San Antonio Express-News

Brennan, Alamo Heights to meet familiar foes in regional semifinals

- By David Hinojosa STAFF WRITER

Brennan and Alamo Heights face the teams that eliminated them from the regional finals last year.

This year, they’ll meet up one round earlier.

Brennan will play Austin Lake Travis in a Class 6A Division I regional semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday at New Braunfels Canyon. Alamo Heights plays Liberty Hill in a Class 5A Division II regional semifinal at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Bastrop.

The Bears (11-1) want to avenge a 42-17 loss to the Cavaliers that saw Lake Travis quarterbac­k Bo Edmundson pass for 324 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Derrick Johnson rushed for 213 yards and two touchdowns.

Brennan returned most of the starters from last year’s team, including 2021 Express-news Offensive Player of the Year Ashton Dubose at quarterbac­k and Oregonboun­d Tyler Turner, a fourth-year starter at linebacker/safety. Dubose has passed for 3,063 yards and 35 touchdowns this year.

Meanwhile, Johnson graduated while Edmundson has been injured and hasn’t played for most of the year.

Lake Travis (7-4) held off Steele 24-21 last week. Brennan has won 11

in a row since opening the season with a 35-34 loss to the Knights.

Brennan has throttled its two playoff opponents — Laredo Alexander (58-7) and Los Fresnos (42-7). But Lake Travis is 14-0 against San Antonio area schools in the postseason since 2016.

As for Alamo Heights, the Mules fell 43-40 to Liberty Hill last year.

This season, Alamo Heights senior quarterbac­k Conley Mckenna has passed for 1,543 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for a team-leading 805 yards with 12 scores in his first season as a starter.

Liberty Hill’s slot-t has grinded out playoff victories over Highlands (63-17) and Mercedes (63-14). Juniors Noah Long (1,964 yards, 20 TDS) and Ben Carter (1,530 yards, 23 TDS) lead the way on the ground. Liberty Hill has attempted just 18 passes (with six completion­s) this season.

Other area matchups

Note: All games are on Friday

Harlan (10-2) vs. Austin Vandegrift (11-1), 7:30 p.m., Alamodome: Harlan hasn’t given up a touchdown in its playoff victories over Del Rio (42-3) and Weslaco (49-3). But the Hawks take a sizable step up in competitio­n against the Vipers in their Class 6A Division I regional semifinal. Vandegrift upended Judson 37-7 last week.

The Hawks feature a balanced offense (2,574 yards passing, 2,562 rushing). Senior running back Jacob Gonzalez has run for 1,722 yards and 24 touchdowns and has 19 receptions for 394 yards and seven scores. Junior quarterbac­k Noah Farris has passed for 2,487 yards and 24 touchdowns. Athletic senior receiver Izayah Manchester has 46 catches for 716 yards and eight scores.

Vipers senior quarterbac­k Brayden Buchanan has thrown for 2,500 yards and 24 touchdowns. Smithson Valley (10-1) vs. Fulshear (11-1), 1 p.m.,

Seguin: Smithson Valley is in the third round for the first time since 2015, when it lost to Judson in a 6A state quarterfin­al. The Rangers, now competing in Class 5A Division I, have won 10 in a row. They defeated Manvel 38-28 last week.

Fulshear has put up big numbers in its playoff wins over Houston Sterling (66-12) and A&M Consolidat­ed (5038). Junior Davion Godley leads the Chargers with 1,967 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground. They have running back depth, too — Fulshear had four players with at least 100 yards rushing against Sterling.

San Antonio Veterans Memorial (9-3) at Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (9-3), 6 p.m.: Veterans is looking to get into the third round for the first time in the program’s five-year history. The Patriots are coming off a 3523 victory over Mission Sharyland in the Class 5A Division II bracket. Flour Bluff outlasted Lockhart 49-42 behind 305 yards and four touchdowns passing from sophomore Jayden Paluseo.

Boerne (12-0) vs. Port Lavaca Calhoun (5-7), 6 p.m., Jourdanton: Boerne is off to its best start in school history, while Calhoun has won five in a row after starting 0-7.

Calhoun has losses to Pleasanton and Gregorypor­tland, which went a combined 0-3 against Boerne (the Greyhounds beat Pleasanton twice, including 50-21 last week).

The Greyhounds have been to the fourth round just once, in 2004. They’ve never won 13 games in a season.

Somerset (10-2) vs. Corpus Christi Calallen (12-0), 3 p.m., Beeville: Somerset meets South Texas

power Calallen, which is passing more under firstyear head coach Steve Campbell, the team’s former defensive coordinato­r who took over for the retired Phil Danaher, the state’s all-time winningest coach.

The Wildcats have passed for 1,539 yards in 2022 after throwing for 563 last year.

Navarro vs. Lago Vista, 1:30 p.m., Hutto: These District 13-4A-II rivals meet for the second time this season. Navarro won the first meeting 42-21 on Oct. 7.

In fact, all four teams in 13-4A-II are still alive. Wimberley and Jarrell meet in the other regional semifinal.

Blanco (8-4) vs. Edna (11-1), 6 p.m., Farris Stadium: Blanco is making its deepest run since 2014, when it lost to Newton in the Class 3A Division I state semifinals. Blanco has playoff wins over Poteet (41-14) and Corpus Christi London (41-13), while Edna has defeated Lyford (52-0) and Randolph (16-7).

Poth (11-1) vs. Taft (10-2), 6 p.m., Victoria:

Quarterbac­k Zane Raabe (1,375 yards, 29 TDS rushing) and running back Matthew Bunn (1,175 yards, 21 TDS) lead Poth into this Class 3A Division II regional semifinal. The Pirates are looking for their first 12-win season since 2004. Falls City (8-4) vs. Granger (10-2), 7 p.m., Seguin: 2021 Class 2A Division II state finalist Falls City handed Sabinal its first loss last week (29-20). The Beavers have advanced to the fourth round the previous five years.

Holy Cross (10-1) vs. Houston Cypress Christian (8-4), 7 p.m., Giddings: Holy Cross is a game away from playing for the TAPPS Division III state championsh­ip. The Knights are led by Joe-angel Perez, who has rushed for 1,417 yards and 19 touchdowns.

 ?? Billy Calzada/staff photograph­er ?? Quarterbac­k Conley Mckenna will try to help Alamo Heights avenge last year’s playoff loss to Liberty Hill.
Billy Calzada/staff photograph­er Quarterbac­k Conley Mckenna will try to help Alamo Heights avenge last year’s playoff loss to Liberty Hill.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States