Preview: Cedar Park vs Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial

The undefeated Cedar Park Timberwolves have advanced to the semifinals where they will face Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Alamo Stadium. All season, the Timberwolves have shown elite offensive and defensive play stemming from senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60485" first="Ryder" last="Hernandez"]’s playmaking ability and the immovable object that is the "Black Rain" defense. Many teams this season have failed to stop the Timberwolves including Vandegrift, Georgetown, Hendrickson, Pflugerville, Veterans Memorial (San Antonio), Canyon and Manvel. Some of these teams came close while others were dominated. The team is led by head coach Carl Abseck, who has been coaching with the Timberwolves since 2015. As the Timberwolves get set to face another challenging opponent, it is important to take a look at what makes the Timberwolves tick, and there is nowhere to start but with Hernandez. He has thrown for 3,841 yards and 51 touchdowns with just two interceptions this season. He has scored over three touchdowns in every game this season but the season-opener. In the past three games, he has thrown for 1,156 yards and 12 touchdowns. He avoided throwing an interception in the regular season and threw two against Foster and Canyon. He also boasts a 70.1 completion percentage on the season and a 141.7 quarterback rating. Hernandez is one of the most elite quarterbacks in the state and he will do whatever it takes to get Cedar Park another state championship. For the rushing attack, it has been senior running back <strong>Cade Haught</strong> and junior running back <strong>Kevin Adams</strong> that have led the charge. Haught has 570 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the season, although the rushing attack has been quiet in during most of the playoffs. Still, he had 130 yards and one touchdown against Veterans Memorial early on into the postseason, so there is always a chance for Haught to explode given the opportunity. For Adams, he has 498 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the season with the majority of those stats coming early on into the regular season. Still, he has shown his potential countless times and could always spring up if an opportunity to take over for Haught arises. As for the receiving corps, senior wide receiver <strong>Josh Cameron</strong> is the top dog with senior <strong>Gunnar Abseck</strong> following close behind. Cameron has 1,049 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season while Gunnar Abseck has 943 yards and 13 touchdowns. Cameron has been one of Hernandez’s favorite targets this season as he has 78 receptions. In the past three games, Cameron has totaled 469 receiving yards and five touchdowns. For Gunnar Abseck, he has 235 yards and two touchdowns in the past three games. Last but not least on the receivers is senior [player_tooltip player_id="22569" first="Jack" last="Hestera"], who has 856 yards and 14 touchdowns, the most on the team. Hestera has been somewhat quiet during the playoffs, but as he has shown in the regular season, he can always have a great game. In fact, he did just that against Manvel last week when he had four receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns. It is safe to say that the Cedar Park receivers are hard to cover for any defense that faces them. Speaking of defenses, it is time to look at some of the leaders for the "Black Rain". Senior linebackers <strong>Shelby Battles</strong> is the tackling leader for the team with 133 total tackles on the season. He has reached double digits in tackles every game this season with 88 of them being solo tackles. On top of this, he also has six sacks and seven tackles for a loss. Another main tackler has been senior defensive back <strong>Blake Burton</strong>, who has had 75 total tackles with 50 of them being solo tackles. He also got his first interception of the season just last week against Manvel as well as a fumble recovery. In sacks, it is junior defensive lineman <strong>Ian Ferguson</strong> who leads with 11 this season, and senior defensive lineman <strong>Hunter Hewitt</strong> follows close behind with 10 sacks. In interceptions, senior defensive back <strong>Casyn Wiesenhutter</strong> leads the team with two, with those coming against Vandegrift and Anderson.