Area Playoffs Preview (5A): Players to Watch in Central Texas

After some upsets last week, this week of playoff games seems to be filled with talent. All of these athletes have played spectacular all season, and given the matchups will need to continue to play like that. These are the players to keep an eye on this week in 5A. 1. <strong>Jake Friesehahn (SR-RB) - Southwest High School (San Antonio, TX)</strong> 2021 Season: 1,279 rushing yards, 16 rushing touchdowns Southwest squares off against a tough opponent in Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (CCVM) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. For Southwest, the team will have to lean on one of its stars. For the Dragons, that is Friesehahn, who has been on a tear running on the field and will look to continue that trend in this game. 2. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127941" first="Darson" last="Herman"] (SR-QB) - Georgetown High School (Georgetown, TX)</strong> 2021 Season: 2,531 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 1,141 rushing yards, 17 rushing touchdowns Georgetown shocked Central Texas when the Eagles pulled off the upset over Dripping Springs last week. Now, Georgetown faces Fort Bend Hightower at 6 p.m. on Friday, and the leader of the Eagles, Herman, needs to continue his excellent performances to keep this hot streak going. Herman is a threat anytime he is on the field against any defense. Whether he is throwing or rushing, Herman is a hard athlete to stop. 3. <strong>Dior Bradfield (SR-QB) - Weiss High School (Pflugerville, TX)</strong> 2021 Season: 3,134 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns, 3 interceptions Bradfield continues to play out of this world. Not much more can be said about him as he has been featured numerous times this season. The Wolves now face Manvel at 7 p.m. on Friday and pretty much all that needs to be done is for Bradfield and the Weiss offense to continue to play elite as they have been. 4. <strong>Daelen Alexander (JR-RB) - Weiss High School (Pflugerville, TX)</strong> 2021 Season: 1,158 rushing yards, 15 rushing touchdowns Another important piece to Weiss is Alexander. With his rushing capabilities, things like play-action become opened up and allow for the defense to not predict what Bradfield is going to do. This also goes hand in hand, as if Bradfield is tearing up the field, this opens up the ability to run a draw and surprise the defense with Alexander sprinting downfield. This duo is dangerous no matter what. 5. <strong>Quinten Joyner (JR-RB) - Manor High School (Manor, TX)</strong> 2021 Season: 2,380 rushing yards, 30 rushing touchdowns When it comes to running backs, Joyner is playing on another level. He has scored more touchdowns than most quarterbacks have thrown touchdowns. He simply cannot be stopped. Manor takes on Paetow at 7 p.m. on Friday, and Joyner should continue to be poised for another elite performance. 6. <strong>Josh Pell (SR-QB) - Cedar Park High School (Cedar Park, TX)</strong> 2021 Season: 2,324 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 13 interceptions Cedar Park also pulled off a pretty big upset against Johnson last week and now the Timberwolves turn their attention to Angleton at 7 p.m. on Friday. The leading man for Cedar Park, Pell, is likely ready to meet another challenge head-on after pulling off the win last week. Although Pell has made mistakes with 13 interceptions, he still has the ability to play a great game and he can certainly lead his team to victory. 7. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136143" first="Thomas" last="Colligan"] (JR-DL) - Alamo Heights High School (San Antonio, TX)</strong> 2021 Season: 45 total tackles, 31 solo tackles, 25 tackles for a loss, 19 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble Colligan has been a disruptive nightmare for opposing offenses. With 19 sacks, this puts Colligan on another level above most in his position. The undefeated Mules will now take on McCallum at 7 p.m. on Friday. Colligan will likely be right in the thick of causing as much trouble as he can. 8. <strong>Ryan Brandon (SR-WR) - Boerne-Champion High School (Boerne, TX)</strong> 2021 Season: 55 receptions, 969 receiving yards, 15 receiving touchdowns Boerne-Champion will face off against a powerful dark horse in Central Texas, Liberty Hill. Given how often and quickly Liberty Hill scores, Boerne-Champion will need to lean on one of its stars, Brandon, who has been a machine when catching the ball. 9. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138376" first="Noah" last="Long"] (SO-RB) - Liberty Hill High School (Liberty Hill, TX)</strong> 2021 Season: 1,446 rushing yards, 22 rushing touchdowns On the other side, Long has been a monster on a team that essentially never throws the ball. Still, Liberty Hill has found much success in this philosophy, and Long has been a great asset to the team with his rushing ability. He is fast, hard to take down and has great awareness. This game should be an interesting, potential shootout. 10. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="121947" first="Mason" last="Shorb"] (JR-QB) - Rouse High School (Leander, TX)</strong> 2021 Season: 3,032 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 5 interceptions Shorb is right up there with Bradfield in terms of his prestige. The Raiders will take on Floresville at 7 p.m. on Friday. For Shorb, he just has to continue playing like he has all season. Rouse is a dark horse favorite for the title this year but first, the Raiders will need to get through Floresville.