Bi-District Preview: Vista Ridge vs. Travis

By Sam Bohmfalk

Vista Ridge fans will be out en force for the game against Travis. Photo by 50%Chanceofrain.

Friday, 7:30 p.m., Nelson Field

The Vista Ridge Rangers matched their win total from their first four seasons combined as they improved on last year’s 1-9 campaign by going 8-2 this season. The Rangers played most of their games close this year, with seven of their 10 games being played within 10 points. In those affairs, the Rangers went 6-1.

The Rangers will have to deal with a diverse Travis attack that suffered its worst offensive output at the hands of Crockett last week. In the game, quarterbacks Jonathon Sterling and Adam Solis were held to a combined 45 yards, while running back CJ Herrera missed his second straight game.

The Vista Ridge Rangers have been a new team ever since Blake Estes took the helm. The dual threat quarterback was the Rangers’ leading rusher over the last six games, and pitched in 289 yard and 211 yard passing performances against Vandergrift and Cedar Park. The Rebels haven’t played against many dual threat quarterbacks this season, but they looked vulnerable against LBJ’s Darius Collins (137 passing, 85 rushing).

The key for Travis will be holding onto the ball. In losses against Lampassas and LBJ, the Rebels turned the ball over a combined seven times.

The only common opponent the two teams played was McCallum. The Rangers drubbed the Knights 31-6, while the Rebels handed the Knights their only district loss, 36-33.

Prediction: Vista Ridge 28, Travis 20

Crockett Shocks Travis; McCallum District Champ

McCallum coaches will be busy drawing up schemes against the Knights' first round opponent, Lake Travis. Photo courtesy of aaronisnotcool.

Quarterback Paul Wagner connected with tight end Dylon Fleming from eight yards out with just 1:35 to go as the Crockett Cougars upset the Travis Rebels, 10-7.  The catch was Fleming’s first career touchdown and surprising on a night where the Cougars struggled to move the ball through the air.

The Crockett victory means the Cougars will represent District 26-4A as the Division II #1 seed, while Travis falls to the second seed.

The game-winning touchdown came after Travis had taken the lead earlier in the fourth quarter on a John Hernandez two-yard plunge.   The touchdown drive constituted most of Travis’ offense on the chilly Thursday night.

Travis quarterbacks Jonathan Sterling and Adam Solis struggled for much of the game, managing to go just 8-17 for 45 yards.  Wagner wasn’t much better for the Cougars, but came through when it mattered most.  Coach John Waugh said the reason Crockett threw was because they thought Travis would be expecting Wager to run.  And for most of the game, he had, amassing 86 yards on 26 rushes.

The win means the Cougars kick off their playoff campaign against District 25-4A fourth seed Marble Falls (5-5) on Thursday at Mustang Stadium in Marble Falls.  The Rebels’ first game will be Friday against Cedar Park Vista Ridge (8-2), at a site to be determined.

McCallum 55, Lanier 30

With a game against three-time defending state champion Lake Travis looming, the McCallum Knights limited the carries of star running back Michael Sorrells.  The running game still proved to be the Knights’ bread and butter, as they picked up 386 yards on the ground en route to a 55-30 victory over Lanier.  This win, combined with Travis’ loss to Crockett, means McCallum is the district champ–despite an equal record with LBJ–by virtue of their victory over the Jaguars in week 8.

LBJ 51, Reagan 14

It took just 34 seconds for LBJ to separate itself as the better team from its bitter rival, Reagan.  With Iowa State-commit Jaquarias Daniels sitting the game out, the Raiders never had a chance of keeping this one close.  LBJ had four different players rush for touchdowns and two others throw for scores as they took a 48-6 halftime lead.

LBJ will be opposed by Cedar Park (9-1) in bi-district action at a site and time to be determined.

District 26-4A Week 8 Preview

By Sam Bohmfalk

Crockett (1-6, 1-2) vs. Reagan (1-6, 1-2)

The Reagan Raiders enter this game riding high off a 51-20 victory over Eastside.  The win against the Rams snapped the Raiders’ 19-game losing streak.  The Raiders were led by all-everything Jaquarias Daniels, who threw touchdown passes of 15 and 23 yards, rushed 55 yards for a score, returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown, and returned a fumble on a two-point conversion 100 yards for two points.  The Crockett Cougars enter having fallen last week 43-16 to district leaders LBJ.  Quarterback Paul Wagner led the Cougars offense with an efficient line of 17-28 for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Crockett’s defense struggled to stop LBJ, allowing over 500 yards while forcing the Jaguars to punt just once.  Both teams need this win if they want a shot at grabbing the last playoff spot in 26-4A.

Prediction: Crockett 38, Reagan 12

LBJ (4-4, 4-0) vs. McCallum (3-4, 2-1)

The McCallum Knights are the last real challenge for an LBJ Jaguars team that is looking to run the table in district play.  The Jaguars had no trouble last week in their 43-16 victory over Crockett.   McCallum’s defense will have to find a way to stop LBJ quarterback Darius Collins, who has lit up district opponents, completing 74% of his passes in four games, for 574 yards and 7 touchdowns.  A win by McCallum would put the Knights in position to repeat as district champions.  The Knights are led by the district’s leading rusher, Michael Sorrells, who has amassed 1086 yards and 13 touchdowns on just 130 carries.

Prediction: LBJ 42, McCallum 27

Lanier (2-5, 1-2) vs. Eastside (1-7, 0-4)

The Lanier Vikings and Eastside Rams each enter this game as teams that would put a dictionary definition of the word defense to shame.  Lanier fell to the Travis Rebels last week, 51-14, due in large part to the fact that the Rebels amassed 438 rushing yards.  On the other side, the Eastside Rams fell victim to Reagan last week, giving up 51 points—the least they’ve allowed in a district game to date.   The Rams pass defense, which has been suspect all year, will have to find a way to stop Vikings quarter back K’Len Britton if they want to win.  Britton, who has thrown for 1,091 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year, was held in check against Travis completing just 10 of 21 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.

Prediction: Lanier 56, Eastside 13

Preview: Travis vs. Reagan

Quarterback Jonathan Sterling and the Travis Rebels (4-2) enter this rivalry game against the Reagan Raiders (0-5) looking to reach the 5-win plateau for the second consecutive season.  Sterling torched the Raiders last year, running for 169 yards and four touchdowns on just six carries and adding another two through the air in the Rebels’ 50-0 victory over Reagan.  The Rebels’ quarterback was solid in last week’s 49-21 loss to Johnson, going 18-32 for 290 yards and two touchdowns.  The key for Travis will be holding on to the ball.  In their four wins, Travis has turned the ball over just six times while they’ve lost it seven times in their two losses.

If Reagan is to break their 18-game losing streak, quarterback and all-everything Jaquarias Daniels will have to come up big.  Daniels, 0-3 as a starter against Travis in his career, accounted for 426 yards of total offense in Reagan’s 56-35 loss last week to Lanier.  Daniels has scored seven of the team’s eight touchdowns this season.  A lack of depth on the offensive line and inconsistent play from the Raiders’ receivers have plagued the Reagan offense this season while the defense has not shown an ability to stop anybody.

Prediction: The Rebels’ running game will overpower the Raiders defense and put the game away pretty fast.  2A school Lago Vista put 49 on Reagan before halftime, and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Travis do the same.  Travis romps, 56-6.

Who: Travis Rebels vs. Reagan Raiders

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: House Park