High School Football: Texans get trampled by the Steers in Waco

By Tyler Mayforth

Waco — Wimberley knew it needed a perfect game to beat Graham in Friday night’s Class 3A state quarterfinals.

The Texans had to be able to move the ball efficiently on offense and keep Steers quarterback Case McCoy looking over his shoulder when he was in the pocket. Then, Wimberley could rely solely on its grit and physical play to wear down Graham.

It was clear after the first quarter that the Texans had no shot at tipping the Steers.

Wimberley couldn’t move the ball on offense and the Texans were victimized by McCoy in a 48-7 loss.

“We didn’t play well at all tonight, in any phase of the game,” Wimberley head coach Weldon Nelms said. “My hat is off to Graham for putting in a great scheme to stop us.”

The Texans had a simple plan on offense coming into the game — control the clock by pounding sophomore running back Dennis Smith and then let senior quarterback Brooks Blakemore open it up over the top.

After the Steers dropped Smith for a loss on his first two runs, Nelms let Blakemore air it out.

Blakemore’s night didn’t start any better, as Graham picked off his first attempt and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. Wimberley was down 7-0 before many of its fans could warm up their cold seats.

“The interception really set the tone for us on defense,” Steers head coach Brad McCoy said. “I knew it was going to be a good night once I saw the look in our kids’ eyes when they came off the field.”

While Graham made a concerted effort to step up on defense, the Texans didn’t have any answers for the Steers’ spread offense.

Wimberley knew Graham had a potent passing attack led by McCoy. The Texans were so spaced out trying to stop McCoy’s targets that the Steers just ran the ball up the middle.

When Wimberley cheated its defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage, McCoy went over the top.

McCoy passed for 185 yards and three touchdowns, all of which he compiled in the first half. The Steers held a 34-0 lead at halftime and pulled their starters with 4:10 left in the third quarter.

“It wasn’t my best game, but it got the job done,” Case McCoy who is headed to Texas next year to follow in the footsteps of his brother Colt, said. “We were able to run the ball and if anything, tonight showed the other teams that we’re not one dimensional.”

The Texans got away from the run in the second half and chose to let Blakemore air it out in his high school finale.

Blakemore finished the game completing 17 of his 29 attempts for 162 yards and a touchdown. The senior was picked off twice by Graham.

His touchdown pass was a 25-yard strike to his brother Brennen (10 catches for 66 yards) with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter. It saved Wimberley the humiliation of being shut out.

“I couldn’t have scripted a better way for my final pass to happen,” Blakemore said. “I saw my brother get a step on the corner(back) and let it go.”

The loss ended the Texans’ season, while Graham advances to the Class 3A state semifinals against Pleasanton.

“Sure, I’d love to keep playing, but we made a run at it,” Blakemore said. “No one expected us to get this far and we never gave up.”



Wimberley looks to the future

Wimberley head coach Weldon Nelms tried to find the silver lining in his team’s 41-point loss to Graham in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.

“At least we didn’t get skunked,” Nelms said, “that’s one of the only bright sides about this type of game.”

It wasn’t pretty for Wimberley, as the Steers dominated in every aspect of the game.

The Texans couldn’t move the ball on offense until the second half (when Graham removed its starters) and were powerless to slow down Graham’s spread offense (Case McCoy completed passes to eight different receivers).

Wimberley also miscued two punt returns, which led to either a fumble or horrible field position.

“It was uncharacteristic for us to play that poorly,” Nelms said. “We missed blocks, dropped punts and did things we hadn’t done since the first few games.”

The Texans were, though, able to discover two new wrinkles in their offense.

When Wimberley couldn’t wear down the Steers’ defense with Dennis Smith, the Texans used their standout sophomore running back on screen passes that consistently netted double-digit gains. Wimberley also found its No. 1 receiver next year — Brennen Blakemore.

The sophomore caught 10 passes from his brother (quarterback Brooks Blakemore) for 66 yards and a touchdown.

“I’m glad the younger guys got to play in a game like this,” Brooks Blakemore said. “It’s going to be a bright future for this team.”

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