Preview: 6A Playoffs Week 1 in Central Texas

Texas high school playoffs are finally here after a season that was shadowed by COVID-19 every step of the way. Now, that playoffs have started, here are the players to watch in the first round in Central Texas. 1. Duncanville vs Harker Heights (Thursday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60845" first="Re’Shaun" last="Sanford"] II (HH)</strong> - This sophomore running back is one to watch in this playoff contest against Duncanville. Sanford has 1,369 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the season and has consistently rushed over 100 yards in almost every game. Although Sanford was silent in the endzone mostly this season, he has scored quite a few touchdowns as of late, so given his current streak, he will be looking to score in this playoff contest.</li> <li><strong>Jack Byse (HH)</strong> - On the opposite side of the ball is the senior defensive lineman Byse, who has eight sacks this season. He has consistently had a sack in every game recorded on his MaxPreps profile. He also has 83 total tackles with 10 tackles for a loss and has managed to snag two interceptions with a fumble recovery as well.</li> </ul> 2. Shoemaker vs DeSoto (Thursday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Devin Brown (S)</strong> - Much like Sanford, Brown is the leading running back out of Shoemaker. The senior back has 1,108 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. Brown has scored a touchdown every game this season and has nearly rushed over 100 yards in every game. In the last game against Belton, Brown rushed for 158 yards and one touchdown. He averages 123.1 yards per game and is sure to make an impact as the Wolves take on DeSoto.</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60635" first="Monaray" last="Baldwin"] (S)</strong> - On the receiving side of things, the senior wide receiver Baldwin has been senior quarterback <strong>Tyjayzeon Bell</strong>’s favorite target. Baldwin has 40 receptions for 756 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season which is a wide gap over his teammates on the Shoemaker receiving corps.</li> </ul> 3. Round Rock vs Lake Travis (Friday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Israel Morgan (RR)</strong> - It goes without saying that the offense for Round Rock goes through the senior running back Morgan. He has 1,886 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on the season with some truly historic nights to boot. This incudes Morgan’s last game against Westwood when he rushed for 458 yards and six touchdowns, which is just unprecedented. He will probably be in the endzone come Friday but the question is just how much.</li> <li><strong>Jackson Scruggs (LT)</strong> - The senior wide receiver has made his mark this season with consistent play out of Lake Travis. Scruggs leads the receivers from the Cavaliers with 495 yards and seven touchdowns, being one of the two favorites to throw to for the offense. Scruggs and senior wide receiver <strong>Aden Nava</strong> are an elite duo which the Round Rock offense will have to account for.</li> </ul> 4. Steele vs Madison (Thursday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Cruz Untz (S)</strong> - The senior defensive back out of Steele has been the most productive out of the secondary with three interceptions this season. Those interceptions came against Reagan, Wagner and Smithson Valley. It goes without saying that Untz will be looking for his fourth, or more, interception against Madison on Thursday and the Mavericks will have to keep an eye out for this Steele secondary which has been causing turnovers all season.</li> </ul> 5. Harlan vs United South (Friday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60539" first="Dre" last="Spriggs"] (H)</strong> - For Harlan, Spriggs is one of the most productive receivers as a senior. He has 662 yards and seven touchdowns on the year and has been on a hot streak ever since the game against Marshall on Oct. 15. Spriggs is easily the favorite target for senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60413" first="Kannon" last="Williams"] and he will be looking to Spriggs this Friday.</li> </ul> 6. Westlake vs Cedar Ridge (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60713" first="Cade" last="Klubnik"] (W)</strong> - The junior quarterback has become a household name in the Austin area and for good reason. Klubnik has 1,849 passing yards for 19 touchdowns and just one interception while also rushing it for 372 yards and nine touchdowns. In total, Klubnik has accounted for 54 points throughout the season just less than the two running backs, senior [player_tooltip player_id="60490" first="Zane" last="Minors"] and senior <strong>Grey Nakfoor</strong>.</li> </ul> 7. United vs Stevens (Friday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Ethan Gonzales (S)</strong> - The top target for the Falcons is the junior Gonzalez, who has 52 receptions for 813 yards and five touchdowns this season. His stats are leagues ahead of everyone else in the receiving corps which means he will likey be looking to make some plays against United on Friday and keep it that way. Gonzalez hit one slow period against Brennan and Clark but bounced back and continued to have big games. Sophomore quarterback <strong>Kevin Brashears</strong> will definitely be looking his way.</li> </ul> 8. Temple vs Waxahachie (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Samari Howard (T)</strong> - Besides senior quarterback <strong>Humberto Arizmendi</strong>, the junior Howard has been the most productive scoring machine this season for Temple. With 822 yards and 11 touchdowns, Howard has rushed over 100 yards in every game besides the season-opener against Longview. That was also the only game he did not score a touchdown in. With guys like Morgan and Minors hogging the limelight, it is easy for athletes like Howard to be underrated, but perhaps some big playoff games will shine more light on the junior.</li> </ul> 9. Vandegrift vs Austin (Friday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Ty Jordan (V)</strong> - The Vipers will have to rely on their defense to try and prevent a high-octane Austin offense from scoring all over them and luckily the Vipers do have plenty of talent to do so. This includes senior defensive back Ty Jordan, who has three interceptions this season as well as a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. On top of his work in the secondary, he also has three sacks this season and 67 total tackles. Jordan has his work cut out for him trying to defend Austin but he has the talent to do so.</li> <li><strong>Nick Anderson (A)</strong> - On the opposite side, Anderson has been one of the most elite receivers in Central Texas this season. He has 1,006 yards for 19 touchdowns with only the game against Westlake being the one he didn’t score a touchdown. Besides that game, he has scored more than one touchdown in every game this season. Arguably his biggest game was against Akins when he scored four touchdowns with 149 receiving yards. Given how much senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60274" first="Charles" last="Wright"] throws the ball, Anderson will be looking to put up big numbers once more against Vandegrift.</li> </ul> 10. Judson vs Roosevelt (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60229" first="De’Anthony" last="Lewis"] (J)</strong> - It will be a battle of backs between these two San Antonio area teams but the first running back in this matchup to watch for is this senior. He has 1,240 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season and has not had a bad game all year. Some of his best performances came against tough competition, so this is a back that will be hard to keep down much like Morgan. Lewis has had a stellar senior season and obviously, his goal will be to end it off with a bang so the Roosevelt defense will have to do its best to spoil that.</li> <li><strong>DeWayne Coleman (R)</strong> - For Rough Riders, it is actually their senior quarterback who has posted the biggest rushing numbers. Coleman has 828 yards and 16 touchdowns this season while also throwing 789 yards and five touchdowns. Given the dual-threat nature of Coleman, the Judson defense will have a tough time containing Coleman if he gets out of the pocket. Just on numbers alone, Coleman can run and fast. Those numbers also mean Roosevelt is a deadly redzone team so the Rockets will have a big challenge come Friday.</li> </ul> 11. Brennan vs Del Rio (Friday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Tyler Turner (B)</strong> - The sophomore defensive back is one to watch out for given how much of a ball hawk he is with four interceptions on the season. His interceptions came against teams like Holmes, Reagan, O’Connor and Marshall. Doing this as a sophomore, Turner has clearly shown his potential with two more years with Brennan. The Bears are lucky to have him but come Friday he will have to take on Del Rio which has had some inconsistent offensive periods. It is hard to pinpoint how Del Rio will play but the Brennan defense will try to make sure it is not good.</li> </ul> 12. Hays vs Vista Ridge (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Aiden Hunt (H)</strong> - The senior defensive lineman has appeared many times on previews for this season and the reason why is his five sacks this year. Three of those sacks came against San Marcos, so Hunt always has the potential to blow up offensive lines but he is facing Vista Ridge, which has one of the best lines in the area. He is also facing an elite quarterback in senior [player_tooltip player_id="60511" first="Kyle" last="Brown"].</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60511" first="Kyle" last="Brown"] (VR)</strong> - Both he and Cedar Park senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60485" first="Ryder" last="Hernandez"] have become household names in the North Austin area. Brown has 2,424 yards and 29 touchdowns with six interceptions. Brown’s worst game came against Vandegrift when he threw for 163 yards and one touchdown with an interception, but his best game was against none other than Hays when he threw for 413 yards and six touchdowns. However, this was the season-opener for Vista Ridge and may not be a sign of things to come, or it could be a dire warning for the Rebels defense to prepare for this elite quarterback.</li> </ul> 13. Johnson vs Wagner (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>L.J. Butler (W)</strong> - The lead running back for the Thunderbirds is the senior Butler, who has rushed for 835 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. Butler has only been kept in check in two games this season against Smithson Valley and Judson, so the Jaguars will be watching the tapes from those games in order to learn how to stop a very productive back when he is hot.</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60503" first="Shane" last="Johnson"] (J)</strong> - Johnson has emerged as senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60450" first="Ty" last="Reasoner"]’s favorite target this season with 37 receptions for 704 yards and 10 touchdowns. Recently, Johnson has gotten hot by having 535 yards and eight touchdowns in his last five games. Given this hot streak as of late, Johnson will be looking to carry that into this playoff game and will look to continue to the productive relationship he has with Reasoner.</li> </ul>