Texans hand Panthers first shutout since ’07

WIMBERLEY — Wimberley scored on four straight drives to rout Navarro 27-0 in a pivotal District 14-4A-II contest Friday at Texan Stadium.

It was the first time Navarro (5-2, 1-1) has been shut out since 2007.

The first half ’s final three minutes changed the game’s trajectory. The Texans built on their 3-0 lead with Juan Olmedo’s 11yard touchdown and a Jack Bruner’s 40-yard field goal to lead 13-0 at halftime.

“We gave them a little bit of momentum,” Navarro coach Rod Blount said. “Our defense played good, but we couldn’t get anything rolling on offense.”

Two critical errors led to the late first-half run.

Wimberley’s Nathan Simpson secured an interception at Navarro’s 39 with 3:42 left in the second quarter. That set up Olmedo’s 11-yard scoring run that made it 10-0 at the 2:17 mark.

The Texans forced a threeand-out, and Olmedo returned a punt 52 yards to the Panthers’ 15. Wimberley converted that opportunity into Bruner’s 40-yard field goal and a 13-0 lead with 16 seconds left. Bruner made a 49yarder in the first quarter.

“It was huge,” Wimberley coach Doug Warren said of his team’s final 10 points of the first half. “First off, if you can get up on those guys, sometimes they’ll get out of what they like to do. We knew we were getting the football out after half, so putting those points were just huge for us. That really put them behind the 8-ball.”

The Texans furthered the Panthers’ misery on the second play of the second half when Simpson spun loose from a defender and raced for a 68-yard scoring catch to take a 20-0 lead.

The Texans forced a punt on

the ensuring series and turned it into a five-play, 66-yard drive capped by Dylan Kinkaid’s 14yard touchdown reception midway through the third quarter to make it 27-0.

Navarro’s slot-T isn’t built for making huge rallies. The Panthers stuck with the offense

while trying to slip in passes. However, Navarro completed just one of eight passes and had two interceptions.

The Texans outgained the Panthers 344-189 in total yardage.

Wimberley (6-2, 3-0) earned at least a share of the league title. The Texans can clinch it outright

in two weeks when it hosts Austin Achieve, a 70-0 loser to Manor New Tech on Friday. The Texans last won a district championship in 2017.

If trends hold up, the Panthers and Texans could meet again in the playoffs. Friday’s contest was the fifth time they’ve met over the last three seasons.

Navarro won their previous two regular-season meetings before the Texans prevailed when they met in the state quarterfinals each year.

Wimberley lost to Texarkana Pleasant Grove in the 2019 state final and fell short to Carthage in the 2020 state semifinals.

“Our goal every year is to win a district championship,” Warren said. “(Navarro) has beaten us (in the regular season), and even though we’ve come back and beat them in the playoffs, you still want to be the district champs.”

Blount delivered an encouraging message to his team after the game, essentially telling them one loss won’t define their fate this season.

“We want to win district championships, but that’s not our ultimate goal,” Blount said. “Our ultimate goal is to make deep playoff runs and be a competitor for the state championship. We’re going to go back to work tomorrow morning.”

William Luther / Staff photographer Wimberley’s Juan Olmedo tries to get past Navarro’s Ryatt Kluckman during the first half. Olmedo scored on an 11-yard touchdown run and had a 52-yard punt return to set up a field goal.