In a battle for position atop district standings, the Wimberley Texans hosted Geronimo Navarro’s Panthers Friday night at Texan Stadium. The game historically determines the district championship and brings together all things good about Friday Night Lights - hard-hitting defenses, explosive plays on offense, and intense struggles to impose a team’s will on its opponent. This game was no exception.
Wimberley won the coin-toss and Lane Patek returned the opening kickoff 50 yards to the Panther 31 yard line. Navarro’s defense pushed the Texans into a third and long situation when QB Cody Stoever completed a 16 yard pass to Hanson Collie, setting up 1st and goal from the nine. Three plays later, the Texans faced 4th and goal from the one, appearing to score on a pass to Noah Birdsong. The touchdown was called back for a penalty and the Texans walked away scoreless after a failed 28-yard field goal attempt.
Navarro took over on their own 20, methodically moving the ball downfield behind their Slot-T offense with big plays from quarterback Bryce Nall and running backs Diego Chapa and the fleet-footed Antwoin Mebane. The Panthers converted a 4th down at the Texans 44 and the next play Mebane displayed his speed and elusiveness with a 39-yard touchdown scamper. Samuel Sneed’s extra point gave the Panthers an early 7-0 lead.
The next Texan possession began at the Navarro 38 yard line after a strong kickoff return by Birdsong. The drive lasted one play as Stoever was intercepted by Nall. Navarro punted after three plays and the Texans took over with 2:59 left in the first quarter. They eventually punted the ball away. The Panthers led 7-0 at the conclusion of the first quarter.
Navarro started the 2nd quarter with the ball but were forced to punt to the Texans with 8:55 left in the half. Starting at their own 33, the Texans began with a 13-yard gain on the ground by Jack Boyle. Johnny Ball carried the ball twice for six and nine yards into positive territory with Caden Romo and the offensive line opening big holes for the run game. Stoever rolled out from the 42 yard line and completed a 36-yard pass again to Collie - setting up a Texan first and goal. After a short completion to Cayden Heatly, Stoever tucked the ball and shoved through the Panther defense for the Texans’ first touchdown and a tied ball game after Gage Tumlinson’s extra point. On the ensuing kickoff, Navarro took over at their own five yard line where the Texans’ Code Red defense began to exert themselves. Four minutes into the drive, Collie and defensive standout Brasen Leonard came up with a huge hit against Nall for a five-yard loss forcing a Panther punt. Wimberley began 70 yards away with :49 seconds to go in the first half. After a Ball run and a Birdsong catch, Stoever carried for two plays taking the Texans to the Panther 48 yard line. With 11 seconds left, Johnny Ball caught a middle screen with blockers to lead him. Ball worked his way downfield to the two yard line before being tackled as time expired, leaving the score tied 7-7 at halftime.
Coach Doug Warren said minimal adjustments were called for at the half. “We felt good. We should have had 14 more points on the board and felt good about where we were. We had those guys on the ropes a bit. We were able to establish the run, so we went back to, ‘What are we doing good? Let’s concentrate on this.’ We tweaked a couple of things on defense and told them to continue to play hard and protect the football. When you do that, good things usually happen.”
Navarro started with the ball in the third quarter but punted after their first drive stalled. The Texans took over with a 21-yard return by Patek to the Panther 49. Cody Stoever rushed for 17 yards for a first down, then ran the ball twice more for a total of 13 yards, putting the offense at the 18 yard line. On 2nd down and eight, Stoever threw a strike to Noah Birdsong - who had snuck away from his defender to find open space - taking three steps into the end zone for the Texan score. The 3:25 drive finished when Tumlinson’s extra point put the Texans ahead 14-7.
Navarro punted on their next possession but the Texans gave the ball back on the next play with a fumble from Johnny Ball after a big gain. The Code Red defense stood firm, forcing another Panther punt that rolled down inside the Texan 30.
Ball immediately redeemed the previous fumble. Stoever said, “Johnny runs so hard. After his fumble, he came over and said, ‘Dude. I want the ball again.’ We gave it to him on the first play back and he broke it for 60.” Wimberley closed out the 3rd quarter deep in Navarro’s end of the field.
The Texans wouldn’t be denied starting the last quarter. A false start penalty left the offense at the 11 yard line when Stoever found senior receiver Tru Couch for a touchdown. “It feels good to get back on the field. I missed about 10 weeks. Me and Cody are still working to get on the same page everyday in practice. When I scored, I was probably going super-crazy because I didn’t know what to do,” said Couch. Tumlinson remained perfect for the season on extra points to put the Texan’s ahead 21-7 just 4 seconds into the fourth.
Both teams swapped punts and field position until the Texans suffered their third turnover of the evening deep in their own territory. Navarro’s Antwoin Mebane got to the outside of Texan defenders on the next play, scoring with 4:13 left in the contest. His score was the last of the game and the Texans emerged with the 21-14 victory.
Coach Warren praised his team saying, “When you play those guys, you know what you’re gonna get. We knew it was going to be a physical football game. We knew it was gonna be hard fought. Winners win. That was a big focus for us this week. Winners find ways to get it done, and we did tonight.”
The game was a defensive struggle yet the Texans welcomed the challenge. Senior linebacker Jack Riser said, “I felt great. I was having fun out there the whole time. I wanted to be out there. I like playing teams like this because - at the end of the day - it makes us better.” Senior linebacker Brasen Leonard talked about being down at halftime. “I think coming together at halftime, regrouping, and coming out here bringing back that energy is what kinda saved us. We have a good ability to bounce back from adversity and I think it helps us as a team. We use the adversity. We gather it and it fuels us.”
The 2022 team exhibits a deep bond. Warren commented saying, “This team is a very tight knit group. Part of the reason they’re so successful is because they believe in each other, and they love each other. When you have a team that’s selfless, doesn’t care who gets all the credit, and is just playing for each other then you can achieve great things. This team is on the verge of doing that. You can’t pinpoint one thing to attribute it to but multiple things. Early on in the summer we lost a couple of key players and suddenly people counted us out. We tried to tell them, ‘Football is the ultimate team game. It doesn’t matter that one player is here or there but it’s the next man up.’ Now they see it happening and believe it. They’ve banded together because a few people were doubting us. It’s grown and built from there.”
The bond goes beyond the sidelines and into the stands. Stoever said, “This community - no matter what - they lift you up. We have amazing support and it doesn’t go unnoticed.” Warren added, “You gotta appreciate our fans. I thought the crowd was awesome tonight. It was packed on our side. I don’t know if they (fans) realize how much these kids feed off of the energy when we get a big 4th down stop or the big play. We just appreciate them coming out and cheering these kids on.”
Stoever ended the game 12 of 15 for 178 yards with two touchdowns and 1 interception. He also ran for 89 yards on 21 carries with a rushing touchdown.
Johnny Ball led the Texans with 11 carries for 109 yards while catching three passes for 61 yards.
Hanson Collie had three catches for 58 yards with Noah Birdsong and Tru Couch each grabbing a touchdown pass.
Drew Brasher had the lone sack of the night and Troy Heugly collected a fumble recovery.
The Texans (8-0, 3-0 in district) travel to Lago Vista Friday to take on the Vikings at 7:30 p.m. Warren said, “They’re a good football team. They present us with different problems. They’ve got some really good players and we’re going to their place. They’re a game behind us and they realize the stakes since a win over us secures part of the district championship. They’ll be guns a-blazin’ Friday night so we’ll have to be ready. We’ll get a good look at them on film and get a good plan then go out there on Friday night and get after them.”
