WIMBERLEY FOOTBALL
Despite a slow start on offense, the Texans put away the rival Fredericksburg Battlin’ Billies for a 35-9 and improved to 2-0 on the season.
Head Coach Doug Warren was happy with the win and was proud of the team for being able to make quick adjustments at halftime that propelled the team towards their 13th overall win in their series against the Billies.
“I was pleased with the victory,” Warren said. “We had a slow start and had a couple of things that kept us from breaking the game open early. What I liked about this group is that we got in at halftime, sat down with them and made a couple of adjustments due to [Fredericksburg] playing some things different than we saw on video. [We adjusted] and it showed in the second half. We came back out, got the second half kickoff, drove down the field and punched it in to set the tone for the second half.”
It was a defensive slugfest before the Texans were able to put points on the board. Wimberley made it inside the redzone before quarterback Cody Stoever scored on the rushing play and took a 7-0 lead following a extra point kick by Daniel Jimenez.
Fredericksburg answered back with a 73yard touchdown pass but missed the extra point as the Texans still led 7-6.
With less than a minute to go in the second quarter, the Texans drove to the Billies’ ten-yard line before Stoever hit wide receiver Bryce Anderson on the slant pass for the score and extended the lead 14-6.
During halftime, the Texans looked to make some slight but key adjustments to their offense with Fredericksburg’s defense holding the Wimberley offense to just 14 points in the first half.
“They were playing some things differently with their defensive ends and alignments that we had not seen before,” Warren said. “Not that we hadn’t seen anybody do it before, it was just not what they had shown on video. Once you get it straightened out with your kiddos, then you are able to make that quick adjustment and you saw that in the second half where we ran the ball pretty effectively.”
Though the offense had their first half struggles, the vaunted Code Red Defense kept the Billies in check, allowing just 18 total rushing yards and just 142 passing yards for the entire game.
“Anytime you roll the Code Red Defense out there, you are going to feel pretty good,” Warren said. “They have been playing at an extremely high level right now, and they caused the opposing offense lots of trouble. When you have that in your back pocket, you are pretty excited about it. … We know if we can put some points on the scoreboard, we should be successful.”
On the first drive of the second half, the Texans’ offensive adjustments paid off as Wimberley drove down to the Billies’ 15-yard line before Stoever scored his second rushing touchdown of the game and extended the lead to 21-6.
In the fourth quarter, the Texans delivered a crushing blow to Fredericksburg’s comeback hopes following a field goal that cut the lead to 21-9.
Inside the Billies’ territory, Stoever dropped back and found wide receiver Jace Morales who then beat his defender to score a 45-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 28-9.
Stoever added his third passing touchdown of the night later in the quarter by finding tight end Ty Thames on the screen pass to make the final score 35-9.
It was a highlight night for the Texans passing game who finished the night with 223 passing yards. Anderson led the team in receiving with five catches for 81-yards and one touchdown followed by Morales with three catches for 64-yards and one touchdown. Waida has four catches for 49 yards.
“They have been outstanding,” Warren said. “We have been able to spread the ball around to multiple guys but all of them have their strong suits. We just try to get the ball in their hands as much as possible and let them make plays.”
The Texans rushed for 184 yards total on 34 carries with Stoever leading the charge on 84 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. Running back Maverick Jacobs rushed for 46 yards on nine carries while running back Josh Belanger rushed for 41 yards on five carries.
Wimberley will be on the road for the first time this season as the Texans will take on Austin LBJ Jaguars. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Friday night and will be played at Nelson Field.
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