GAMES
RANKINGS
VYPE SATX Football Game of the Week: Harlan vs. Sotomayor (Week 11)
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).
VYPE SATX Football Game of the Week: Harlan vs. Taft (Week 9)
Picking up right where they left off a year ago, the Hawks have enjoyed yet another remarkable campaign throughout this Fall.
While Harlan did drop their lone loss of the season in the district opener against Brennan, they continued to beat up on their remaining opponents, most recently ousting Stevens 49-14 last Friday to bring their record to 6-1.
Coach Eddie Salas' offense, which is averaging nearly 40 points a game, has made it nearly impossible for opposing teams to keep up entering the ninth week of the season.
Dual-threat junior QB Aldric Trotter is playing some clean football, having thrown for roughly 1,200 yards with 10 TDs to just one interception, while rushing for 361 more and has scored four times on the ground.
Joining him in the backfield is senior Adrien McDade, who's put some impressive numbers (464 yards, 6 TDs) of his own.
Regarding the wide receiver room, 2023 first-teamer and Rice-commit Payton Matthews (18 receptions, 376 yards, 5 TDs) and Caelan Grbic-Schultz (20 rec, 364 yds, 4 TDs) are Carter's top targets. Furthermore, Matthews also contributes in the run game, while Grbic-Schultz plays a key role on special teams.
On defense, the heavy-hitters for the Hawks are Brock Potter (Sr. LB), Craig Sanders (Sr. LB/DB), Dwayne Wingfield (Sr. DB), Robert Gonzales (Jr. LB), and Alexander Ciccarello (Sr. DL).
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Meanwhile, the Raiders (5-2) are coming off a tough loss against Sotomayor and will look to get back in the win column this week.
Under the direction of coach Ricky Stade, this team has shown flashes of greatness and have to proven their ability to win the close games.
Taft's offense (34 ppg) is led by Tucker Vogel (Jr. QB), who is even deadlier with his legs (652 rushing yards, 11 TDs) than he is with his arm (1018 passing yards, 9 TDs).
Vogel has spread the wealth through the air, with Isiah Delgado (Jr. RB), Raymond Foster-Davis (Sr. WR), Kenyen Skelton (Sr. WR), and David Aguirre (Jr. WR) each sharing touches.
The rushing attack is unquestionably this squad's strong-suit, as senior RB Prometheus Elmore (656 all-purpose yards, 7 TDs) adds another dynamic behind a tough Raiders O-Line.
Defensively, there are still some kinks that need to be ironed out (about 25 points allowed per game), but the veterans of the unit are likely to keep Taft in the game.
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There are several playoff-implications surrounding this district matchup, so this is one fans won't want to miss when the two face off Thursday night (7:00 pm) at Greyhound Stadium.