands for what would have been a walk-in touchdown. The Bears would eventually punt later in the drive. Starting in great field position due to a weak punt, Westlake was in a prime position to score. After a 7-yard pass to Mason Mangum, Kirkland Michaux scrambled for 5 yards and got an additional 15 on a facemask. Mason Magnum would than slash the Bears defense for a 24-yard touchdown reminding Brennan of last year when he caught a 99-yard touchdown on the opening drive.
Brennan needed to muster up a strong drive to not give Westlake momentum or a bigger lead. It did not help that Brennan started inside their own 10-yard line. Senior quarterback David Varela finally connected on the deep ball as he found Keion Thomas 55-yards downfield for a field-position flipper. Trying to press the advantage the Bears would opt to go for it on 4th down and ultimately come out empty-handed.
After both teams were forced to punt Westlake wound up with the ball. The Chaps were running the ball straight down Brennan’s throat as the drive totaled nine carries for 32-yards most of which were due to stud running back Zane Minors. Senior quarterback Kirkland Michuax would then find Jackson Coker on a quick slant for 8-yards and a touchdown giving the Chaps a two-score lead.
Another drive, another score, was the Chaparral’s mentality as they would once again march downfield towards the Bear’s endzone. The drive was highlighted by a 20-yard catch by freshman receiver Jaden Greathouse and Ryan Lindley’s 10-yard TD grab.
“The whole offense had a great game. The offensive line kept me off the ground. The receivers made a lot of catches when the balls were on them. The defense definitely carried their weight, we could not have done it without them”, said Michaux praising his team.
Strangely enough, the first half of this game was not too dissimilar to last year’s game between Westlake and Brennan. In both games Westlake dominated the first half, and held Brennan to a goose egg on the scoreboard. If that is not enough, Jackson Croker and Mason Magnum had both caught touchdowns, giving fans a sense of déjà vu.
Coming out of halftime Westlake got the ball and had one goal in mind: put the game away. It would be a long journey to do that as they were backed up inside their own 5-yard line. Zane Minors did not care as he broke loose for 30-yards giving the Westlake offense some breathing room. After that the Westlake offense did nothing, I mean nothing, in fact, they went backward and were forced to punt the ball away.
Brennan was once again forced to punt the ball as Westlake’s defense stood strong. The punt ended in Brennan’s favor as Westlake’s punt returner Sage Luther fumbled the ball and Brennan recovered. The Bears offense did nothing with the ball and were unable to put up points. This was a testament to how the entire game went, the Bears offense was simply not able to move the chains, Brennan quarterback David Varela had only completed 2 passes in the first half.
“We’ve got a lot of veterans that have played a lot of football and all the guys that were brand new at the beginning of the year, are not rookies anymore”, said Westlake head coach Todd Dodge of his defense. “We’re experienced, we’re healthy and our kids have been consistently good on defense.”
Westlake’s offense showed flashes of greatness throughout the whole game. Westlake quarterback Kirkland Michaux made better reads and made them quicker. Michaux stepped up his game completing 8/11 passes in the first half, including three touchdowns as well as going turnover-free.
When asked about what Michaux did differently in practice coach Dodge had this to say, “Get more reps out of fewer things. I think that’s important, the one thing is that we got a whole lot of offense installed at the 12-week mark and if you are not careful you try to do everything a little bit well. One thing we did this week is we went back and really kind of cut the fat in both run game and pass game, screen game. Everything else is really just adjustment based. We did a great job throwing the football in the red zone.” Westlake will go onto the third round of Texas high school playoffs where they will face Weslaco East who are fresh off a 24-10 win against Rowe. This is a game where Westlake is favored but you never know what is going to happen on any given Friday.
When asked does this Westlake team have what it takes to go all the way, Kirkland Michaux said, “Yes, it does. We are one of the most close-knit group of guys you will ever see on a team and I feel like that is a big deal. I feel like we have a pretty good chance.”
Coach Todd Dodge talks to his team after the 2nd round playoff victory and 200th overall win.
For Westlake head coach Todd Dodge this was a special day for two reasons. First of all, he won a playoff game but that win was also his 200th career win as a head coach. Dodge has this to say about his 200th win, “It means a lot. The biggest thing that I think when I think of 200 wins, is I am so blessed that we did it here with this group of kids here at Westlake. Our Seniors were 7th graders when we first got here, we’re all they know and they’re all we know as far as a football program so it is really special to get that 200th win with them. Now we’re going to try and fit 3 or 4 more wins in there.”
Lake Travis has been San Antonio Madison’s bugaboo for
some time now. That proved to be the case again on Friday when the
Cavaliers knocked the Mavericks out of the playoff for the fourth
straight year with a 49-21 victory at Rattler Stadium in San Marcos, TX.
With star quarterback Hudson Card still on the shelf from the
foot injury he suffered against Westlake, Lake Travis leaned on junior
running back Weston Stephens, who paced the offense with 20 carries for
165 yards and three touchdowns. It was the fourth time in five games
he’s hit the century mark in rushing after doing it zero times before.
He also had five catches for 61 yards.
Junior quarterback Nate Yarnell was 19-of-25 for 239 yards with
two touchdowns and one interception. With 1:41 left in the half and
Lake Travis leading only 14-7, Yarnell engineered a perfect two-minute
drill. He completed five-of-six passes to march the Cavaliers 58 yards
on nine plays, the last a four-yard touchdown toss to senior Grayson
Sandlin (six receptions, 78 yards) with 15 seconds left on the clock.
Lake Travis’s defense had the Mavericks’ attack completely out of sorts until the fourth quarter. Madison scored on only one of its first nine possessions, and that scoring drive was aided by two 15-yard face-mask penalties and culminated with a strange touchdown pass on a broken play.
Maui Trevino makes a tackle in the the 3rd Quarter at Rattlers Stadium against the Madison Maverick’s in a decisive win for the Div I 6-A Area Playoff. Cavs will face Weslaco next week in San Antonio likely the Alamodome on Friday Nov 29th at 1pm.
With the score 35-7 late in the third quarter, senior
linebacker Maui Trevino intercepted a pass and returned it to Madison’s
12. Three plays later, Lake Travis gave one of their big guys some love
as senior guard Andrew Salem (6-foot-2, 270 pounds) rumbled four yards
for touchdown to effectively ice the game.
AUSTIN
— It’s common knowledge that Lake Travis spent the latter portion of
the season trying to work through an injury to starting quarterback
Hudson Card.
Thankfully for the Cavaliers, senior middle linebacker Maui Trevino is still there to command the other side of the ball.
Head
coach Hank Carter’s team kicked off the 2019 postseason by stifling
Smithson Valley 21-3 at home on Friday, Nov. 15 in Austin. In that game,
Lake Travis surrendered an early field goal to the Rangers but
absolutely clamped down on the visitors for the remaining three
quarters.
Trevino
was in the middle of the action all night and helped slow Smithson
Valley’s not-so-secret weapon — senior running back/wide receiver Greg
Eggleston, who came into the contest averaging 11.7 yards per touch.
The
Cavs limited the Rangers’ X-factor to just 15 yards on 12 carries,
while Trevino piled on 10 total tackles to bring his team-leading season
total to 91 prior to Lake Travis’ second-round matchup with San Antonio
Madison.
“Maui
is the leader of our defense,” Carter said. “He’s a three-year starter
and embodies everything you want from a middle linebacker. He’s smart,
tough, instinctive and is a great tackler. I’m proud of the player that
he’s become and he’s a huge part of our success this season.”
Of
course, there were still plenty of eyes fixed on Lake Travis junior
Nate Yarnell, who took over for Card during the week leading up to the
Del Valle game. Yarnell went 3-0 in the last three weeks of District
25-6A competition, but it was unknown if the playoffs would prove to be a
stumbling block.
However,
the 6-foot-6 junior stood tall when it counted and helped turn the tide
with a pair of touchdown drives in the second quarter. The first was
capped by a 34-yard strike to Grayson Sandlin, while the second was an
81-yard march that saw Yarnell cover the final few feet on a 1-yard run.
“Nate
did a lot of good things,” Carter said. “He made some big throws and
runs when we needed them. He’ll continue to improve as he gets more
games under his belt.”
The
offense was also given a boost by running back Weston Stephens, who
churned out 160 yards on 27 carries to help the Cavs keep the chains
moving.
Defensively,
Trevino received additional support from defensive back D.J. Johnson
and defensive end Trey Sofia. Johnson shadowed Eggleston all night,
while Sofia caused a key fumble to help preserve the Cavaliers’ 14-3
halftime edge.
All of those players will be instrumental as the postseason rolls on.
Lake
Travis faces a matchup with Madison in the second round and will look
to slow the Mavericks’ one-two punch of quarterback Michael Garza (1,801
total yards, 23 TDs) and running back Darien Gill (1,131 yards, 10
TDs).
Garrett Wilson’s three second-quarter touchdowns helped Lake Travis pull away from San Antonio Madison last year for a 56-35 win in the 2018 Class 6A Division I Area playoff game.
There’s also hope that Card could return at some point down the line if the Cavs can keep on advancing. His prognosis, which initially stated that his injury required season-ending surgery, was changed to a four- to six-week timetable days after the Westlake game. It’s not known if Card will be healthy enough to get back on the field before he makes the move to the University of Texas, but even if he’s unable to return in 2019, Trevino and the defense will be ready for whatever comes their way.
The Westlake Chaps have been dominant in regular season play and look to continue their streak in the second round of the playoffs. A team that is used to winning expects to win. They handled the Cibolo Steele Knights convincingly 30-7 in the first round with ease.
Up next are the Brennan Bears at Texas State stadium over in San Marcos, last year they cruised to a 49-7 win, but Coach Dodge doesn’t want to look past them as they travel down IH-35. “We’re very excited to play at Texas State stadium we haven’t played there. Brennan is a very good team, we played them last year, but it didn’t show how well of a team they were, we jumped on them early.”
Coach wanted to make sure the Chaps doesn’t overlook their opponent. With just one loss this entire season he understands not to look at their next challenge. Every game is important. This week Coach Dodge wanted his team to take in this is a whole new year. “They (team) understand that Brennan is 9-2, they’re good and a very athletic team.” A one game at a time approach. A great team is disciplined and continues to get better.
Coach Todd Dodge asks for an explanation from an official on the sidelines in the Battle of the Lakes game at Lake Travis on October 11th 2019. The Cavs defeated Westlake 26-25!
Coach Dodge has one phrase of how his guys will respond when he needs them to make plays. “Next one in line.” Dodge believes in his players, no matter the conditions. He’s led them to a near perfect season. Westlake’s lone loss came against Lake Travis as they lost by one. Close games will not be an issue for his team.
As the next playoff stage of teams get ready to play it will all come down to coaching. Coach Dodge has earned himself as Central Texas’s top tier coaches.As the playoffs filter out the elite teams closing out their games let’s hope Westlake will stand victorious in San Marcos.
In the 2018 season Wimberley staggered to a 4-7 record. As a respectful winning team the previous two seasons they have come back to winning football this year and have made the playoffs. It didn’t sit too lightly on the players heading into the summer workouts.
“I think that the kids took it to heart, realized it was not satisfactory. They used it as fuel let that drive them. Turn it into a great summer and fall camp,” replied Coach Warren. The fuel turned this season into a successful 4A district 8-3 record. A wake-up call that helped them prepare for the playoffs. It sparked a new drive within them. As the season continued throughout the weeks Coach Warren noticed something within his team which is needed for the postseason.
“Spirits are great, they like being around each other, enjoying it.” Team chemistry is essential for a successful season and beyond. As they got back to winning football it certainly helped that their confidence was high. They will need it for Raymondville who will be there first test in the playoffs.
A formidable opponent who has Coach Warren’s respect. “They’re explosive; their two running backs get tons of yards. Twelve yards per carry, you’re doing something right when you’re doing that, very impressive. They are physical and not afraid to complete plays.”
Raymondville will provide the ultimate test for Wimberley. Spirits will need to stay up. With two players running the ball gaining a first down on every play, Wimberley will need to bring a complete team effort to come out on top. They’ve done it all year so why wouldn’t they keep the trend going. Central Texas has made noise in the postseason and Wimberley wants to be heard.
A familiar playoff matchup took place at Chaparral stadium between the Cibolo Steele Knights and the Westlake Chaps. Just two years ago Westlake had knocked the Knights out of the playoffs in a 28-14 victory. The Knights were trying to rewrite history in the first round of Texas high school playoffs. History repeated as the Chaps beat the Knights 30-7 in what was a much closer game than the score implied.
Steele received the ball to start the game, a game that would be dominated by defense. Steele would go three and out setting the Westlake Chaparrals up in great field position. After picking up a first down or two the Chaps found themselves in a 3rd&16 situation after a fumbled snap by Kirkland Michaux. Michaux found star receiver Mason Magnum for 13-yards but with a price as Magnum took a massive hit flipping him in the air. Going for it on fourth down Kirkland threw up a fade to 6’4″ freshman receiver Jaden Greathouse who drew a pass interference call. The Chaps would later make a field goal, giving them a 3 point lead.
Steele’s drive would open with an explosive play as receiver Daryn Mcknight took an end-around for 33-yards. Coming into the game Mcknight had only had four carries those had gone for 112 yards and an average of 28. Steele would not be able to push the momentum forward as they threw three incompletions. With the kicking unit coming onto the field they were hoping to tie up the game, star Westlake safety Sage Luther had a different idea as he blocked the kick, Braden Duncan would recover and return it to the 47-yard line.
Westlake would replicate the opening drive as they drove down the field and finished it off with a field goal. Only up by 6 points, Steele could take the lead back with a big play. Steele placed together another strong drive highlighted by Daniel Jackson’s 15-yard catch and De’Quavion Thomas’ 5-yard touchdown run.
There was one matchup in particular that every fan loved watching and had a undeniable impact on the game. It was #5 vs #5 Daryn Mcknight vs Sage Luther. Mcknight was a big-time playmaker for Steele as they never stopped feeding him the ball. He was always covered by Westlakes promising safety Sage Luther. One would make a giant play and then the other would come right back with one of their own. Sometimes they would cancel each other out, regardless, it was a great matchup of two competitors.
Kirkland Michaux answered Steeles touchdown instantly as he found senior receiver Ryan Lindley on a 38-yard corner route for a walk-in touchdown. This set the Westlake section on fire, it was the big play they needed to assert dominance and take over the game. Westlake would soon get the ball back after a Steele punt and they tried to repeat history in throwing the corner route again. This time history was not so forgiving as Kirkland’s pass was intercepted by Maison Sharp who made an excellent catch on the sideline.
The Knights were officially in their two-minute drill trying to get a score and even the game up before half time. The drive started with a 40-yard pass to Daryn Mcknight who was tackled by Sage Luther. Steele quarterback Wyatt Beagle scrambled for 11-yards just enough to convert on 3rd down. Beagle would than find Daniel Jackson on a 15-yard pass over the middle. On the next play, Beagle would overthrow his receiver and be snatched out of the air by Westlake defender Michael Taffee. Westlake would capitalize on the field position and score a field goal putting them up 16-7 heading into halftime.
Heading into halftime both teams have played great games but both also needed to improve certain areas of their game. For Steele, it was about getting into the endzone and cashing in on possessions. They were to close too many times to have only scored 7 points in the first half. For Westlake they needed to run the ball more effectively, they needed to move the chains and not force turnovers if they wanted to keep their lead. Westlakes offense started heating up in the 4th quarter. Steele’s defense felt defeated and Westlake took advantage of that running the ball straight up the gut down after down. Westlake receiver Jason Croker (lined up at running back) sprinted through the running lane than dove into the endzone for a 4-yard Westlake touchdown.
Westlake will move onto the second round of the playoffs where they will face Brennan High who are fresh off a 35-13 win over Roosevelt. Coincidentally Westlake squared up against Brennan in round two of the playoffs last year with Westlake winning 49-7.
