Game Balls: Week 14 – Central Texas

Jack Densmore

December 1, 2020 @ 10:00 AM

As Central Texas high school football nears the end of the regular seasons for 5A and 6A teams, COVID-19 has caused some schools to outright cancel games or the entire seasons of some teams, thus making these lists shorter and shorter until playoffs hit. However, it is still important to shoutout the top performances across Central Texas regardless. 1. [player_tooltip player_id="60485" first="Ryder" last="Hernandez"] (SR-QB) - Cedar Park High School (Cedar Park, TX) Cedar Park defeated Pflugerville with a dominant offensive and defensive performance by defeating the Panthers 67-14 on Wednesday night. The main reason for this huge gap in points is because of Hernandez, who threw for 359 yards and six touchdowns. Hernandez has become a household name in Central Texas as one of the best quarterbacks in the state but his performance against Pflugerville was easily his best as this was the most touchdowns he has thrown this season as well as the most yards. Hernandez currently totals 2,223 yards and 29 touchdowns with still no interceptions this season. https://twitter.com/ryderh4/status/1332626208648032257?s=20 2. [player_tooltip player_id="60229" first="De’Anthony" last="Lewis"] (SR-RB) - Judson High School (Converse, TX) The senior running back out of Converse has made a name for himself as among the best backs in the state and his performance against Wagner proves why. He rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns in the 63-34 win for the Rockets over Wagner on Friday. Lewis has hit 100 yards rushing and a touchdown in almost every game recorded on MaxPreps. The only contest he did not rush 100 yards or score a touchdown was against DeSoto on Oct. 2. Touchdown-wise, this performance against Wagner was his best as he also scored a receiving touchdown, totaling four touchdowns against the Thunderbirds with a combined total of 254 yards, including 26 yards on kick returns. https://twitter.com/Outtha210/status/1332510971068362753?s=20 3. Anthony Conway (SO-WR) - Marshall High School (San Antonio, TX) Marshall just edged out Jay on a Friday night district contest which saw a great performance from Marshall’s Anthony Conway, who had 106 receiving yards for two touchdowns in just three receptions. Conway has had an average season but the sophomore certainly showed his potential in this game against the Mustangs. San Antonio is a hot market of talent, and Conway could emerge as a dark horse receiver should he continue to excel. 4. Micah Rodriguez (SR-QB) - Seguin High School (Seguin, TX) Another senior quarterback had a season-high night but this time out of Seguin. Rodriguez threw for 331 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. This was his best performance this season, beating out his 319-yard and five-touchdown performance against Canyon on Oct. 30. This season, Rodriguez has thrown for 1,854 yards and 26 touchdowns with three interceptions. Rodriguez has the talent and has had a successful senior season but has yet to be thrust into the limelight, having to compete with quarterbacks like Hernandez and Westlake’s senior [player_tooltip player_id="60713" first="Cade" last="Klubnik"]. Still, Rodriguez is talented and deserves warranted attention from scouts.