Game Balls: Playoffs Quarterfinals – Central Texas

Four teams still remain for Central Texas representation as Westlake, Hays, Cedar Park and Liberty Hill each advance to the semifinals. However, these were the standout performances from each of those teams which were much harder to pick considering there were many high-scoring affairs this past week. 1. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60490" first="Zane" last="Minors"] (SR-RB) - Westlake High School (Austin, TX)</strong> Westlake was unstoppable in its win 34-0 win over Steele on Saturday and one of the reasons Westlake was unstoppable was due to its running game. Senior running back [player_tooltip player_id="60490" first="Zane" last="Minors"] scored the most rushing touchdowns for the team with two while also rushing for 77 yards. Senior running back <strong>Grey Nakfoor</strong> led the charge with 143 rushing yards and even junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60713" first="Cade" last="Klubnik"] joined in with 61 rushing yards and one touchdown. Minors has scored a rushing touchdown in every game since Oct. 30 against Hays. In the past three games, he has scored five rushing touchdowns and has rushed for 201 yards. 2. <strong>Durand Hill (SR-QB) - Hays High School (Buda, TX)</strong> Hays also had a dominant win over Vandegrift, 38-10, to advance to the semifinals on Saturday. Leading the charge was senior quarterback Durand Hill, who had 173 passing yards for three touchdowns and 112 rushing yards for two touchdowns. Hill has been a prominent mobile quarterback in the Central Texas area, especially in the playoffs. In the past three games, he has thrown for 417 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for 283 yards and five touchdowns. That’s a total of 12 touchdowns from Hill alone for the Rebels. 3. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="22569" first="Jack" last="Hestera"] (SR-WR) - Cedar Park High School (Cedar Park, TX)</strong> Although senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60485" first="Ryder" last="Hernandez"] had another outstanding game as Cedar Park defeated Manvel 52-42 in the closest game so far for the Timberwolves this season, Hestera deserves the spotlight for his performance. He finished the Friday night with four receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns including an 83-yard bomb. This has been Hestera’s best performance since the Manor game on Dec. 4. Cedar Park is a tough team to stop especially considering the talent it has, making it a state title favorite this season. 4. <strong>Blake Simpson (SR-RB) - Liberty Hill High School (Liberty Hill, TX)</strong> Simpson has done it once again, this time in a close contest for Liberty Hill as the Panthers defeated Pioneer 56-53, on Saturday. For Simpson he had an astounding 302 rushing yards and five touchdowns including an 80-yard dash. Simpson has been simply unstoppable these past three games, as he has totaled 784 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. On the season, he has 1,782 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns. Even this deep in the playoffs, Simpson continues to have games that many just do not have and the fact that he keeps getting thrust into the spotlight the deeper Liberty Hill goes, the more likely he should get even more of the college recruiting spotlight.