November 13, 2007 09:04 - Football feast
By Bill Peterson
BUDA – Sadly enough, the Hays Rebels missed this year's football playoffs, but we're not going to starve for football around here. Two huge Class 5A playoff games are scheduled this weekend at Bob Shelton Stadium.
Friday at 7:30 p.m., one-time Hays city rival Austin (8-2) will take on one-time Hays country rival Smithson Valley (9-1) in the jewel on Jack C. Hays Trail to begin the Division II playoffs in Region IV.
Austin tacked up a pretty good season this year, finishing second in District 25-5A to Bowie, which handed the Maroons their only district loss.
Smithson Valley finished second in District 26-5A with a 9-1 record and might have gone through the year unbeaten if it played San Antonio Madison a couple weeks later. The Rangers lost to Madison, 29-14, on Sept. 28 as Madison running back Devin Thomas rushed for 374 yards. The next week, Thomas broke an ankle, removing him from the rest of the season.
Following that game, you can go home, take a nap, then pop back over the Bob Shelton Stadium Saturday at 1 p.m., when those pampered cake eaters from Westlake (we kid because we care) play San Antonio Reagan to start the Region IV Division I playoffs.
The Chaparrals, 7-3 this year, have met tragedy and triumph in the shadow of Mountain City. In 2003, the Rebels ended Westlake's national record 71-game district winning streak with a thrilling 22-19 victory. Two years later, Westlake ended the Rebels' regular season 31 seconds short of 10-0 perfection, overturning a 30-17 deficit with two touchdowns in a span of 1:30 for a 31-30 win.
Reagan finished 8-2 this year, third in District 26-5A, losing only to Madison and Smithson Valley. Marcus Wright leads the San Antonio area in rushing with 2,294 yards, averaging 9.72 yards per carry.
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November 15, 2007 14:39 - Another game, another record
By Bill Peterson
The weekend of football at Bob Shelton is even richer than we thought. In addition to games Friday and Saturday, another game high school playoff game is set there tonight.
Luling and Llano will play a Class 3A Division II playoff game, starting tonight at 7:30 p.m. Luling finished second in Region 26-3A with a 28-0 loss to LaVernia last Friday in Luling, but goes to the playoffs as the top Division II team from the region. Llano fell, 28-7, at Wimberley last Friday and goes to the playoffs as the second Division II team from District 25-3A. Llano finished the regular season 7-3 overall and 2-1 in its district, while Luling finished 2-1 and 4-6.
Two other games were already known for this weekend at Hays High School. Austin is playing Smithson Valley Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a Class 5A Division II game, and Westlake is playing San Antonio Reagan Saturday at 1 p.m. in a Division I game.
Also, Hays wide receiver-running back-backup quarterback Trey Berry, who is set to quarterback the Rebels next season, set a single-game receiving record at New Braunfels Canyon on Oct. 26 with ten catches. The original count showed nine catches for Berry in that game, but Hays Coach Bob Shelton's review of the film turned up ten.
Berry's performance marked the second time this year that a Hays receiver set the single-game record for catches. Senior Paul Breyfogle made nine catches for 179 yards against Del Valle on Oct. 19. Breyfogle maintains the single-game receiving yardage record with that performance. Berry made catches for 145 yards against Canyon.
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November 17, 2007 21:53 - Rattlers lose to Madison depth
The Hays Highway
If running back Devin Thomas hadn't snapped an ankle in October, San Antonio Madison would be among the favorites to win a state high school football championship this year in Class 5A.
If Thomas' back-up, Josh Miles, hadn't suffered a knee injury last week, Madison would still be a regional favorite. If Miles' back-up, Ryan Ladd, hadn't hurt his knee last week, Madison would still be viewed as a Region IV contender.
Now that the Mavericks are down to Andrew Green at running back, no one knows what to expect. But we do know this: Green rushed for 194 yards Friday night as Madison knocked San Marcos out of the Division II playoffs in Class 5A with a 22-14 victory at San Antonio’ Comalander Stadium.
The Madison coaches converted Green from defensive back at midseason to create some running back depth after the injury to Thomas. The Mavericks needed him.
After carrying the ball only 14 times all season, Green took 14 first-half carries Friday night for 108 yards. He ended the night with 32 carries, including an 11-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left in the first half for a 6-0 Madison lead.
By early in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks held a 19-7 lead and the Rattlers, running out of the Slot-T offense, aren't built to come from behind. But they nearly did.
The Rattlers were down, 22-14, in the final three minutes as they drove towards the tying score. But the Madison defense, which allowed only 94 points all season, popped up with two big plays.
In the first instance, Madison's John Vivian recovered a D.J. Hemphill fumble with 2:30 left. But Hemphill, playing defense, recovered a fumble for San Marcos on the very next play. The Rattlers then advanced to the Madison 49 before losing another fumble in the final minute. Playing defense, Green covered the fumble, securing the win for Madison.
The Rattlers finish their season 5-6 overall after last year's run to the Region IV championship game. District 26-5A champion Madison, 10-1, could be headed to a showdown for the regional championship against another District 26-5A team, Smithson Valley.
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