Welcome to 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.
The high school regular season is officially over! KSAT 12′s Big Game Coverage (BGC) has been there every step of the way, as teams across the greater San Antonio battled for district titles and playoff berths. Finally, the trophies have been handed out, and we know who made the cut for the postseason, but before we turn the page and ramp up the intensity for the playoffs, let’s take a moment to recap Week 11′s action!
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What better place to start than Week 11′s Best of BGC?
Week 11 featured all kinds of jaw-dropping plays from the greater San Antonio area. Check out the best of the best, including plays from Lanier, Steele, Johnson and Edison!
>> Click here to check out the Best of BGC from Week 11! <<
With all 11 weeks of the regular season in the books, what do the final rankings look like? Find out who’s in and who’s out of our rankings heading into the first week of the playoffs!
>> See the full Week 12 rankings by clicking here! <<
Week 11′s Game of the Week proved to be just the kind of hard-nosed, defensive battle we expected!
STEELE 20, SMITHSON VALLEY 6
The Steele Knights are District 27-6A champions. Timely plays and a stout defense are the biggest reasons why the Knights topped the Rangers at Lehnhoff Stadium on Friday night.
After Smithson Valley (8-2, 5-2) took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on Clayton Amaya’s 21-yard field goal, Steele (10-0, 7-0) answered with 13 straight points. Teshaun Singleton found pay dirt on a nine-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for a 6-3 lead, and on the next Steele possession, Levi Dashnea hauled in the catch of the week -- a six-yard TD reception in the corner of the endzone with 1:10 remaining in the half -- to give the Knights a 13-3 lead. The Rangers responded with a 26-yard field goal with eight ticks left on the clock to head into halftime down seven.
Both defenses settled in for the second half, holding opposing offenses out of the red zone in a defensive slugfest. Smithson Valley running backs Travis McCracken and Malachi Lane were held to just 72 combined yards on 24 carries, while quarterback Derek Mata completed less than 50% of his passes for 172 yards. But the game was still up for grabs late in the fourth quarter. On third and five with less than two minutes left in regulation, Singleton burst through the line, lowered his shoulder, shoved a defender out of the way and took off on a game-sealing 78-yard touchdown run. He finished with a game-high 267 rushing yards on 28 carries and two scores, as the Knights emerged victorious.
THREE DEEP
HIGHLANDS 52, BRACKENRIDGE 47
Saturday afternoon’s shootout at the Rockpile was for a share of the District 13-5A Division I title, and Highlands’ offense put up just enough points to win one of the wildest district races in recent memory.
It certainly didn’t start off on the right foot for for the Owls. On the opening possession, Brackenridge defensive back Marquise Anthony stepped in front of a Highlands pass and returned it 71 yards for the game’s first points and a 7-0 Eagles lead. But Owls quarterback Jacob Gutierrez responded on the ensuing drive, converting on crucial third and fourth downs, and running back Ja’corey Bremby capped the march with a three-yard score to tie the game at 7-7. Highlands (6-4, 6-2) then seized control of the game with a 21-point second quarter thanks to a pair of touchdown passes from Gutierrez and a 25-yard TD scamper from D’Marrion Gonzalez, and the Owls led 28-21 at the break.
From there, it turned into a back-and-forth battle as the two teams traded touchdowns for the final 24 minutes of regulation. Gutierrez’s 25-yard TD pass to Luis Ortiz in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner. Gutierrez finished with 16 completions for 239 yards and four touchdowns, Ortiz caught eight of those passes for 176 yards and a trio of TDs, and Gonzalez racked up 146 yards and a score on 29 carries.
>> Click here to watch all of the highlights from Saturday night! <<
JUDSON 43, WAGNER 42
This has not been the season Judson expected. Their shortcomings this year have been well-documented. That didn’t stop them from ending their season on a high note against a neighborhood rival.
The Rockets (4-6, 3-4) trailed Wagner (4-6, 2-5) by 14 points twice in the first half and found themselves down 35-14 in the second half. Quarterback Michael Burroughs and some game-changing defensive stops turned the tide. Burroughs accounted for five total touchdowns, two through the air and three on the ground, as Judson rallied to make it a 42-41 game late in the fourth quarter. The Rockets made sure overtime wasn’t in the cards. A two-point conversion completed a remarkable comeback, as Judson took home bragging rights in the Hammer Bowl.
>> Click here to watch all of the highlights from Friday night! <<
STEVENS 29, HOLMES 28
Stevens had every reason to pack it in heading into the fourth quarter. The Falcons were winless on the season and trailed an upstart Holmes team by 14 points with 12 minutes remaining in regulation. It’s a credit to that entire coaching staff and the players themselves that the team fought till the very end of the regular season.
The Huskies (5-5, 3-5) were on track to earn the program’s first winning season in recent memory. Quarterback Christopher Medelez threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, and he scored a pair of rushing TDs in the third quarter as the Huskies built a 28-14 lead. Joaquin Ramirez and Ernie Solis each tallied 100 yards receiving and running back Christopher Maxey ran the ball 21 times for 95 yards.
That’s when the Falcons started their comeback. Undeterred by throwing a pick-six earlier in the game, quarterback Ethan Gonzales cut the lead down to seven points with a 17-yard TD strike to AJ Ruiz. Holmes moved into field goal range on the ensuing drive, but Stevens’ defense forced a fumble in the red zone giving them one last shot at tying the game. After an injury knocked him out of the game for a few plays, Gonzales returned and found wide receiver Gabriel Cook in the left corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown with :44 left in regulation. Gonzales completed 18 passes for 220 yards and four scores. Rather than kick the extra point and play for overtime, the Falcons decided to go for the win.
On the ensuing two-point conversion, Gonzales lobbed it up for Cook on the opposite side of the endzone, and the big wideout hauled it in with a defender fighting for the ball the entire way. The rulebook states that a tie goes to the receiver, the official deemed it a catch, and the Falcons took their first lead 29-28. With the game on the line, the Falcons defense got one more stop, and Stevens stormed the field in celebration as the final buzzer sounded. Stevens finished the season 1-9 overall, 1-7 against District 29-6A competition. That “one” meant a lot to everyone on the Falcons sideline.
>> Click here to watch all of the highlights from Thursday night! <<
Let’s hear from the experts!
When is the last time that four teams have finished undefeated in the regular season in 12′s top 12? I don’t remember. The playoffs begin with Brennan, Steele, Johnson and Alamo Heights all at 10-0 and ranked No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 as we get set to kickoff Week 1 of the postseason.
A special mention to the Kennedy Rockets who defeated Memorial 28-17 in the annual Salsa Bowl to finish 7-3, 5-3 in District 13-5A Division I, making the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.
How about the Highlands Owls who outscored Brackenridge 52-47 Saturday afternoon at Alamo Stadium to win a share of the district title along with the Lanier Voks? Both the Owls and Voks finished 6-2 in district. Can’t wait for the postseason.
Going undefeated feels amazing. Just ask the Carrizo Springs Wildcats, who wrapped up the regular season a perfect 10-0 (5-0 in district) Friday night. They beat the Hondo Owls 69-30 at Frank Carter Stadium to earn the program’s first perfect season since 1984. They also snapped an eight-game losing streak to Hondo dating back to 2012. On top of that, the Wildcats won the District 15-4A-II championship for their first district crown dating back to 1997. Their last winning season was in 1998, so this year’s team will go down as one of the best in school history.
After pitching six shutouts in their first nine games, the Wildcats gave up a season-high 30 points to the Owls. Hondo running back Carson Winchester rushed for 185 yards with three touchdowns on 37 carries on a defense that was barely allowing 40 yards rushing per game. He’s a beast and very tough to bring down. On the flip side, Carrizo Springs scored a season-best 69 points and racked up 696 yards on only 16 minutes of possession. Quarterback Evan Castellanos completed 14 of 22 passes for 386 yards and 6 touchdowns. WR CJ Zuvia had three catches for 183 yards and three touchdowns. And RB Christian Delacruz carried the ball 13 times for 158 yards and a touchdown.
>> Click here to watch Larry Ramirez’s pregame feature on Carrizo Springs vs. Hondo! <<
Carrizo Springs will play Port Isabel Tarpons at a neutral location in Corpus Christi Calallan on Friday, November 12, to kick off the Class 4A Division II Bi-District playoffs. The Tarpons, from District 16-4A-II, finished the regular season 7-3, 4-3 in district.
To hear from the Wildcats on their remarkable season, click here!
On Friday night, I was really excited to see Poteet running back Ernest Davila in action. Seeing highlights is one thing, but watching him run in person is another. The Aggies had a chance to finish the season undefeated in District 14-3A Division I, and Davila wasted no time leaving his mark on the game. On Poteet’s first play from scrimmage, Davila exploded through a hole right up the middle and took off for a 75-yard touchdown run. That was his first of four touchdowns on the night in a convincing 40-23 win. Davila and Poteet (9-1, 6-0) will be a tough out this year in the playoffs.
>> Click here to watch highlights from Poteet’s game against Randolph! <<
The UIL State cross country competition came to an end over the weekend, and both the Boerne Champion girls and Fredericksburg girls finished as state runners up in the Class 5A and 4A standings respectively! The Charger girls have finished as state champions or state runners-up in each of the last four years. The Battlin’ Billies’ scored 111 points with a relatively young roster boasting three sophomores, three freshmen and a junior.
Poth’s Wyatt Hoover dove at the finish line to win a tight race for the Class 3A boys team title. His winning time was 15:57.4. The Pirate girls finished third overall in the team standings. Both the Lytle boys and girls finished in the top five teams in the final Class 3A standings. The boys finished third overall, while the girls took fourth. Congratulations to all of our area teams and athletes who competed at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock over the weekend! For full results from the state meet, head on over the UIL results page!
PLAYOFF PREVIEW COMING SOON!
Our weekly Big Game Coverage Preview show has come to an end, but there’s still plenty of high school football action left in the season! We’ll have a full playoff schedule for all of our teams later this week on KSAT.com. Stay tuned!
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.