“No plan survives beyond first contact with the enemy.” This quote, frequently attributed to General Colin Powell, has roots in words from seventeenth-century Prussian Army field marshal Helmuth von Moltke: “No plan of operations reaches with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy’s main force.” Former boxer and heavyweight champion “Iron Mike” Tyson summarized it more succinctly: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Navarro High School’s Panthers came to town last Friday with a plan to sneak away with a win. The Wimberley High School Texans came out punching.
Senior Nate Brooks proved ready to step up and relieve Luke Watts at the point as Watts fell unavailable due to illness.
Head Coach Mike Whitten likens Brooks to a high-energy chainsaw sent in to create chaos and mayhem.
“The guy is a ball of energy and he really set the tone tonight. He was flying all over the place defensively,” said Whitten. “I’m glad he got an opportunity. He was really causing a lot of problems for them. He works really hard, gets after them on defense and did some really good stuff to help us.”
Though he missed his teammate, Brooks said he enjoyed his role with the team.
“I’ve played with this bunch my whole life,” he explained. “We hang out together, which translates to on-court chemistry. My job is to fly off the ball and stay aggressive, give my all out hustle. I think if we play like we are and have each other’s backs, we should make a deep playoff run.”
Brooks and the Texans took the game straight to the Panthers, leading 26-9 at the end of the first quarter with Miles Schleder posting 10 points and Thomas Watson adding eight. The Texans stretched their lead in the second quarter behind the interior play of Colin Fisher- Swan, who scored six in the quarter. The Texans led 46-17 at the half.
Up by 29, Whitten knew he could make substitutions, allowing starters to remain fresh in case Navarro made a late run.
“The bench guys came in and filled a lot of roles,” he said. “They were just all over the place. It helps from a philosophy standpoint when your bench guys come in and you don’t skip a beat defensively. There’s pressure on them (Navarro) when there’s a new guy flying at them with fresh legs determined to force a turnover. I thought everyone contributed in some way, and it’s always good when they do that.”
One player subbing in made an instant impact. Junior guard Brooks Ewell is working back onto the roster returning from injury. Whitten watched Ewell work through the process of trying to trust his body to react without fail when making cuts or quick movements on the floor.
“I think he’s really been lacking confidence. It just looks like he doesn’t believe in himself or his body to respond and I think it was huge for him to get back to ‘Hey, I can do this without getting hurt again,’” shared Whitten. “He’s a good shooter and needs to shoot the ball with confidence, and I think he did tonight.” Whitten added. “It was a great game for him to come and kind of break down that mental wall that he’s fought with a little bit and get out there and do some good things.”
For his part, Ewell felt good about stepping in and listening to his teammates.
“Miles told me ‘I’m getting the ball to you, let it fly. I know you can do it,’” he said. “I think Miles is a great shooter, and I want to shoot like that. I was able to get out of my own head and felt really good. It was a good team win because everyone got going tonight.”
Ewell hit three, threepoint shots back to back. Ewell finished with 11, just behind Fisher-Swan (13), Schleder (15) and leading scorer Thomas Watson (17) — all of which played sparingly in the fourth quarter. Dane Hennessee scored 10 while pulling down a team-leading eight rebounds. Brooks and Wynston Burttshell both collected four steals with Schleder adding three. The Texans won each of the four quarters on their way to an 80-45 drubbing of the Panthers.
Brooks was clear concerning his feelings about the game.
“I love beating these guys (Navarro),” he said. “It’s a statement game every time we play them.”
“We’re starting to get back to how we want to play transition, pushing the ball and causing problems on defense. They’re buying into that more and it really showed,” Whitten said. “It’s a great confidence builder for everybody.”
“Cody Stover came in and did a great job getting to the basket,” he emphasized. “He’s still knocking the rust off. He came out of football with a wrist injury, so he’s only been practicing for a week or so. He’ll be another asset for the playoffs.”
The team plays away this week, going to Canyon Lake High School on Tuesday, Feb. 7 before traveling up to Fredericksburg High School on Friday, Feb. 10 to battle the Billies. The Texans return home for their season finale and Senior Night/Parents’ Recognition Night on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m.
The Lady Texans basketball team took the trip to Navarro on Friday, Feb. 3, needing a win versus the Panthers to earn sole possession of fourth place in district and solidify their playoff bid.
“We played fast, tough, and aggressive, but we struggled from the free throw line, “said Hall. “We came out strong and won the first quarter but lost that momentum under the strong shooting of the Navarro guards.”
The Lady Texans took the first quarter by a single point, leading 13-12 by the end of the period. Early on, the Wimberley defense played tight, causing turnovers and capitalizing on the extra possessions. They led the statistical matchup of points off of turnovers and second chance points led by Campbell Woodward (6) and Laney Hennessee’s (4) combined 10 offensive rebounds. Lily Dela Rosa had four steals and deflected two passes defensively, scoring a team-leading 15 points for the Lady Texans’ offense — a direct result of those turnovers.
The second, third and fourth quarters were where the Navarro offense picked up the pace. The Panthers went on three different runs accumulating points in the second period and led at halftime 30-22.
“They got hot and shot 60% from the field and hit 80% of their free throws,” said Hall. “We played good team defense but suffered from some questionable foul calls. We out rebounded them at better than three to one offensively, but we also gave up the ball with turnovers.”
The Lady Texans were outscored by seven points in the third quarter and by five in the fourth to end the game down by 20: 69-49.
“Their top two seniors put up 14 apiece while their coach’s daughter poured in 28 individually. She made over 60 percent of her shots and 12 of 15 free throws, which is a lot of times to get to the free throw line,” Hall said.
Woodward had 12 points, Kylie Garner added eight and Dela Rosa and Baylee Gold both notched three assists. Hennessee had a block, two steals and three deflections as well as a defensive rebound.
The Lady Texans played their final game of the regular season Tuesday, Feb. 7 against Canyon Lake High School. Given the outcome, the Lady Texans are looking at the scenario of a playin game for the playoffs versus Davenport High School Friday, Feb. 10 at a neutral location.
