Upcoming Game of the Week: Wimberley v. Dripping Springs
The obvious choice is Westlake at Lake Travis – does the streak continue? But I usually don’t go with the obvious choice so I am going with Wimberley at Dripping Springs. Traditional rivals by proximity should alone make this a great match up. Dripping Springs has gotten better while Wimberley has fallen off just a tad. Should be a real shoot-out.
Upcoming Team of the Week: Hendrickson
Hendrickson really beat up on New Braunfels Canyon last week and now they take on a tough Burnet team. Coach Killian has a young but super talented team on his hands and super Junior RB Kenny Williams looks like Hershel Walker from back in the day. Watch for him to hang a huge yardage tally this Friday.
Best skill player I have seen this year (that has no college offers yet):
Cameron Brown RB Austin LBJ. The kid has the tools and skills to be a top D1 Recruit. Runs like a wrecking ball with jets. Hutto Coach Penland couldn’t sing enough praises for the Senior RB after facing LBJ last Friday.
Game Film Observations:
1. Lake Travis v. Westwood
Lake Travis is now the official QB factory of Texas. Reesing, Gilbert and now Michael Brewer (#16 QB – JR). Their passing game is so advanced and lethal it’s almost not fair. Brewer is as good as advertised. Brewer has pin-point accuracy and is a great scrambler in the pocket. Trevor Gillette (#44 DE – SR) impressed with his speed off the ball and smart reads against Westwood’s option plays. Ian Kelso (#59 G – SR) did a great job pulling down the line and opening running lanes for super slot back Andy Erickson (#13 RB – SR) who had a HUGE night for Lake Travis highlighted by an 80 yard sprint down the Westwood sideline for a TD to start the 3rd Quarter. I was also impressed with the play of Ethan Willinger (#8 DB – SR) who had several brilliant open field tackles on Westwood’s All-Everything RB Princeton Collins (#25 RB – SR). Collins still had a stellar night but not enough to overcome the LT Offensive juggernaut. Also impressive for Westwood was sophomore Ben Johnson (#5 QB/WR – SO) who made plays with his legs at QB and with his hands at WR. Johnson will be a District star as he progresses. Another bright spot for Westwood was kicker Jordan Williamson (#9 K – SR). The Stanford bound kicker excelled on kickoffs usually booting them well into the End Zone.
2. Leander v. Pflugerville
Pflugerville once again has the services of a top CenTex RB. This year Storm Woods (#34 RB – JR) takes center stage after an impressive sophomore season. Woods cut back, slashed, and slammed his way to a game high 116 yards. Opening most of those holes against Leander was OU bound Tyrus Thompson (#64 RT – SR) who is a wall when pass blocking and a bulldozer on running plays. Pitching in with some big catches was huge TE Jordan Moon (#80 TE – JR). Moon did his best Jason Whitten impersonation all night, as Leander just had no one who could physically match up with him. Finally, all Pflugerville opponents will need to figure out how to block massive DT Ty Turner (#73 DT – SR). Trust me, you do not want Mr. Turner throwing you down or even just falling on you. For Leander, their best player is WR/RB Jon Henderson (#1 – WR/RB – JR). Henderson is tough and fearless and as talented as any player in Central Texas and his big plays kept Leander in the game until the end. John Sheehy (#91 DE – SR) also had an impressive night when you consider he had to battle Tyrus Thompson all night. Sheehy had several tackles for loss and a timely QB sack by not giving up and battling Thompson to the whistle. Finally, Taylor Ratcliff (#12 RB – SR) also had a big night. Ratcliff moved to RB from QB this season and the move makes sense after seeing Ratcliff slice and sliver his way by Pflugerville defenders all night.
3. Westlake v. Cedar Park
This was a very odd game to watch and even odder after looking through the stats. The scrappy Westlake D led by SMU bound DB Louie Swope (#21 DB – SR) found a way to shut out the more physical Offense of Cedar Park in the second half and steal a win despite losing the stat war by a large margin. Big plays can change a game and Swope did that with his special teams play alone by blocking 2 FGs and setting up Westlake with great field position on two stellar punt returns. Linebacker Bryce Hager (#44 LB – SR) was solid as he went sideline to sideline and pretty much sealed the game late in the 4th Quarter with a big QB sack. The biggest play of the night came courtesy of Phillip Reed (#53 OL – SR) and Jimmy Coleman (#65 OL – SR) who created a huge ally for an 80 yard TD scamper from Lewis Guilbeau (#9 QB/RB – SO). The long run was probably the turning point of the game for Westlake. On the Cedar Park side, Dom Espinosa (#55 C – SR), the #1 Center in the country, lived up to his press as he totally dominated the center of the line. Cedar Park battering ram Brad Willard (#26 FB – SR) had a huge night rushing for almost 80 yards before having to leave the game in the 3rd Quarter from severe leg cramps. Trying to steal some of the limelight from his big brother was Zach Espinosa (#21 S – SO) who earned a starting position on a defense that is talent loaded with several big tackles at the line of scrimmage and spectacular pass break up of a long throw at midfield. The trio of LB’s Joey Nichol (#47 LB – SR), Holmes Onwukaife (#90 LB – SR) and Chet Moss (#13 LB – JR) all have college offers and were very solid in limiting Westlake to only 70 yards when you take away Guilbeau’s long run. The new name to watch on the CP defense is Colin Middleton (#57 DE – JR) who had an outstanding evening getting off the ball and pressuring the Westlake QB all night.
4. Austin LBJ v. Hutto
The first thing that I noticed about this game is just how physical the game was played. Both teams got after it but Hutto was just a bit more precise in it’s execution. As I mentioned earlier, Cameron Brown (#29 RB – SR) is a man of a RB playing with boys. If you get a chance to catch an LBJ game this season, do it just to watch Brown run. The kid is the real deal. Also impressive for LBJ was Elijah Cash (#8 WR – SR). The tall athletic WR had an amazing catch and used his great body control to keep his balance and then sprint to the end zone for a big TD. Keep an eye out for Mike Hargis (#33 LB – SO) who is a tackling machine. Finally for LBJ, Aldon Hyder (#1 DB – SR) impressed with his great open field tackling. On the Hutto side, the team revolves around pure stud Nehemiah Hicks (#81 DE/TE – SR) who logs big minutes and big plays on both sides of the ball. Hicks is as good a blocker as you will see at the High School level and then he lines up at DE and can not be blocked by any single player. Hicks also plays with passion. The Texas A&M recruit is something to see in action. Nick Crawford (#51 LB – JR) was all over the field showing great range and making brilliant open field tackles. Late in the game Joel Rothrock (#25 RB – SR) took over and led the Hutto charge for a late TD that put Hutto in control of the game and held on for the close win.
5. Pflugerville Hendrickson v. New Braunfels Canyon
Both teams had an early case of first game jitters as both turned the ball over multiple times. Finally, the Hendrickson Offense came to life behind the running of Kenny Williams (#34 RB – JR) and with the help of Brandon Bedford (#21 RB – SR) who turned several screen passes into big yard gainers. Williams torched the Canyon D for over 200 yards and refused to go down after initial contact all night. Terrence Simmons (#61 DT – SR) was dominant on the D Line for Hendrickson, as he would power off the ball and into the Canyon backfield. The newest star for Hendrickson might very well be Victor Irokansi (#88 DE – SO) who showed incredible speed off the line and hounded the scrambling Canyon QB Lane Fife (#10 QB – SR) all night. As usual, Juan Asencio (#48 LB – SR) played stellar with several tackles in traffic and QB pressure off the edges on blitzes. Asencio is a hidden gem in that he is not on the recruiting radar but has had as solid a career as any LB in Central Texas. Asencio is just in the right place at the right time because he has tremendous instincts. For Canyon, Orlando Oliva (#85 DE –SR) had a solid night as a speed rusher but without being out of control and running himself out of plays. Oliva had great presence as to know when to stay home for the cutback run or delayed draw play. Tyler Rundell (#75 G – JR) is a huge O-Lineman that impressed with his ability to pull and clear running lanes for the Canyon offense. Kyle Jenkins (#25 WR – SE) provided the spark on offense by turning short screen passes into big yard gainers. Probably the most impressive player for Canyon is someone not listed on my roster. The big Fullback sporting #86 was a bruising runner. Did someone get the name of that truck? If so, let me know who he is.
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Each week I visit several coaches around Central Texas and collect game video as a Football Recruiting Producer (H. Horne Sports Video). I also get a chance to talk to football dads and moms, area sports writers, high school athletes and other folks in the know. My weekly report to TPI is the perfect forum to share these observations and inside info with other Texas HS Football lovers.