Fab 5

It was Year of the Back for quintet of Gonzales-area football players

It is quite an accomplishment when a running back – or quarterback – runs for more than 1,000 yards in a season.

The 2012 football season featured five players – four running backs and a quarterback – who eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in The Gonzales Inquirer coverage area. Two of those players eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark as well.

When a feat like this occurs, it is easy to call 2012 the “Year of the Back.” Cecil Johnson of Gonzales, St. Paul’s Adam Hollenbach and Martin Kennedy, and Trevion Flowers and Evel Jones – both of Shiner – were the players who ran for quadruple digits this season.

Here is a look at each back’s accomplishments on the season as well as their takes on their final seasons of high school football. All five players happen to be seniors.

Adam Hollenbach, RB, St. Paul

The 2012 season provided plenty of déjà vu for Hollenbach. In 2010, Hollenbach rushed for 2,000 yards and guided the Cardinals to a state championship under coach Jake Wachsmuth.

In 2012, the senior once again guided Wachsmuth-led St. Paul to a state championship by rushing for 2,318 yards. Hollenbach had a successful four-year career with the Cardinals, but he was quick to credit his coaches for his success.

“Our athletic program all starts off with our coaches who push us every day to become the best we can be and then it’s more about the kids in the program,” he said. “We are competitors, and losing isn’t an option. Granted, it happens, but when it does, we rebound and get refocused and back on track to where we were.”

A year ago, things were different for Hollenbach and his teammates. Wachsmuth left St. Paul for Yoakum, which paved the way for Paul Johnston and the spread offense. This meant changes from a run-heavy offense to a passing attack, and a position change for Hollenbach as he moved to slot receiver. The Cardinals lost in the state championship game in 2011.

Johnston left two weeks after St. Paul’s 21-7 loss to Sacred Heart in the TAPPS Division IV title game, but the Cardinals were granted a blessing when Wachsmuth returned to coach them in 2012. This meant a return to a run-heavy attack, and Hollenbach returning to running back.

“The running game is where it’s at, especially down in the South,” he said. “We play smash-mouth football and will always play that type of football.”

Hollenbach saved his best for last this season, especially in the postseason. He ran for a career-high 339 yards in St. Paul’s 44-36 state quarterfinal win over Bay Area Christian, and ran for 307 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns in the Cardinals’ 56-43 win over Frisco Legacy Christian in the TAPPS DIII state championship game three weeks ago.

Hollenbach finished his career with 6,716 yards rushing and 139 touchdowns, and became third all-time on the Texas touchdowns list behind Jonathan Gray of Aledo and Traylon Shead of Cayuga, respectively. While he had these individual accomplishments, he gave his teammates credit.

“The key was the line and all the blockers setting up the play by getting their blocks and me finding the holes,” Hollenbach said. “And what also helped me a lot was being able to read the defenses and make my cuts where they needed to be. It also was my determination to get as far as I could with the ball every time I had it and reminding myself that one person doesn’t bring me down.”

Hollenbach hopes to “carry” that mindset and attitude into college football. As of right now, there is one school that really strikes his interest.

“I would like to play college ball and right now I would really like to play at Texas A&M-Kingsville,” he said. “I like their program and their school.”

Hollenbach also was a TAPPS DIII first-team All-State running back and a District 5-DIII first-team running back. He also was a first-team All-State running back his freshman and sophomore years as well as a second-team All-State receiver a year ago.

Cecil Johnson, RB, Gonzales

Whenever the Gonzales Apaches lined up this season, opposing defenses had their eye on one player – Cecil Johnson. Despite the obvious target on Johnson, the shifty senior still carved his way through opposing defenses to the tune of 2,016 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2012.

A year earlier, Johnson burst onto the scene with 1,701 yards and 14 scores, which included eight games over the 100-yard mark and two over the 200-yard mark. He exceeded those totals in 2012.

In each of the first seven games he played, Johnson rushed for more than 200 yards, including a career-high 336 in the Apaches’ 48-20 win over Yoakum. He did not exceed 200 yards in his final two games against Cuero and Smithville, respectively, but he still exceeded 100 yards in both games.

“Going into the season, I didn’t know I would get the ball as much as I did,” Johnson said. “After games, I just tried to take it easy and recover.”

Johnson played in nine of Gonzales’ 10 games this season as he sat out against Sam Houston. He still is earning the interest of colleges, particularly Oklahoma Panhandle State in Goodwell, Okla.

With 3,717 yards and 39 touchdowns in two years, Johnson accomplished quite a bit. He had his favorite moments, however.

“It always felt great to break loose and score,” Johnson said. “Every time I scored, it felt like a big weight was lifted off of my shoulders.”

Johnson was an AP first-team running back on the Class 3A All-State team. He also was named the Offensive MVP of District 26-3A.

Evel Jones, RB, Shiner

There wasn’t a lot Jones didn’t do for the Shiner Comanches in 2012.

He led the team in rushing with 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns, and also led the team in receiving with 13 catches for 235 yards and five scores. Jones also started at cornerback.

As a team, the Comanches ran for more than 4,000 yards with Jones leading the way for an offense that featured four running backs with more than 500 yards rushing and two with more than 1,000. While Jones was Shiner’s leading rusher, he was quick to credit his offensive line for his accomplishments.

“My blocking made all the difference,” Jones said. “They opened the holes and I hit them.”

Jones’ career-high was 194 yards in the Comanches’ 62-13 area-round rout of Ozona, but he did more damage than just running the ball in that one. In addition to his career-rushing night, Jones also returned an interception for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass on the final play of the first half.

As a defensive back, Jones intercepted just two passes on the season, as many teams threw away from him. However, he made opposing offenses pay when they did throw his way, as Jones returned both of his interceptions for touchdowns – 85 yards against Hallettsville and 74 against Ozona.

Jones’ efforts earned the attention of coaches across District 15-A Division I as he was named the MVP of the district. He is a three-sport athlete who also participates in basketball and track and field.

In basketball, Jones was named the Defensive MVP of District 28-A-DI a year ago. He also ran legs on Shiner’s state-qualifying 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relay teams last year as well.

With success in three sports, Jones is uncertain which sport in which he will participate when he goes to college in the fall. For the moment, he is focused on leading the Comanches to the playoffs in basketball and his relay teams back to state in track and field.

Trevion Flowers, QB, Shiner

A year earlier, Flowers was a wide receiver who seldom touched the ball in Shiner’s veer offense. In 2012, he touched the ball on every play.

Flowers was moved from receiver to quarterback – a position he played in junior high – as a way to get the ball in his hands so that the Comanches could utilize his speed to their advantage. The move paid off as Flowers ran for 1,106 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games.

“It was a major difference to go from barely getting the ball to touching it on every play,” Flowers said. “It was truly a blessing.”

Flowers received snaps in all but one game, as he went down with a knee injury in the Ozona game while making a tackle on the game’s first possession when Shiner was on defense. He played in the Weimar, Mason and Mart games that followed before being sidelined for good in the second half when his knee was re-aggravated following a kickoff return.

Most quarterbacks prefer to make plays with their arms. Flowers, however, was the exact opposite.

“I’d rather run than pass because when I made plays for our team this year the majority of time it was with my legs and not my arm,” he said.

Prior to receiving surgery for a torn ACL, Flowers was a member of Shiner’s basketball and track and field teams. He was a member of the state-qualifying 400- and 800-meter relay teams, and he credited the success in track and field for his success in football this season.

“Track was a big factor,” Flowers said. “I started to realize how fast I really was and I stayed conditioned coming into the season.”

With the success he’s had in his three sports, Flowers would like to compete in college. He already has his mind made up for which sport he’d like to participate in at the next level.

“If I play a college sport, it’s definitely going to be football,” Flowers said. “I can’t see myself playing basketball or running track.”

Flowers also was named the Offensive MVP of 15-A-DI. In addition to his running abilities, Flowers also passed for 472 yards and seven scores.

Martin Kennedy, RB, St. Paul

Playing for a team known for playing smash-mouth football, Kennedy provided a little flash for St. Paul.

With many teams loading the box to try to stop the Cardinals’ power-running game, Kennedy was able to hit the outside holes and open space to the tune of 1,093 yards rushing. He also had more than 300 yards receiving.

“I love getting in the open space,” Kennedy said. “I have a few moves that I like to make when I get in the open space. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.”

Kennedy also ran for 1,200 yards as a sophomore in 2010 – the same season Hollenbach had 2,000. But when Johnston came in 2011 and brought in the spread, Kennedy was moved to slot receiver.

His speed and elusiveness proved valuable to St. Paul’s passing game a year ago, but Kennedy was thrilled when Wachsmuth came back in 2012. That’s because he was moved back to tailback.

“I was happy to be back being a back,” Kennedy said. “You get good hands by playing receiver, but the best way to be a complete back is to do what it takes to play the position.”

Kennedy also played linebacker in the Cardinals’ defense. He earned first-team All-State honors as an athlete on offense and a linebacker on defense, and was first-team all-district in both positions as well.

Kennedy accomplished many feats in his four-year career. But there was one highlight that stood out above the rest – winning a pair of state championships.

“Winning state was worth all the hard work and pain we put in,” Kennedy said. “Memories like this will last forever. It’s been an honor to play with these guys and to play for these coaches. We had tremendous coaching.”

Sounds like quite an accomplishment.