Marion heads to the second round of the 3A Division I playoffs for the second straight season after last Friday’s home win over Lyford. Photo courtesy of Marion Bulldog Athletics Facebook page.
Marion seeks deepest playoff run since 2010, area matchup vs. Vanderbilt-Industrial to air on KWED
(Karnes City) – Marion looks to advance to the third round of the UIL football playoffs for the first time in nine years when the Bulldogs face Vanderbilt-Industrial in the 3A Division I area bracket Friday at Karnes City’s Poss Johnson Field.
The Bulldogs are 8-3 in Ryne Miller’s second season as head coach after sharing the District 15-3A-Division I title, claiming the No. 2 playoff seed, and cruising past Lyford 56-30 in the bi-district playoffs last week.
Marion is in the second round of the playoffs for the second straight season. The Bulldogs last advanced to the third round with wins over Hempstead and George West in 2010.
Vanderbilt-Industrial enters Friday with a 10-1 record under second-year head coach Jamie Dixon after eliminating Hitchcock 50-22 in the bi-district round.
The Cobras have reeled off nine straight wins since a 38-12 loss to Shiner on Sept. 6, including a 5-0 run to the District 14-3A-DI championship. Industrial survived a 40-34 shootout with Halletsville and a 20-14 defensive slugfest with Edna during that stretch while blowing out traditional powers like Yoakum (49-20) and Goliad (38-7) along the way.
The Cobras play a physical brand of offensive football with a spread-based rushing attack built around the skills of quarterback Karston Wimberly and running-back Blayne Moreland. Wimberley ran for 82 yards and a touchdown on nine carries while completing three passes for 76 yards and a score in the bi-district win over Hitchcock. Moreland broke loose for 144 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
“The first guy is that quarterback,” Miller said. “You’ve got to make sure you know where he’s always at. I think he’s probably their best runner on offense. He does a great job, he’s a tough kid, he’s smart, so obviously, we’ve got to make sure our defense has great fits. Just with the kind of offense they run, that our linebackers have great fits, our secondary have great fits, and that they’re communicating up front, and we’re getting lined up right.”
Marion features the more balanced attack in Friday’s matchup, with a number of versatile players filling multiple roles.
Senior quarterback Zach Goodwin enters the weekend with 2,056 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air to go with 607 yards and a team-high 10 scores on the ground.
Running-back Ray Rayos (738 yds., 6 total TD) and receivers Jacob Devora (42 rec., 630 yds., 8 TD), Jayden Williams (4 receiving TDs, 4 rushing TDs), and Hutch Rabenaldt (22 rec., 431 yds., 5 TD) give the Bulldogs multiple options for attacking the Industrial defense. Goodwin even returned to his roots as a wide receiver last week and caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Tanner Beakley.
Marion’s defensive goal is to stop the run and force Wimberly into obvious passing downs, where the Bulldogs’ secondary has thrived this season. Rabenaldt has coralled five interceptions on the year. Devora picked off three passes in last week’s bi-district game alone.
Friday’s kickoff in Karnes City is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 with the season wrap-up edition of the Matador Report with Seguin head coach Travis Bush, as well as the Navarro and Lifegate coaches’ shows.
Panthers ready for area playoff clash with Rio Hondo
(Corpus Christi) – Navarro can extend its streak of advancing at least three rounds in the UIL playoffs to five seasons Friday with a win over Rio Hondo in the 4A Division II area playoffs at Buccaneer Stadium in Corpus Christi.
The 11-0 Panthers, led by second-year head coach Rod Blount, advanced through the bi-district round with a 45-0 blanking of Crystal City last Thursday.
Rio Hondo is 6-4 in Rocky James’ 12th season as head coach after rolling through Orange Grove 48-6 in last Friday’s playoff opener. The Bobcats finished second behind Raymondville in District 16 during the regular season.
Junior quarterback Matthew Trevino sets the tone for a Rio Hondo offense averaging 30.3 points per game. Trevino enters Friday with 1,149 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions to go with 269 rushing yards and three scores. He receives plenty of help from running-back Ethan Jeradiah (829 yds., 9 TD) and a balanced cast of receivers led by Efrain Lopez (29 rec., 447 yds.) and Zechariah Rios (5 TD).
“They like to throw just a little bit more than they do run, they’ve got explosive running-backs, and an explosive receiver,” Blount said. “The quarterback, when he decides to run, he’s really dangerous, but he makes it tough on your secondary, because he can move around and keep the play alive. He’s not tempted to take off running all the time. He’s waiting for that receiver to get open to hit him deep. So we’ve got to put pressure on him, and not let him stay back there.”
Pressure has been a trademark of a Navarro defense giving up just 15.6 points per game in 2019. The Panthers enter Friday with 131 tackles-for-loss, 20 sacks, and 22 takeaways. Johnny Alegria and MoMo Sims have two interceptions apiece. Sam Muniga, James Brinsley, and Gabriel Means have each returned interceptions for touchdowns. Safety Mark Wozniak has recorded a team-high 128 tackels this season. Defensive end Brett Butler enters the weekend with 19 tackles-for-loss.
The Rio Hondo defense has been stout in recent weeks, giving up no more than 15 points in each of the past three games. The Bobcats face a tall task trying to extend that streak Friday against a Navarro Slot-T atttack averaging 42 points and 428 total yards per game (409 rushing), and 10.1 yards per carry. Senior fullback Euler Deleon is up to 1,621 yards and 23 touchdowns, followed by halfback Sims (842 yds., 9 TD) and tailback Alegria (711 yds., 7 TD).
Navarro and Rio Hondo kick off Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Corpus Christi’s Buccaneer Stadium. A complete interview with Blount can be heard during the Panther Report in the 6:30 – 7:00 time slot on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com.
Falcons chase consecutive TCAL Division I titles in rematch with Houston-Texas Christian
(San Antonio) – If the Lifegate six-man football team can duplicate its dominance from a 64-30 win over Houston-Texas Christian two weeks ago in Saturday’s rematch at San Antonio-Central Catholic, the Falcons will be TCAL Division I champions for the second consecutive season.
A win would secure the program’s third straight state title of some sort and fourth overall , including those won as TAPPS members in 2012 and 2017.
Houston-Texas Christian fans making the drive to San Antonio can only hope the Tigers intend to compete for the game’s duration this time around. With Lifegate leading by 34 points in the third quarter on Nov. 1, Texas Christian walked off the field and forfeited without finishing the game in what can only be described as a peculiar decision in the context of viably competitive athletics.
Lifegate moved its record to 10-2 with a 67-6 win over Granbury-North Central Texas in last week’s semifinal round. Texas Christian improved to 5-4 with a 50-38 win over El Paso-Faith Christian. The Tigers are capable of putting up points, as evidenced by a season scoring average of 49.4 points per game.
The Falcons’ first-year head coach John Stout looks for an improved defensive effort against Texas Christian’s spread-back T. Nobles (no first name was provided on the Tigers’ published Maxpreps roster).
“The main thing we’ve got to do is contain,” Stout said. “We didn’t contain real well in the last game. Number three, he’s real fast, and we’ve just got to contain him to where he doesn’t get on top of his speed. If we slow him down, then he’s not as bad to take care of as if he gets his wheels under him, he’s goine, so we’ve just got to control him.”
As was the case two weeks ago, Lifegate should have success attacking the Texas Christian defense with versatile players like Quinten Shellnut (3,038 total yards, 45 rushing TDs, 14 passing TDs), Barson Schmidt (9 TD), Joseph Menchaca (6 TD), Zach McCulloch (6 TD), and David Brewer (4 TD).
Lifegate’s defensive leaders include Shellnut (77 tackles), Schmidt (6 sacks), and Brewer (4 Int.).
Saturday’s kickoff at Central Catholic’s Bob Benson ’66’ Stadium in San Antonio is set for 4:30 p.m. A complete interview with Stout can be heard during the Falcon Report between 6:45 and 7:00 Friday evening on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com.