Welcome to the third edition of the free KSAT 12 Big Game Coverage Newsletter. If you are interested in a wrap-up of the biggest local high school football scores, highlights, players and teams, you can sign up for the biweekly newsletter for free right here.
What an incredible start to the 2021 high school football season! Week 1 of KSAT 12′s Big Game Coverage (BGC) had just about everything you could possibly want on the gridiron: brand-new stadiums, late-game heroics and all-around dominant performances.
Let’s highlight the biggest moments from the week that was in the first installment of this year’s Best of BGC.
Week 1 featured breath-taking runs, passes, catches and hits all across the greater San Antonio area. Check out the best of the best, including plays from McCollum, East Central, Blanco, Jay, Brackenridge, and Alamo Heights!
>> Click here to check out the Best of BGC from Week 1! <<
With Week 1′s results officially in the books, there has been a lot of movement in KSAT 12′s Top 12 heading into Week 2, especially among the top four Class 6A teams. Seven new squads made the cut this week as well. Find out who’s in and who’s out!
>> See the full Week 2 rankings by clicking here! <<
From kickoff on Thursday to the final whistle on Saturday night, teams from the greater San Antonio area competed in 65 football games across the state of Texas. Let’s take an in-depth look at three of the best matchups in a new segment called Three Deep. What better way to start than by recapping our first Game of the Week?
THREE DEEP
Reagan vs. Brennan
Don’t let the final score fool you: KSAT 12′s Game of the Week between No. 1 Brennan and No. 2 Reagan at Farris Stadium lived up the hype and then some.
The top-ranked Bears led 14-7 at halftime thanks to a pair of touchdown passes from junior quarterback Ashton Dubose to wide receiver Chase Campbell, but Reagan rallied to tie it up at 14 late in the third quarter on Tre’Shawn Jones’ two-yard score. In crunch time, the Bears took control of the game with three straight touchdown drives to win 35-14. Dubose finished the night with three passing TDs, and he tallied the go-ahead score with his legs on an elusive nine-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter.
Brennan head coach Stephen Basore praised his young QB after the game, “He’s humble, he has poise, he’s a competitor, and he generally doesn’t make mistakes. He plays like a senior with his experience, and he’s a real cool cat.”
While Dubose led an explosive offense, Brennan’s defense was just as impressive, limiting a potent Rattlers attack to only nine first downs and 152 yards of total offense.
>> Click here to watch all of the highlights from Friday night! <<
Boerne vs. Alamo Heights
With renovations finally completed, Orem Stadium was treated to an instant classic on Friday night between Boerne and Alamo Heights.
Mules junior wide receiver Rett Andersen stole the show, returning two kickoffs for touchdowns. He took the opening kickoff back 70 yards for the first points of the game, and he added a 69-yarder in the fourth quarter when the Mules needed it most. That touchdown cut a 10-point deficit to just three, and running back George Flesher capped a stunning rally with a six-yard score to give the home team the lead for good in a thrilling 34-30 victory.
Greyhounds quarterback Rashawn Galloway was a stud under center in the loss, completing 32 passes for 306 yards and four total touchdowns.
Medina Valley vs. Southwest Legacy
New head football coach Robert Bruce had a memorable debut at Southwest Legacy High School.
The Titans were locked in a back-and-forth battle with Medina Valley for the majority of Friday night, but finally found some separation in the third quarter. Senior signal-caller Zezar Tovar found Fabian Ramos in the corner of the endzone for his third touchdown pass of the night to give Legacy a 22-13 lead. Panthers quarterback Nick Rash answered with a TD toss of his own to Kenneth Arroyos that cut the deficit down to two early in the fourth quarter.
With a little over two minutes to play and Medina Valley closing in on game-winning field goal range, the Titans defense found a way to get a crucial fourth-down stop. Senior running back Desmond Suarez then iced the game by converting on 3rd-and-1 thanks to a second effort, and the Titans secured a hard-fought 22-20 win.
Time to hear from the experts!
COVER TWO
I thought the biggest surprise for me was Judson’s manhandling of DeSoto. The Eagles were ranked No. 15 in the state according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine, and Judson was No. 23 in their preseason poll. But the Rockets dominated after fumbling the opening kick off. Judson scored 22 points in the second quarter, and then the Rockets defense stopped a comeback attempt to get the win 35-28.
Now Judson is the team I’m looking forward to the most this Friday when they travel to Austin to take on Lake Travis, the No. 8 team in the state.
The two best games of the week were both comebacks: Alamo Heights’ come-from-behind 34-30 victory over Boerne to open the newly-renovated Orem Stadium, and Somerset’s 36-22 comeback against Brackenridge to give Koy Detmer his first win as the Bulldogs’ new head coach after taking over for his late father, Sonny Detmer.
The best individual performance to me was by Southside quarterback Richard Torres, a Nebraska commit, who threw for eight touchdowns Thursday night in the Cardinals’ 62-14 victory over Brownsville Lopez.
I enjoyed the composure of the Davenport Wolves, a second-year football program. Playing a well-established program in the Blanco Panthers is no easy task. Blanco runs the Slot-T formation and is the epitome of smash-mouth football. I was only there for the first quarter, as I had to leave for two other games, and during that time Davenport was moving the ball. But they turned it over on downs and then tossed an interception on their second drive that resulted in an 18-yard touchdown run by the Panthers and a 7-0 lead. Those were the only points in the first quarter. But Davenport stayed cool and fought back to beat Blanco 41-27. To me, this response says a lot about Davenport head coach J.D. Zimmerhanzel, his staff, players and what that program is trying to build.
>> ICYMI: Larry Ramirez talks with Davenport Wolves ahead of season opener <<
CELY’S SPOTLIGHT
This week, I’ll shine my spotlight on a pair of standout individual performances.
In Cole’s 52-6 victory over San Antonio Christian School on Friday night, senior Walker Cunningham was impressive on both sides of the ball. He scored two touchdowns - one through the air, the other on the ground -- recorded an interception and added a sack in the second quarter alone.
On Saturday at the Gus, John Jay senior Xadrian Huerta had his fingerprints all over the Mustangs’ dominant 52-0 victory over Laredo Johnson. In the first five minutes of game action, the running back/linebacker recovered a fumble, scored a touchdown on an elusive 36-yard carry and added an emphatic tackle-for-loss that made the cut in this week’s Best of BGC.
>> Click here to catch all of the highlights from Saturday night! <<
Lastly, congratulations go out to Kenedy for a milestone victory over Karnes City. The Lions snapped a seven-game, eight-year losing streak against the Badgers with an 18-13 win and started their season 1-0 for the first time since 2012.
Watch Big Game Coverage Preview show Thursday at 3 p.m.
Greg Simmons and Larry Ramirez will get you set up for Week 2 of the high school football season with our weekly Big Game Coverage Preview show, featuring breakdowns of KSAT 12′s Game of the Week and some of the biggest matchups to watch. See you then!
Andrew Cely, KSAT 12 Sports Producer and Reporter
If you have any questions about this newsletter or story ideas for the season ahead, feel free to reach me via email at acely@ksat.com.