Texans ‘Ball’ into semi-finals, face Cuero

Special. Exceptional. Significant. Memorable. Mere words which fail to describe the performance of a group of kids who publicly announce their genuine love for one another to anyone asking or willing to listen.

The 2022 Wimberley High School Texans football team is talented, but the core of who they are is wrapped in unity and a brotherly bond beyond words. “That’s exactly what it’s about. It’s not about individuals. It’s not about all the spotlight being on ‘me,’” head coach Doug Warren affirmed. “It’s just about loving that guy that’s beside you and playing for that guy. When you do that, great things happen.”

Each young man interviewed over the past few weeks specifically mentioned their love for their teammates. As a group, the Texans are unashamedly vocal about their affection, trust and appreciation for one another. They have not failed to praise the preparation and effort of others.

Last week, Kaeden Coltharp spoke about his joy of blocking for life-long friend and Texan running back Johnny Ball. He said he views Ball’s success as evidence of the offensive line’s effort.

“Yeah, Kaeden and I go way back. It makes me feel good that he feels that way whenever he blocks for me. It just shows how we’re a family more than just a team. We’re a brotherhood,” Ball shared in return. “We all go way back together and we love each other. I think that’s why we play so good.”

They were all good this week against a tough Lago Vista High School team looking to avenge a three point district loss in week ten. Ball had 322 all-purpose yards — 303 yards rushing on twenty- two attempts — with five touchdowns. Most yards came after contact including touchdown runs of 35, 44, and what can only be described as a “bowling-ball-hittingevery-pin” attempt from 21 yards out.

“We expected a hard ball game between us and them. We were just giving it all we had. The line blocked hard and fast, moving their guys off the ball so that I could get through those holes. They did a phenomenal job,” Ball said. “I was just gonna run the football, hold onto it and run that clock down. I didn’t get to run the ball as much in our first meeting, but this definitely made up for it. I’m just so happy about tonight. I can’t believe it.”

“What can you say? I mean, outstanding effort from that young man (Ball). He doesn’t do it by himself but dang, he made some great cuts, got into the open, broke tackles and punished defenders,” Warren commended his running back. “When you’re doing that over and over again, eventually those guys don’t like to tackle you very much. That’s how you end up with 300 yards rushing.”

Offensive success started early in the contest. After the opening kickoff from Lago Vista went out of bounds, the Texans began play at the 40-yard line. One play, in the form of a Cody Stoever to Tru Couch touchdown for 60 yards, took 11 seconds off the clock. After Gage Tumlinson’s extra point, the Texans led 7-0.

Stoever would complete eight of 19 passes for 118 yards with the lone receiving touchdown by Couch. Couch caught two more for a total of 94 yards before going out with injury early in the second quarter. Johnny Ball added 19 yards receiving to his offensive output. Cayden Heatly had a reception for five yards. Noah Birdsong caught two passes, serving as a dangerous decoy downfield and made an impact on special teams, including a kick return into the Viking’s side of the field to begin Texan play in the second half.

Stoever accumulated 106 yards on 14 carries, including his longest of 29 on a third down for his lone rushing touchdown.

“When you get into a big time ballgame like this, you never question the effort from these kiddos,” Warren said. “With this group, that’s something you don’t ever have to worry about. They’re gonna play their tails off every single snap.”

The Texans took a 2110 lead into halftime. The second half started with a Lago Vista scoring drive of 77 yards over 14 plays, taking 5:34 off of the clock. After the two point conversion, the Vikings had drawn to within three points at 21-18.

“We had a great plan on both sides of the ball, attacking them early and putting them in a chase mode. That’s tough to do when you’re always trying to play catch up. I thought our defense played lights out and didn’t give them much life outside of, really, one play,” Warren reflected. “They made a big push in the second half but our kids just responded and got after them, especially their quarterback, and were able to come away with a big time win.”

Once Lago Vista drew to within three points, the Texans scored on a two-play drive to lead 28-18 at the end of the third quarter. The Texans started the fourth quarter with a Ball rushing touchdown from 44 yards away to lead 3518. The Vikings scored a minute and a half later, opening up their offense and aided by a personal foul penalty, missing the extra point to draw to within 11 points at 35-24.

For its part, the Texan defense constantly pressured and harrased Viking quarterback Bowen Stobb, striking running backs often behind the line of scrimmage and stringing out running plays until help arrived to quelch the threat. Lago Vista finished the first half with nine yards rushing — with their touchdown coming on a 71-yard pass play.

“The coaches drew up a great game plan for us. We just went out there and executed. It’s all we could ask for. Everybody played their butts off,” said senior linebacker Kason Pritchard, whose sack on third down shut down Lago Vista’s first drive. “It feels great anytime to go out there and accomplish what we all work hard for at practice. We come out and execute. I love every single one of these boys. They all go out there and put their heart on the line each week. It’s all we could ask for.”

Coach Josh DeMarco coaches outside linebackers and special teams. His backers played an important role in pressuring and containing a talented offensive team, and Lago Vista finished the first half with nine yards rushing.

“We had a lot of pressure put on us this week, but I knew they could handle it. We were determined to take the quarterback out of the run game and these guys were a heavy part of that. They had to make the initial shot and make some adjustments,” DeMarco noted. “I’m really proud of those guys. They did a great job and played really hard. They laid some good licks on the quarterback that I think had a lasting impression as the game went by.”

In addition to Pritchard’s sack, senior backers Brasen Leonard and Jack Riser each had a half sack. Shay Shroyer, Leonard, Ball and Riser hounded Stobb, forcing numerous incompletions thrown out of bounds to secure the win.

“I love these guys and love the way we play together. All night I’ve been saying, ‘Who wants it more?’ Turns out we wanted it more,” said Riser. “[Lago Vista] is an amazing team. They’re the toughest team we’ve played all year, and they played their butts off too, but it wasn’t enough. Every time they lined up in that pistol formation, Pritchard and I would go light him up, no matter what.”

“I just have such a good group of outside linebackers. Riser and Pritchard came back from last year. Dane Hennessee moved to outside backer this year and he’s done such a great job picking it up in just a couple of months. Drew Brasher moved up from JV and does a great job. Parker Doss came back after injury, practiced hard and knows everything to do,” DeMarco said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys. I’ve been really blessed the last couple years to have some great ones. I love that group.”

Junior Troy Heugly and senior Hanson Collie had standout performances from the defensive front, adding pressure and shutting down the Vikings’ inside rush attack. For the second week in a row, Collie had tackles for loss and a fumble recovery, crediting his coaches and teammates.

“Coach (Dean) Bagby gets us in the right spot. From prep to practice, we ran it over and over again until we got everything correct,” Collie commented. “In the game, it felt as smooth as butter. Everything I was doing was exactly what Coach said it was gonna be. It allowed me to be in the right spot at the right time.”

Collie is playing in his first season with the Texans and immediately picked up on the team bond.

“I’ve lived in Wimberley all my life, but you know, different different things kind of pulled me away, playing for different teams. You come in [to this team] and everyone’s playing their hardest, everyone’s together, the brotherhood and the unity is undoubted,” he said. “It’s an honor to be a part of this team and I’m loving every bit of it. It’s exciting.”

Senior Lane Patek continues his pivotal role in this season’s defense as well as special teams. He hits larger than his frame and plays with an intensity to match.

“Our coaches put together a great game plan. Last time we played [Lago Vista], we were unsure because we didn’t know that their quarterback was going to be running that much. He was a great runner, but we planned for that [this time] and brought a lot of heat,” explained Patek. “We come out here and play with a lot of energy and it’s great. I love playing with these guys and I don’t want it to end.”

Special teams can make or break teams in the playoff season. Coach DeMarco commented on the fact that the Texans have punted only once in the last five games, yet punter Wynston Burttschell prepares hard for each game and stands ready on the sideline to step in at any moment.

“I’m really proud of Brady Barbee. He snapped the ball really well on long snaps and made a huge play on a Lago onside kick attempt. He took a brutal shot but held on to the ball,” DeMarco added. “Gage hit seven of seven extra points. He missed a field goal but battled through. His mental toughness is second to none. I’m so proud of him. We made mistakes on special teams, but as a whole, performed well. Those guys killed us in Week Ten, so we locked in and played smart. We made good adjustments during the game. I’m very proud of that, but it’s just going to be even tougher moving forward.”

It was Barbee’s recovery of the onside kick that set up the short field for the next Texan score. Ball covered 52 yards in two plays — 49 on the touchdown run — to put the Texans up 42-24. The teams traded scores in the last 9:25 of the game with Lago Vista missing a second two-point conversion to make the final score 49-30.

“This group right here, they believe. They believe they’re the best team on the field and they go out and prove it. There are still people that doubt them and that’s just fine,” Warren said. “The group that matters is the group out on that field and in that locker room. They don’t ever doubt it.”

The Texans play in the state semi-final against Cuero at the Alamodome Friday, Dec. 9, at 3 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s regional final.

“We’re happy to still be playing,” Warren concluded. “On top of that — you know, Wimberley, Cuero, state semi-final — heck, it doesn’t get any better than that.”