Preview: Week 10 Players to Watch in Central Texas

Although the games being previewed this week were impacted by COVID-19, causing some schedule changes which means some Saturday football, the season is still rolling on. Here is a preview of this week with some players to watch as well. 1. New Braunfels vs Wagner (Thursday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Ryker Purdy (NB)</strong> - Purdy, a junior running back, has rushed for 545 yards and eight touchdowns this season. In three out of the four games recorded on MaxPreps, Purdy has rushed for over 100 yards, including a 248-yard performance against Seguin. The game against Seguin also warranted four touchdowns. Purdy has quickly became the Unicorns’ main scoring machine so far, so there will be pressure for him to continue against Wagner on Thursday.</li> <li><strong>Kendrick Thompson (NB)</strong> - The senior defensive back has made plenty of defensive plays for the Unicorns this season. In total, Thompson has gotten two interceptions, forced two fumbles, blocked a punt and a field goal. Thompson has recorded an interception against Seguin and Steele. In tackles, Thompson has totaled 43 with 22 being solo. Thompson is a key player for the New Braunfels defense.</li> <li><strong>LJ Butler (W)</strong> - The senior running back for the Thunderbirds has totaled 161 rushing yards and five touchdowns, according to MaxPreps. Butler posted up 112 yards and three touchdowns against East Central last week while scoring two touchdowns against Smithson Valley. Wagner faces a tough matchup against New Braunfels, and will have to rely on Butler to continue producing.</li> </ul> 2. Hays vs Westlake (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Aiden Hunt (H)</strong> - The senior out of Hays has been one of the most productive for the Rebels defense. He has racked up five sacks this season along with eight hurries. On top of that, he has one fumble recovery and 26 total tackles with seven tackles for loss so far. In total, the Hays defense has totaled 12 sacks this season with Hunt leading the way on the team. Hunt is a clear threat to any team’s offensive line protection and even though Westlake is an elite team, the Chaparrals will have to contain Hunt to have success.</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60713" first="Cade" last="Klubnik"] (W)</strong> - The leading man for Westlake is the junior quarterback Klubnik. He has 910 passing yards and nine touchdowns this season while also rushing for 199 yards and five touchdowns. Although Klubnik has an impressive running game behind him, he will have to have success for Westlake to win comfortably against Hays.</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60848" first="Jaden" last="Greathouse"] (W)</strong> - One of Klubnik’s favorite targets, the sophomore wide receiver had two impressive games against Midway and Del Valle. Against Del Valle, he racked up 132 receiving yards and one touchdown. Against Midway, he had 114 receiving yards and two touchdowns. This season, Greathouse has 18 receptions for 308 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Westlake receiving core with senior wide receiver <strong>John (Luke) Nicklos</strong> leading in touchdowns with five.</li> </ul> 3. Vista Ridge vs Westwood (Saturday at 2 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60511" first="Kyle" last="Brown"] (VR)</strong> - The senior quarterback once again makes the list as he continues a stellar season with the Rangers. He totals 1,432 passing yards and 18 touchdowns with four interceptions. After struggling against Vandegrift, Brown bounced back against Cedar Ridge, throwing for 226 yards and two touchdowns. The Rangers have shown a clear reliance on the passing game and if Westwood can learn anything from Vandegrift, is it is necessary to shut down Brown if the Warriors can.</li> <li><strong>Robbie Jeng (W)</strong> - Jeng has had receiving success in the past against Southwest with 122 yards and a touchdown. Jeng can be one of the explosive receivers when called upon by senior quarterback <strong>R.J. Martinez</strong>.</li> <li><strong>Brandon Small (VR)</strong> - Small has been lighting up offenses for all of his senior season thus far. He has racked up 45 total tackles so far including two sacks and forcing a fumble. The Vista Ridge defense has a lot of outstanding players on the defensive side of the ball but Small is a name to watch out for this week as he continues to make a name for himself in Central Texas.</li> </ul> 4. San Marcos vs Austin (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Kanui Guidry (SM)</strong> - The junior has been a rushing machine for San Marcos this season. He totals 618 rushing yards and four touchdowns. The majority of his rushing yards came early on in San Marcos’ season against New Braunfels and Lockhart. Against the Unicorns, Guidry rushed for 257 yards and three touchdowns and against Lockhart, he rushed for 193 yards and one touchdown. Since then, he has been shy in the rushing game except against Hays, but he is always a threat to launch into a big game once more.</li> <li><strong>Abrion Boudreaux (A)</strong> - This senior has been busy disrupting offenses this season as he has totaled 32 tackles, one sack and forced one fumble. Although the Maroons have a diverse defense in terms of talent, Boudreaux sticks out with the eight tackles for loss as well. Half of the tackles for loss have come from the game against Pflugerville Connally when he totaled 11 tackles, four being for a loss, and also one sack. It was easily his best game and there is always the possibility that he creates the same disruption against San Marcos.</li> <li><strong>Isaiah DeLeon (SM)</strong> - The sophomore mobile quarterback is a threat both through the air and on the ground. He has 322 passing yards and two touchdowns with one interception while also rushing for 212 yards. DeLeon leads the San Marcos offense and the pressure will be on him to perform against Austin on Friday.</li> </ul>