Published: August 21, 2008 11:24 am            

WHS Texans: Tough Road to a Title

New district, region makes Texans’ trek to state glory a lot tougher

Wimberley — For the past two seasons, the Wimberley Texans had to endure a problem that few football teams in the state have.

Member of a four-team district, it was up to the Texans to find seven non-district opponents before the team entered District 25-3 play. That meant a lot of long road trips and some pretty tough opposition. A short and somewhat easy district schedule also meant the level of competition dropped off weeks before the Texans entered the playoffs.

The team wanted to be in a bigger and more competitive district. They should be careful what they wish for. Thanks to University Interscholastic League’s biannual district realignment, the Texans not only find themselves in one of the toughest Class 3A districts in the state, WHS also moved into Region I from Region IV, meaning the Texans will face programs from west and west-central Texas on the trail to any state title.

The new district includes defending state champion Liberty Hill, as well as Burnet, Fredericksburg and Llano. Only Ingram-Moore and new school Canyon Lake are expected to struggle in the district.

“The district is going to be tough, and if you are going to be at the level where you are a playoff contender it will get you ready to play. I think that is a welcome part about having this tough of a district,” WHS head football coach Weldon Nelms said. “We have some very good teams in this district. The last two years one district win would put you in the playoffs. Now we have the pressure to win each week and hopefully that will make us a better team.”

Not that Wimberley has been a bad team by any stretch of the imagination. The program has won four consecutive district titles and was a Class 3A, Division I champion in 2005. Liberty Hill is predicted to end that streak this season.

“The way we look at it is we are defending district champion the past four years and we want to make it five,” Nelms said. “You have to say that Liberty Hill is going to be pretty good, but I’d like to say that our kids will rise to that occasion and get ready for district play. There’s four or five good teams in our district and I wouldn't discount anyone.”

Nelms said this year's version can be best described as “young and eager,” but WHS does have a share of seasoned veterans at skill positions, along with some speedy underclassmen that are loaded with potential. The Texans have 13 returning lettermen and four returning starters on both sides of the ball.

“This bunch is eager to get going,” Nelms said. “We have a lot of youth with only 13 lettermen returning, but it’s going to be a very exciting and explosive team. If we stay focused, we have a chance to develop into a very good football team.”



Offense

Spearheading the Texans’ multiple offensive attack will be senior quarterback Barron Scudder, a second-year starter who threw for 2,257 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. However, Scudder could share time at the spot with junior Brooks Blakemore, who has been impressive in preseason workouts.

If Blakemore isn’t behind the center, he will definitely be one of Scudder’s top targets, as Blakemore had 33 catches for 533 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore. Senior Austin Morrow is another returning receiver who should see plenty of action this season.

In the backfield, the Texans will be particularly young, no pun intended, as junior J.J. Young will line up next to freshman Dennis Smith. Young is a returner who had 23 carries for 157 yards and two touchdowns in 2007, while Nelms said Smith has the speed and quickness needed to be a successful varsity player.

“J.J. is a big strong kid with good speed and explosion. He can break tackles and he can block and catch the ball. He does a lot of good things,” Nelms said. “Dennis Smith is a freshman who is very explosive and fast, but he’s still a freshman and has some work to do on the mental part of the game.”

Up front, the Texans are hoping for a healthy year, as the offensive line was marred with injuries in 2007.

Junior Dustin Renecke was a starter last season before an injury, but is healthy and back as the starting right tackle.

Senior Bryan Thomas moves to the starting spot at center, where he was the back-up last season, while junior Zach Stewart has moved up from the junior-varsity team to take the starting spot at right guard.

Sophomore Landon Kelly played on the freshman team last year but will start at left guard, while junior Charlie Will Tuttle, sophomore Josh Stewart and senior Jessie Lopez are battling it out for the starting spot at left tackle.

“We had a lot of thing happen that slowed us down on the offensive line last year and it took us a while to get going,” Nelms said. “They key for our offense is making sure that we have that unit going and keep it going. We have the depth to do that now.”



Defense

Senior Cameron Allen is an all-district returner at defensive tackle, while senior Mason Kothman, who started at defensive end last season, will move inside next to Allen at the other defensive tackle spot.

Junior Clifford Hunter, a transfer from Round Rock-McNeil, has won a starting role at defensive end, while junior Mason Marburger and others are battling it out for the other defensive end spot.

Senior Cody Chacon is the team’s returning leading tackler with 72 wraps last season. He’ll assume his same outside linebacker spot, while senior Ricky Gaitan will line up as the other outside backer.

Young started a lot of games last season at inside linebacker and will play both ways a lot this year, while Dayton Biggs, who saw a lot of action last year as an offensive lineman, moves to defense and will start at inside linebacker.

Junior Chase Brown is a returning starter at cornerback, while Morrow will play the opposite corner spot. Seniors Cory Collier and Cameron Barber could also see some playing time at cornerback. Juniors Drew Kutz and Blake Bell are the team’s starting safeties.



Special Teams

One area the Texans struggled with a lot last season was in the kicking game — punting and kicking. Nelms said that should change this season with sophomore Jerry Kutz taking on the punting and kicking chores.

“I think he will give us some good stuff,” Nelms said. “Last year, the first few games, the kicking game gave us a lot of fits. This year we started early working and trying to make sure we are ready for the season and I feel like it is going to be a lot better.”

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.