After Week 1 of the 2022 high school football season dazzled us with incredible storylines and thrilling games, many wondered if we would ever experience that kind of rush again.
Five later, Week 2 delivered, and then some.
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Uvalde was the epicenter of our Big Game Coverage (BGC) on Friday night. The community was kind enough to welcome the KSAT 12 Sports team and our production crew with open arms and allow us to live stream the Coyotes’ home-opener at the Honey Bowl. Greg Simmons and Larry Ramirez called Uvalde’s game against Eagle Pass Winn from the roof of the press box overlooking the stadium while I patrolled the sidelines as a reporter. It was the quintessential high school football experience, one that will surely remain in the hearts and minds of everyone who visited the stadium that night.
Before we take a deep dive into that game and some of the best matchups the San Antonio area had to offer, let’s recap the biggest moments from the week that was in the Best of BGC for Week 2 of the 2022 season!
Week 2 was full of incredible plays from all across the greater San Antonio area, including one of the best hook-and-ladder plays you’ll ever see! On Instant Replay, we selected the best of the best, including highlights from Uvalde, MacArthur, Warren, Harlan, Southside and Steele.
>> Click here to check out the Best of BGC from Week 2! <<
Be sure to check out all of the highlights from Week 2 as well!
KSAT 12′s Top 12 rankings were shuffled after Week 2′s results. See which teams made the cut after dramatic a week filled with late-game heroics and non-district games!
>> See the full Week 3 rankings by clicking here! <<
UVALDE 34, EAGLE PASS WINN 28
Friday night’s game at the Honey Bowl in Uvalde is further proof that Texas high school football is unparalleled in terms of cultivating drama and showcasing raw emotion.
After a 21-13 victory over Carrizo Springs in Week 1, senior Justyn Rendon donned the No. 21 jersey and led the Coyotes onto the field in front of a packed house for the first time this season. A moment of silence was held prior to the game. It was 21 seconds long in honor of the 21 lives taken too soon during the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary in May. With the Uvalde community still healing, Friday night’s game provided a proper escape, and it was special for a plethora of other reasons. Members of Uvalde’s 1972 team were also in the house ready to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their state championship with a halftime ceremony. The Houston Texans showed their support for the community by sending their mascot Toro with a number of cheerleaders and players to participate in the game day activities. And if the Coyotes won the game, it would mark the 600th win in program history.
At times it was difficult to remember that there was still a high school football game left to be played. After the opening kickoff, the visiting Mavericks wasted no time reminding the Coyotes of that fact. On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Abiel Cardona kept it himself and outraced everybody to the end zone for a shocking 64-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Winn lead. Jolted back to reality, the Coyotes answered back on their second possession and took control of the game. Quarterback Brodie Carnes first found Jonathan Jimenez for an 18-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-all, then Chris Rodriguez took over at QB for a play late in the second quarter and scored on a nine-yard keeper to give the Coyotes their first lead of the ballgame 14-7. But Winn battled back to tie the game once again on another quarterback-keeper from Cardona, and both teams entered the locker room knotted at 14-14.
Midway through the third quarter, the hometown team found some breathing room. A leaping grab by Devon Franklin set up a five-yard score from Rodriguez, and the Coyotes vaulted back in front 21-14. That ignited a seesaw battle. Cardona answered back with his third rushing touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter to draw the Mavericks back even at 21-all. Less than a minute later, the Coyotes reached the end zone again. After Carnes found some running room on a couple of quarterback-keepers, running back Jeyden Gonzales capped the drive off with a 13-yard touchdown run to give Uvalde a 28-21 advantage. Gonzales had been fighting through a calf cramp all night, and after re-entering the game and serving as a decoy, he capped the drive with a burst of speed. Gonzales finished with a team-high 81 yards rushing.
But Winn would not go away. Penalties helped extend the very next drive, and Cardona punched it in for his fourth score of the game with 5:20 left in regulation. Both teams saw their next drives falter, and the drama heightened as Uvalde started what appeared to be their final drive at their own 29-yard line with 1:17 left on the clock.
The first play was a handoff to Gonzales that picked up nine yards. Another handoff to Gonzales netted three more yards and a first down at the 41-yard line. On the next play, Carnes just barely missed wide receiver Jarrett Hernandez on a deep ball along the right sideline. The incomplete pass stopped the clock with 36.1 seconds on the clock. Uvalde stood at a crossroads. The next play would likely decide how they approached the remainder of regulation. Victory hung in the balance.
Senior Jonathan Jimenez was sent in motion behind the line. Carnes took the snap and handed the ball off to Jimenez as he raced towards the far sideline. The Mavericks were ready for it and almost instantly blew the play up. Jimenez spun out of a tackle and stayed on his feet, but he had seven Winn defenders bearing down on him. After the game, Uvalde head coach Wade Miller said that he thought the play was over right then and there. He turned to his assistant coaches and told them to get ready for overtime.
Rather than power forward or try and fight his way out of bounds, Jimenez reversed field and cutback against the flow of Winn’s defense. Junior Adriel Gonzalez threw a key block, and suddenly Jimenez was running to daylight along the Uvalde sideline. Carnes recovered and got in the way of a pair of defenders while Hernandez sprinted alongside Jimenez in a convoy. Jimenez came up just shy of the endzone and was pushed out of bounds near the five-yard line with 17.3 seconds remaining, but the game had changed. It was bedlam in the Honey Bowl. With the game on the line, Jonathan Jimenez had pulled off a miracle, racing 54 yards to give the Coyotes new life.
On the very next play, Carnes found Franklin for an incredible one-handed touchdown grab with 12.3 seconds left, and Uvalde took an improbable 34-28 lead. Franklin held up No. 21 with his fingers as the Coyote faithful roared from the stands. Junior defensive lineman John Elizondo capped the game with a sack on the final play, and Uvalde stormed the field to celebrate one of the most cathartic and magical victories in recent memory.
Kids became legends that night. That game will live forever.
STEELE 35, LAKE TRAVIS 28
Early-season showdowns between San Antonio and Austin-area teams have traditionally been great litmus tests. Steele earned their No. 1 ranking in KSAT 12′s Top 12 with a brilliant last-second victory over Brennan. Now it was time to see how they stacked up against Lake Travis, the team that ousted the Bears in the playoffs last season and has been a thorn in San Antonio teams’ side for years. The Knights were winless against the Cavaliers in four tries.
It appears that the fifth time was the charm.
Steele jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter at Lehnhoff Stadium. After Avion Fareaux punched it in from four-yards out for a 7-0 lead, the Knights defense forced a critical fumble that turned a potential Lake Travis touchdown into a touchback. Shortly after, sophomore quarterback Chad Warner hit Edmarrion Contreras for an 80-yard touchdown strike, and Steele led 14-0 after one quarter of play. Tight end Sam Self started at quarterback for the Cavaliers in place of the injured Bo Edmundson, and he cut the deficit in half with a touchdown pass to Drew Rhodes, but the Knights answered back quickly. On the ensuing drive, Warner rolled to his right and found a backpedaling Contreras for a five-yard score, his second of the game. Then on their next possession, Warner eluded the Lake Travis rush and found Royal Capell wide open along the sideline, and he raced to the end zone for a 59-yard score. Suddenly, the Knights found themselves on the verge of blowing out the Cavaliers up 28-7. Lake Travis running back Nico Hamilton scored late in the half, but Steele was still in control up 28-14 at halftime.
Late in the third quarter, the Knights extended their lead back to 21 points on a one-yard score from running back Jaydon Bailey, who finished the game with 100 yards rushing. That’s when the game shifted dramatically. Lake Travis found the end zone again on a 15-yard touchdown run from Aidan Albright, then after a successful onside kick, Albright scored again to cap a 14-0 run that made it a one-possession game with 10:43 left in the third. Meanwhile, the Knights offense went cold, punting on three consecutive offensive series, as the Cavaliers looked primed to complete the comeback. With the clock winding under a minute left in regulation, senior defensive back Levi Dashnea became a hero, intercepting Self’s pass in the end zone to secure a hard-fought victory. It marked the fourth interception of the game for Steele’s secondary and the defense’s fifth turnover.
For the second straight week, the Knights found a way to win late. Now, they’re 2-0, and have firmly established themselves as the team to beat in the San Antonio area.
HARLANDALE 20, EDISON 14
Thursday night’s action was highlighted by a great defensive battle between new District 14-5A Division II foes Harlandale and Edison at Alamo Stadium.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Indians appeared to take control of the game on a 30-yard bomb from quarterback Jacob Saucedo to wide receiver Joseph Esparza that gave Harlandle first-and-goal at the four-yard line. But two plays later, Edison senior Alex Hernandez blew up a handoff in the backfield and senior defensive lineman Ricardo Perez recovered the loose ball to stifle the game’s best scoring opportunity. Following another stalemate, the Golden Bears pieced together a drive late in the half. Quarterback Roger Lopez slipped out of a tackle near the line of scrimmage and took off along the far sideline for a gain of 18 yards, then on 4th-and-7, Lopez found sophomore Samaad Bunch for a 22-yard touchdown that gave Edison a 7-0 halftime lead.
The second half was a different story. On a delayed hand-off, Zion Molina capped a nine-play drive with a one-yard score as Harlandale tied the game at 7-all. On their next possession, Saucedo hit senior Saxon Langenburg over the middle for a 75-yard catch and run that effectively flipped the field early in the fourth quarter. Saucedo capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run on third down, and the Indians took their first lead of the game, 14-7. Later in the frame, Saucedo found a wide-open Langenburg downfield for a 52-yard touchdown pass to cap a run of 20 unanswered points.
Bunch got Edison right back in the game by returning the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, and the Golden Bears trailed 20-14 with 5:25 left in regulation. They possessed the ball twice in that time span and marched into Indians territory on both possessions, but junior Carlos De La Vega slammed the door shut with two interceptions, as Harlandale survived a late rally to earn their first win of the season.
August 29, 2019.
That date marks the last time MacArthur had won a high school football game entering Week 2 of the 2022 season. The Brahmas blanked Marshall 23-0 that night, as quarterback Austin Lee completed eight passes for 118 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
This past Friday night -- 1,101 days removed from that victory -- MacArthur finally tasted victory once again. Michael Murach rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns while completing three passes for 79 yards and a score, as the Brahmas snapped a 29-game losing streak with a 42-33 win over Holmes. Two of Murach’s touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, giving MacArthur a 28-26 lead with 7:46 to play. Joshua Speed scored a 36-yard touchdown and Rylee Munguia returned a fumble 15 yards for a touchdown, as the Brahmas scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Congratulations to the entire MacArthur community!
In case you missed it, here’s some more local sports highlights and stories from the last week:
We’ll see you on Thursday night for the start of Week 3!
Andrew Cely, KSAT 12 Sports Producer and Reporter
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