Recap: Battle of Bagdad Best Performances
Cedar Park completely dominated Leander in the return of the Battle of Bagdad for the first time in five years. The Timberwolves defeated Leander 60-7 on Friday night. Here are the best performances from that contest. Ryder Hernandez Ryder Hernandez…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingCedar Park completely dominated Leander in the return of the Battle of Bagdad for the first time in five years. The Timberwolves defeated Leander 60-7 on Friday night. Here are the best performances from that contest.
Ryder Hernandez Ryder Hernandez 6'0" | 190 lbs | QB Cedar Park | 2021 TX (Cedar Park Senior Quarterback)
Hernandez had one of his best performances as he threw for 277 yards and four touchdowns in just 12 completions. He finished the night in the first half after leading the Timberwolves offense to run up 60 points on the Lions. The Leander defense had no answers for Hernandez, who also rushed for 40 yards. Hernandez now has 1,864 passing yards and 23 touchdowns with still no interception on the season. However, this was only the second game where Hernandez did not throw over 300 yards but if the Cedar Park coaching staff had kept him in, he would have reached that. Hernandez is having the season of a lifetime and Cedar Park is reaping all the awards from it.
Gunnar Abseck (Cedar Park Senior Wide Receiver)
Abseck came away with the best receiving performance against Leander, finishing the night with four receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown. Abseck also made his name known on special teams when he had a 32-yard punt return which helped give Cedar Park excellent starting field position. Although Leander was able to keep senior wide receiver Josh Cameron and senior wide receiver Jack Hestera silent, for the most part, the Lions just could not contain the depth the Timberwolves had, giving Abseck his best performance this season since the October 2nd contest against Cedar Ridge when he had seven receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown.
Cade Haught (Cedar Park Senior Running Back)
Although the entire running back group had an excellent night for the Timberwolves, it was Haught who came out on top with two carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns. That’s right, each time Haught was given the ball, he scored a touchdown which also includes his one reception for 51 yards, which also resulted in a touchdown. It is worth noting the performances of his teammates as well, junior running back Kevin Adams had five carries for 81 yards and a touchdown as well as one reception for 51 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Gavin Mundell had six carries for 82 yards and one touchdown as well.
Casyn Wiesenhutter (Cedar Park Senior Defensive Back)
During the first drive of the game, Leander seemed to be poised to strike first when penalties and third-down conversions were keeping the Lions alive. However, Wiesenhutter got his third interception of the season off of Leander senior quarterback Garrett Landry, which in turn set up the scoring machine of the Timberwolves to strike first. Wiesenhutter’s interception resulted in eight points for the Timberwolves. Wiesenhutter has also now had two interceptions, in the past two recorded games for him on MaxPreps, against Anderson and Leander. He got his first interception of the season against Vandegrift in the season opener.
Alexander Franklin III (Leander Junior Running Back)
Despite the crushing loss for the Lions, Leander still had some performances worth noting and one of them was Franklin’s. He had 83 rushing yards in 18 carries. Although unable to score, Franklin still had an impressive rushing performance. Franklin has been stepping up as a prime rusher for the Lions as he also had 104 yards against Anderson the week before. His only touchdown came against Vista Ridge on October 2nd and he has not been able to score since. Still, Leander has to be excited to have Franklin for another year as he shows promise.
Caden Wheatley (Leander Junior Wide Receiver)
Wheatley has been a name rising for Leander ever since the Pflugerville game. Against the Black Rain, Wheatley had four receptions for 96 yards and scored the only touchdown of the game. Another name Leander will like to have next year, Wheatley had 10 receptions for 197 yards and two touchdowns against Anderson, 84 yards and two touchdowns against Weiss and 100 yards and one touchdown against Pflugerville. Wheatley is an emerging talent and will be one to watch for not just the rest of the season, but for next year as well.