Preview: 6A Playoffs Week 2 in Central Texas

Week 2 of 6A playoffs begin this weekend throughout Central Texas. There are plenty of interesting contests this week but even more players to watch. Check out this list for players to keep an eye out for. 1. Round Rock vs Steele (Friday at 7 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60376" first="Wyatt" last="Begeal"] (S)</strong> - Begeal is a mobile quarterback who rushed for 68 yards and scored a touchdown in Steele’s win over Madison in the first round of the playoffs. This season, Begeal has rushed for 602 yards and 11 touchdowns while also throwing for 1,430 yards and eight touchdowns with five interceptions. Begeal does face a great defense in Round Rock and the last time Begeal faced a great defense, aka Judson, he threw two interceptions and no touchdowns but did score a rushing touchdown. Still, Begeal is one to watch simply because of the pressure of being the starting quarterback in a playoff contest.</li> <li><strong>Luke Dodds (RR)</strong> - On the defensive side of the ball, Dodds is one to watch considering he had three sacks against Lake Travis. In total, Dodds has 11.5 sacks and 19 quarterback hurries. Dodds is simply a disruptive defensive lineman and even the best offensive lines struggle to stop him. Since early November, Dodds has had a sack in every game. Steele will have its hands full trying to stop him.</li> </ul> 2. Westlake vs Smithson Valley (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60713" first="Cade" last="Klubnik"] (W)</strong> - After coming off a playoff contest against Cedar Ridge where he threw for four touchdowns, the junior is looking to repeat that against Smithson Valley this Friday. Westlake has been a traditionally elite team but Klubnik has totaled 2,084 passing yards and 23 touchdowns with just one interception and has scored nine rushing touchdowns on top of that. Klubnik is just a junior, which means he has another year to cause problems in Central Texas, but first, he wants to take Westlake to the championships and that means getting past Smithson Valley.</li> <li><strong>Luke Nicklos (W)</strong> - In the game against Cedar Ridge, the senior emerged as one of Klubnik’s favorite targets alongside sophomore wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="60848" first="Jaden" last="Greathouse"]. Nicklos had six receptions for 94 yards and one touchdown but Greathouse had three touchdowns and 100 yards with five receptions. This duo has shown to be Klubnik’s favorite targets to go to, and it is likely they will be again in this game.</li> </ul> 3. Stevens vs Harlingen (Saturday at 3 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Ethan Gonzales (S)</strong> - The junior wide receiver has emerged as sophomore quarterback <strong>Kevin Brashears</strong>’ favorite targets this season as he totals 68 receptions on the season for 977 yards and six touchdowns. In last week’s game against United, Gonzales had nine receptions for 79 yards. Gonzales has been on a hot streak in yardage since the game against Taft on Nov. 27. In that span, he has also scored two touchdowns and gone over 200 receiving yards.</li> </ul> 4. Vandegrift vs San Antonio-Roosevelt (Saturday at 2 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>Ryan Back (V)</strong> - The senior quarterback for Vandegrift has been leading the way and came off of a good performance against Austin to begin the playoffs. Back threw for 202 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Although Back has five interceptions this season, he had not thrown one since Oct. 23 against McNeil until the playoffs began. Even so, he has thrown for 20 touchdowns.</li> <li><strong>DeWayne Coleman (SAR)</strong> - Coleman is a jack-of-all-trades in football given his rushing game and passing game. He is a true mobile quarterback by definition. On the season, Coleman has 1,100 passing yards and seven touchdowns with six interceptions while also rushing for 880 yards and 18 touchdowns. The interceptions are the only glaring weakness for Coleman as he has thrown an interception in every game since Nov. 13 against Clark, and he faces a good defense in Vandegrift.</li> </ul> 5. Hays vs Johnson (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60503" first="Shane" last="Johnson"] (J)</strong> - The senior wide receiver has emerged as senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60450" first="Ty" last="Reasoner"]’s favorite target. Johnson has 44 receptions for 914 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. In the playoff contest against Wagner, Johnson had seven receptions for 210 yards and four touchdowns. Those stats are not easy to come by as a receiver. The likelihood is a combination of both Johnson’s playmaking and Wagner’s failing of covering him, but rest assured Hays was watching his film to make sure that does not happen to the Rebels.</li> </ul>