Postseason countdown
UIL football playoffs kick off on Thursday with 31 Austin-area qualifiers hunting titles.
The University Interscholastic League football playoffs are set to kick off Thursday. Since this is my ninth postseason with the American-Statesman, here are nine numbers you need to know about the 2015 playoffs:
0: Westlake quarterback Sam Ehlinger hasn’t been intercepted once over his 236 pass attempts this fall. On Friday, he’ll face a Round Rock secondary that has picked off 13 passes.
3: A trio of local schools — La Grange, Thrall and Vandegrift — have their football and volleyball teams still alive in the postseason. The UIL volleyball playoffs have reached the regional-tournament stage.
6: Of the Austin area’s 31 postseason qualifiers in football, a half-dozen missed the playoffs last year.
7: Hutto quarterback Tyler Herrick accounted for seven touchdowns (three passing, four rushing) in a 56-52 bi-district win over College Station last season. The rematch between Herrick’s Hippos and the Cougars is set for Friday, and College Station is allowing only 12.9 points per game.
9: Of the 10 teams on Giddings’ regular-season schedule, all but one reached the postseason. The undefeated — yet unranked — Buffaloes won their nine games against playoff qualifiers by an average of 20.2 points.
11: Lake Travis has split its 66 offensive touchdowns among 11 players, and Cade Brewer, Cade Green, Santiago Villegas and the injured Abe Willows all have double-digit TD totals.
40.2: Vandegrift senior Culver Sumner has averaged 40.2 yards per punt. He also has five touchdown catches and a score off of an interception.
52.4: Since it dropped a classification during the UIL’s 2010 realignment, Cedar Park is 5-0 in the bi-district playoffs with an average margin of victory of 52.4 points. Bastrop will be the Timberwolves’ firstround opponent this year.
444: LBJ has shut out its past three opponents, but the Jaguars will face a Vista Ridge offense that scored 48 of its 444 points this season in a Sept. 4 victory over the District 26-5A champion. Vista Ridge was last shut out in 2010.
Under the radar: Each week, we’ll introduce you to a player who is making big plays despite not having a big name. This week, we’re taking a look at Hendrickson sophomore running back D.J. Jackson.
One of five sophomores who start for the Hawks, Jackson is averaging 8.7 yards per carry. Nine of his 15 touchdown runs were picked up in threescore games against San Antonio Brandeis, McNeil and Pflugerville.
Hendrickson (8-2) will play Austin High (7-3) in the first round of the Class 6A, Division II playoffs. If Jackson gets 59 yards against a defense allowing 201.8 rushing yards per game, Hendrickson’s head coach, Chip Killian, can claim a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his eight seasons with the Hawks.
Where are they now? Every week, we will spotlight the collegiate accomplishments of a few of our area alums. If you know of someone who should be featured in this segment, drop me an email at danieldavis@statesman.com.
Sam Houston State freshman safety Adrian Contreras (East View, 2015) has recorded 28 tackles and an interception during his 2015 debut. Teammate Tre Honshtein (East View, 2015) has made two of his three field-goal attempts.
Rhodes College junior receiver Brandon Box (Westlake, 2013) has 21 receptions and three touchdown catches. One of Box’s touchdowns came off a pass thrown to him by his brother Blake (Westlake, 2012).