Texans win first game

“We had ten seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter with the score tied 25-25. With one time-out left, we decided to take one more shot at winning,” Wimberley High School coach Doug Warren counted down the last seconds of last Friday’s away game against Burnett.

“If that didn’t work, we planned to call time out to try a field goal for the win.” As the clock ticked down to five seconds, first-year starting quarterback Cooper McCollum dropped back to the seventeen-yard line. Then he lofted a perfect touchdown pass to wide receiver Christian Marshall just as the game clock ran out. Wimberley 31-Burnett 25! “We gave up turnovers, but we still won the game!” Warren smiled. “That says a lot about our kids!”

The crucial situation was set up when Wimberley’s defensive unit halted the Burnet offensive drive on the Wimberley 20 yard line. With little time and a full field to cover, the Texans used a combination of runs and short passes of seven and eight yards to move into position for the winning score. “We just steadily worked our two-minute offense,” Warren said.

“We got good games from wideouts Christian Marshall and Landon Clewell as well as Caleb Cervenka. All three have picked up from last year’s receivers and learned the role. Although this is Cooper McCullom’s first year as a starting quarterback and he’s still a junior, he’s really upped his game this season,” Coach Warren praised his young signal-caller. “Defensively, I thought Guy Kyporos and Trenton Dingman played well on defense.

McCullum lead the Texans in the air with 357 yards passing in his first game as starting quarterback. He completed 33 or 48 passes and threw for four touchdowns and two interceptions. He also added 46 yards on the ground. Kyporos rushed for 51 yards on 11 carries and scored one touchdown. Cervenka lead the Texans with 124 yards receiving on eight catches with one touchdown. Marshall’s game winning reception was his second touchdown catch of the game.

This Friday, the Texans take on their third away game in a row when they travel to always-tough Giddings. Last week Giddings won 17-16 against Rockdale so both teams will be looking for a breakout game. “They always field a good team,” Warren says, “because they’ve got tradition and good coaching.” Then, on Friday, September 14, the Texans finally will play their first home game with Canyon Lake coming to Wimberley. The game starts at 7:30.