Preview: Week 9 Players to Watch in Central Texas

Central Texas high school football continues on. Although the game between Westlake and Bowie was postponed because of COVID-19 cases with the Westlake program, the rest of Central Texas is still pushing through a season in the middle of the pandemic. There are plenty of games to watch, but here are some games and players to keep an eye on this week. 1. Johnson vs Brandeis (Thursday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li>Nico Garcia (B) - The starting junior quarterback for the Broncos, Garcia has had a good and consistent past three games. He currently has thrown for 473 yards and seven touchdowns with just one interception. He has yet to break the 200-yard mark throwing the ball this season but could get there against Johnson. In the season-opener against Harlan, Garcia threw for 184 yards and four touchdowns with that one interception. The game included a 62-yard bomb in easily his best game thus far. However, he now plays against a tough Jaguars team that has limited opponents to seven points in the past two games.</li> <li>Ben McCreary (J) - On the opposite team, this junior running back has been tearing up the field as of late rushing for 244 yards and five touchdowns in three games. His stats are pretty spaced out, which means consistency regarding his performance. He scored two rushing touchdowns against O’Connor and MacArthur and rushed for 97 yards against Lee. That matchup against Lee also yielded a rushing touchdown but also a receiving touchdown. If Brandeis hopes to beat this tough Johnson team, the Broncos are going to have to contain McCreary.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="60450" first="Ty" last="Reasoner"] (J) - The senior quarterback for Johnson has also been a playmaker, throwing for 540 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions. Unlike Garcia, Reasoner broke the 200-yard throwing mark against Lee when he also threw for four touchdowns. Reasoner was more contained against MacArthur, but even though Reasoner was contained, McCreary was not making this a tough duo for the Brandeis defense to face.</li> </ul> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5KF3PPQH4A 2. Vista Ridge vs Cedar Ridge (Friday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="60511" first="Kyle" last="Brown"] (VR) - The usually high-octane senior quarterback hit a roadblock against the Vandegrift defense, only throwing for 163 yards and one touchdown with one interception. An uncharacteristic performance for Brown, who has thrown for 1,206 yards and 16 touchdowns with four interceptions this season. It will be important to watch Brown in this game to see how he bounces back from a tough performance. The Cedar Ridge defense is also a tough one to face, allowing the highest number of points against Cedar Park with 28. Brown will have a tough challenge.</li> <li>Jay White (VR) - The senior defensive lineman has made a mark as part of the Rangers defense. This season, he has two sacks with each coming against Hays and Leander, but he also has an interception which he collected from the loss to Vandegrift. White has also racked up 28 total tackles. He and the Vista Ridge defense now face an offense that only broke over 30 points against Anderson when the Raiders won 46-14 in their last game.</li> </ul> 3. Cedar Park vs Anderson (Friday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li>Cade Haught (CP) - In the dominant 66-28 over Hendrickson, Haught made a name for himself in the Cedar Park running game, rushing for 121 yards and two touchdowns. This was the first time Haught has broken the 100-yard rushing mark in a game. He recently rose into the limelight when he rushed for 81 yards and three touchdowns against Georgetown a couple of weeks ago. With that game in mind and the last game against Hendrickson, Haught is a player to watch in this contest against Anderson, which has struggled defensively against Pflugerville and Cedar Ridge.</li> <li>Josh Cameron (CP) - One of senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60485" first="Ryder" last="Hernandez"]’s favorite targets, Cameron once against made his mark having 117 receiving yards and one touchdown against Hendrickson. This was the third game this season he has broken 100 yards receiving in a game. Since Cedar Park loves to throw the ball, Cameron will likely be in the thick of Cedar Park’s gameplan against Anderson.</li> <li>Colin Page (A) - The junior running back for the Trojans has been having himself a season. He has almost rushed for 100 yards in every game thus far, falling just short against Cedar Ridge with 96 yards. In the season-opener against McCallum, Page rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He then rushed for 172 yards and one touchdown against Pflugerville. Anderson has not had too much success on offense, but Page remains an outlier. If Anderson has a chance for an upset, it will likely be through Page’s performance.</li> </ul> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbDmrMe0EK0 4. Yoakum vs Hallettsville (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li>Dorien Hights (Y) - The senior running back for the Bulldogs is one of a duo of running backs that make up a lot of the Yoakum offense. This season, Hights has rushed for 308 yards and four touchdowns. Although breaking 100 yards in a game just once against Palacios, Hights has scored consistently including the most recent performance when he scored two rushing touchdowns against Needville while also rushing for 96 yards.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="60351" first="Jayden" last="Jones"] (Y) - The other running back for Yoakum, Jones had a big game against Needville as well, rushing for 137 yards and two touchdowns. He has rushed for 280 yards and four touchdowns this season, although, before Needville, Jones has not been as electric as his teammate Hights, it is possible that after such a performance as last week could fuel another big night for the sophomore.</li> </ul> 5. Lake Travis vs Austin (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="60550" first="Weston" last="Stephens"] (LT) - The senior running back had some highlights rushing for 121 yards and one touchdown against Hays last Friday. Stephens had one other 100-yard rushing game against Westwood and now has another. Stephens will be one to watch as the Cavaliers take on Austin in a rivalry game.</li> <li>Aden Nava (LT) - A senior wide receiver who is underrated after having two back-to-back excellent performances. While being silent in the season-opener against Westwood, Nava bounced back by having 109 receiving yards and two touchdowns against San Marcos. Then, he became electric by racking up 212 receiving yards and three touchdowns against Hays. A performance unlike most, Nava will be an interesting watch to see if he can top his last performance, come close to it, or fall below it. Regardless, Nava will be worth a look as he swiftly becomes one of sophomore quarterback Bo Edmundson’s favorite targets.</li> </ul>