Join our VYPE Live crew for this Freshmen - Texas High School Football match-up on Thursday, October 29:
4:30PM - Patrick Hardesty
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Join our VYPE Live crew for this Freshmen - Texas High School Football match-up on Thursday, October 29:
4:30PM - Patrick Hardesty
Entering the final week of the regular season, Harlan is currently tied with Sotomayor for the No.2 spot in the district, behind only Brennan - the one district opponent both teams have fallen to this Fall.
As we touched on in their Week 9 preview against Taft, the Hawks (8-1) feature one of the most efficient offenses in the Alamo City, having scored roughly 43 points per contest throughout the season, under the direction of coach Eddie Salas.
In terms of star-power, look no further than junior signal-caller Aldric Trotter, whose dual-threat capability has put the district on notice. As it stands, Trotter is averaging just under 200 passing yards a game with 18 touchdowns to just two interceptions, in addition to his notable contributions (488 yards, 8 TDs) to the ground-game.
The duo of Rice-commit Payton Matthews (Sr. WR) and Caelan Grbic-Schultz (Sr. WR) continues to cause trouble for opposing secondaries, as the two have combined for nearly 1,100 yards and 16 scores through the air.
Matthews also plays a role in the rushing attack, with 306 yards (23 carries) and three more touchdowns to his name.
The go-to guy in the backfield remains senior Adrien McDade, however, who has accumulated well over 500 yards and 6 TDs.
Meanwhile, Brock Potter (Sr. LB), Craig Sanders (Sr. LB/DB), Robert Gonzales (Jr. LB), Alexander Ciccarello (Sr. DL), Dwayne Wingfield (Sr. DB), Kody Brown (Sr. DB), and Addon Palmer (So. DB) cover each phase of the defense.
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On the other side of the ball, Sotomayor is enjoying their best season to date, since becoming a varsity program in 2022.
Most recently, the Juan Morales-led Wildcats throttled Warren 41-0 at the end of October, improving their record to 7-2, which secured their first-ever playoff-berth, and sky-rocketed their standing in our weekly SATX rankings.
Similar to Harlan, they have a 6-1 record in the district, making this game all the more crucial.
Despite the team's relative youth, the offense has had no trouble moving the ball down-field.
Sophomore running back Cameron Grady surpassed the 1,000-yard mark against Warren (Oct. 26th) and is currently averaging 116 per contest, with 11 combined scores in 2024.
Sotomayor's quarterback, Chauncey Moon (So.) has been just as vital to the rushing attack, with 732 yards (81.3 average) and 8 TDs thus far, in addition to a respectable 10-2 TD-INT passing ratio.
The primary targets for Moon have been seniors McKell Johnekins (10 rec, 197 yds, 5 TDs) and Carl Little (14 rec, 131 yds, 3 TDs), which compels defenses to not key in on the run as much.
The greatest asset for the Wildcats, however, is arguably their defense, which has limited opponents to a mere 17 points per game and has forced 16 turnovers throughout this Fall.
Senior LB Shawn Wasley has been an absolute monster. His decisive range across the field has resulted in 101 tackles and two interceptions. This should undoubtedly garner him a first-team, all-district selection after he was named to the second-team a year ago.
Wasley is aided in the defensive effort by Aaron Adejobi (Jr. DB), Manny Gutierrez (Fr. LB), Tristin Woodruff (Sr. DL), Michael Inweh (Sr. DB), Tyce Washington (Jr. DL), and Isaiah Espinoza (Sr. DB).
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It all comes down to this. In the final week of the regular season, Harlan (8-1) and Sotomayor (7-2) battle for silver in District 28-6A, at Gustafson Stadium on Thursday (7:00 pm).
Nothing too dramatic in the top half of our poll this week as the top 9 teams won, most of them in a rout. The real action took place further down the standings where several key matchups shook things up considerably.
Austin High held off Bowie to make the playoffs for the first time since 2000; Bastrop bested Pflugerville and Vista Ridge surged late to defeat Hutto in matchups involving Top 20 teams. Good stuff!
And there’s more to come in this, the final week of the regular season. Vandegrift hosts nemesis Round Rock; Cedar Park faces their arch-rival Georgetown; Anderson hosts Weiss; and Hutto faces “#20A” McNeil in yet another game with huge playoff implications.
Meanwhile in the private schools, Regents travels to The Quarries at Hyde Park to take on the Panthers in a battle for the district title.
Happy November and here are this week’s rankings heading into Week 11.
VYPE Austin Top 20 Combined Class 4A-6A
*Last parentheses indicates most recent game result
1. (1) Westlake Chaparrals (6A) -- 8-1 (77-0 W v. Del Valle)
2. (2) Lake Travis Cavaliers (6A) -- 8-1 (51-0 W v. Akins)
3. (3) Vandegrift Vipers (6A) -- 8-1 (49-0 W v. Westwood)
4. (4) Round Rock Dragons (6A) – 8-1 (W 22-17 v. Stony Point)
5. (5) Liberty Hill (5A-2) – 8-1 (56-0 W v. Crockett)
6. (7) Georgetown Eagles (5A-1) – 8-1 (65-21 W v. Lake Belton)
7. (6) Dripping Springs Tigers (6A) -- 7-2 (BYE)
8. (8) LBJ Austin Jaguars (4A-1) -- 9-0 (46-14 W v. Taylor)
9. (9) Buda Johnson Jaguars (6A) – 6-3 (38-36 W v. Judson)
10. (10) Weiss Wolves (5A-1) – 7-2 (44-38 L v. College Station)
11. (13) Anderson Trojans (5A-1) – 7-2 (57-14 W v. Lockhart)
12. (14) Bastrop Bears (5A-2) – 7-2 (38-28 W v. Pflugerville)
13. (15) Cedar Park (5A-1) – 6-3 (47-31 W v. Leander)
14. (11) Pflugerville Panthers (5A-1) – 6-3 (38-28 L v. Bastrop)
15. (20) Vista Ridge Rangers (6A) – 6-3 (38-31 W v. Hutto)
16. (17) Austin High Maroons (6A) – 5-4 (35-32 W v. Bowie)
17. (12) Bowie Bulldogs (6A) – 6-4 (35-32 L v. Austin High)
18. (18) Wimberley Texans (4A-2) – 7-2 (56-0 W v. Smithville)
19. (19) Lago Vista Vikings (4A-2) – 7-2 (23-7 W v. Navarro)
20. (16) Hutto Hippos (6A) -- 4-5 (38-31 L v. Vista Ridge)
VYPE Austin Top 5 Private Schools
*Last parentheses indicates most recent game result
1. (1) Regents Knights (TAPPS) – 8-1 (BYE)
2. (2) St. Michael’s Warriors (TAPPS) – 8-1 (21-14 W v. St. Thomas Catholic)
3. (4) Hyde Park Panthers (TAPPS) – 6-3 (43-20 W vs. Brentwood Christian)
4. (3) Brentwood Christian Bears (TAPPS) – 5-4 (43-20 L v. Hyde Park)
5. (5) St. Andrew’s Highlanders (SPC) – 3-7 (64-35 W v. Ft. Worth Country Day)
With the Texas high school football regular season wrapping up, it's time for fans and players alike to appreciate all the work that's brought them this far.
The private school scene is no different.
In TAPPS-DI, St. John XXIII has experienced its fair share of ups and downs. However, they were able to end the regular season on a high note, when taking down district opponent Frassati Catholic on their annual Senior Night.
With the playoffs looming, check out some of the highlights from the Lions 21-10 victory over FCHS this past week.
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