Texans stay undefeated

Friday night’s football game in Lago Vista would determine playoff seeding for district 14. The Vikings came into the game sporting a single loss to Navarro in their week seven matchup and - with a win - could draw into a three-way tie for the district lead. The Vikings were led by good athletes on both sides of the ball including quarterback Bowen Stobb, wide receivers Ethan Helton and Berend Kahlden, and running back Wyatt Herring.

The Texans opened up with a 23 yard screen pass to Johnny Ball into Viking territory. Texan quarterback Cody Stoever was flushed out of the pocket by a strong defensive rush on a crucial third down play, flicking the ball out to Noah Birdsong to extend Wimberley’s first drive into the Red Zone. Unable to convert on third down, the Texans settled for a 31-yard Gage Tumlinson field goal to lead 3-0.

The Texan defense started out with a big rush by Shay Shroyer, forcing an incomplete pass before Viking receiver Devin Shipp busted out a 22-yard gain on a third down into Texan territory. After the Texans were called for interference and roughing the passer on consecutive plays, Lago Vista sat at the 18. Stobb scored on a designed run from the three yardline giving Lago Vista a 7-3 lead with 4:45 left in the first quarter.

Coach Doug Warren lauded the Vikings. “They’re a good football team. We knew what we were coming up against. They have some very dynamic skill kids and they’re big up front. They do some things that can give you a lot of trouble.”

Wimberley started their second drive at their own 32. Stoever caught a speedy Tru Couch going away from his defender for 48 yards down to the Viking’s 20. The drive nearly faltered with a fourth and two at the 12 yard line. Offensive coordinator Dane Saucier trusted his line and snuck Stoever across for the first down. The next play, Stoever faked an inside run, and hit Ball for an apparent touchdown. On what would be a theme for the night, the Texans were penalized for holding, nullifying the score and moving the offense back to the 19 yard line. Redemption came quickly as Stoever completed a pass to Cayden Heatly in the corner of the endzone. Tumlinson’s extra point was true and the Texans led 10-7 with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter.

The Texan lead lasted three plays. Returning the kick beyond midfield to the 46, Stobb was stopped for a loss then completed a big pass over the top to Ethan Helton for 38 yards. Stobb covered 12 yards on the next play for the Viking score.

“We needed to get somebody on their quarterback right away. Misalignments or missed calls - communications breakdowns - are some of the things we needed to work on,” Coach Wes Lambert. “We didn’t have the start that we wanted on defense, but the kids kept fighting and staying in it.”

On the Texans ensuing possession Ryan Shaw caught a Stoever pass for a pickup of 11 yards to the 36. His next catch was better, outrunning Viking defenders for a 64-yard touchdown completing a two-play, 75-yard drive for a 17-14 Texan lead.

Next, Lago Vista’s Wyatt Herring gained seven yards on the first play of the drive and the ball was moved out to the 41 as the Texans were assessed a facemask penalty, giving them over 100 yards in penalties in the opening period. The first play of the second quarter saw the Vikings facing second down and 22 after a personal foul. Stobb threw an out route intended for Berend Kahlden broken up by Cody Heckel who was flagged for pass interference, giving Lago Vista another first down by penalty. The Vikings continued moving the ball into Texan territory, aided by another personal foul, until Shay Shroyer collected a sack against Stobb on third down at the 35 yard line resulting in a missed field goal.

The Texans were unable to capitalize and the teams traded punts until the Texans committed a mistake on a punt snap to Wynston Burttschell deep in their own territory. The Vikings had first down from the 16 when the Wimberley defense stiffened forcing another missed field goal leaving the score 17-14 at halftime.

Lago Vista took the second half kickoff and marched down field led by Stobb’s decision-making and elusiveness. The Viking offense got into a rhythm, taking nearly six minutes off of the clock when Gavarrete connected on a 30 yard field goal as the drive stalled. Flags were thrown and Wimberley was penalized half the distance to the goal for a personal foul. Stobb scored two plays later, leaving 5:25 on the clock with the scoreboard reading 17-21 in favor of the Vikings.

Wimberley then methodically moved down field. “We adjusted in the second half, talking about needing more yards after contact. Our offensive linemen were able to make adjustments with a couple of blocking schemes which opened a couple of things,” said offensive coordinator Dane Saucier. The drive culminated in a 15 yard touchdown run by Cody Stoever with 2:09 left in the third quarter and the Texans leading 24-21.

Lago Vista started the next drive with a 54 yard run deep into Texan territory to the 33. Two plays later, the Texans were levied another drive-extending holding penalty and the Vikings took advantage, scoring on a pass into the endzone from Stobb to Kahlden. Lago Vista took the lead at 24-28 with nine seconds left in the third quarter.

The Texans drove the ball deep into Viking territory in the fourth quarter after the kickoff. The offense efficiently moved into the Red Zone when Stoever converted on fourth and 2 from the 21. Wimberley was held to fourth down and 1 from the 5 when Stoever was intercepted at the goal line by Stobb with 7:43 left on the game clock.

Lago Vista took over at the seven when the Texans’ defense again rose to the challenge, forcing a punt from the Viking 18 yard line. A bad snap forced Viking punter Ethan Helton to cover the ball, allowing the Texans to take over at the five yard line. The Texans wasted no time as Stoever plunged forward on the first play for the touchdown, making the score 31-28 after Tumlinson’s extra point. “I’m so proud of all of our linemen. They’re down in the trenches digging in deep. We faced some big dudes that hit hard across the line, but Kaden Gonce was special,” remarked Stoever. “He’s smaller and was up against big guys, making the blocking scheme calls from the center position, which is difficult. He handled it really well.”

With little time left, the defense wasn’t done. Facing a third down and 4 from the 50, Stobb was crushed in the backfield by Brasen Leonard setting up fourth and 9 from the 45. With Hanson Collie draped around him, Stobb’s next pass was intercepted by Lane Patek. The Texans took a knee to cement the victory, moving to 9-0 overall, 4-0 in district play, and wrapping up the district championship.

Coach Warren confessed, “This was the must have. When you’re faced with adversity you’ve got to hang in there and believe, keep finding ways to make plays when they’re needed and find ways to win. You make plays out of nothing or fight to get a huge first down when you need to move the sticks - that’s what champions do.” The Texans close out district play against the Austin Achieve Polar Bears on Senior Night, this Friday at 7:30 in Texan Stadium.