Shiner clinches district, Cards take playoff spot

One area football team clinched a district championship Friday night, while two more put themselves in winner-takes-all matchups for district championships this Friday.

Shiner sealed the District 15-A-Division I championship with a win at Ganado, while Luling and St. Paul both remained unbeaten in district play with wins of 46 and 40 points, respectively. The Eagles host George West for the 15-2A-DI championship, while the Cardinals visit Sacred Heart for the TAPPS District 5-DIII title.

Shiner 28, Ganado 19

The Comanches kept things grounded as they gained 327 yards of total offense – all rushing – in a 28-19 win over rival Ganado Friday at Ganado. Evel Jones led the way for Shiner (8-1, 3-0 in 15-A-DI) with 176 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries.

“We were able to get outside with Evel on a few running plays,” Shiner coach Steven Cerny said. “The biggest difference was our defense. (Ganado) was wearing us down, but our kids never gave up and kept fighting. It was a tough game, but we kept fighting.”

Jacob Stafford started the scoring for the Comanches with a 13-yard touchdown run at the 6:28 mark of the first quarter to put his team up 7-0. Jones scored from four yards out to increase the lead to 13-0 with 9:18 left in the second quarter.

Ray Salazar hit Kameron Smith for a 29-yard touchdown pass to cut the Shiner lead to 13-7 at the 2:42 mark of the second quarter, but Jones scored on a 68-yard run and added the two-point conversion to put the Comanches up 21-7 with 1:04 left in the second quarter. Shiner led by the same score at halftime.

Ganado cut the lead to 21-13 thanks to a 1-yard touchdown run from Ken Kocian at the 5:55 mark of the third quarter. The Indians got no closer as Stafford added a 12-yard touchdown run to give the Comanches their biggest lead of the game, 28-13, with 5:48 left in the fourth quarter.

Salazar scored on a 1-yard run with 1:10 left to play, but the two-point conversion failed. Ganado did not recover the onside kick as Shiner ran out the clock from there.

“The big play was stopping that two-point conversion at the end,” Cerny said. “I’m so proud of our kids for stepping up.”

In addition to Jones’ 176-yard outing, Caleb Curtis ran for 53 yards on seven carries, Trevion Flowers had 50 yards on 10 touches, and Stafford gained 48 yards on eight totes. The Comanches clinched the 15-A-DI championship and a bye in the bi-district round of the Class A-DI state playoffs with the win.

Shiner hosts Yorktown at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the regular season finale for both teams.

“It would be nice to win the district title outright and run the table,” Cerny said.

St. Paul 60, St. Gerard 20

St. Paul scored the first 47 points of the game and never looked back en route to a 60-20 rout of St. Gerard Friday at Comanche Stadium in Shiner. With the win and a Sacred Heart win over Brazos Christian, the Cardinals clinched an automatic playoff berth as did Sacred Heart.

St. Paul (6-2, 4-0 in TAPPS 5-DIII) will visit the Indians at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Hallettsville for the district crown. The teams met twice last year with the Cardinals claiming the regular season and Sacred Heart getting revenge in the TAPPS DIV state title game.

It didn’t take long for St. Paul to gain its grip on Friday’s contest.

Dakota Kresta hit Martin Kennedy for a 35-yard touchdown pass and ran in the two-point conversion to give the Cardinals an 8-0 lead at the 8:47 mark of the first quarter.

Kennedy scored twice more in the first quarter as he returned a pair of punts for touchdowns – the first from 40 yards and the second from 48. His scores gave St. Paul a 20-0 advantage with 6:09 left in the opening period.

Adam Hollenbach got into the scoring act with a 2-yard touchdown run at the 3:06 mark of the first quarter before Kresta hit Jared Markham for a 57-yard touchdown to put the Cardinals up 34-0 with 42 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Kresta scored on a 50-yard run at the 10:022 mark of the second quarter before Kennedy scored his final touchdown of the night on a 49-yard run with 5:18 left to play in the second quarter.

The Royals finally got on the scoreboard at the 2:39 mark of the second quarter as Samuel Medina hit Miguel Molina for a 77-yard score to cut the St. Paul lead to 47-6. Hollenbach added a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:54 left before halftime to give his team a 53-6 advantage.

St. Gerard scored on the final play of the third quarter as Greg Scott ran in from six yards out to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 53-12 after three quarters of play. Jed Janecek scored the Cardinals’ final touchdown of the night on a 6-yard run with 7:49 left to play in the fourth quarter before Drei Parker scored from four yards out and Scott added the two-point conversion to cap the scoring with 1:49 left to play in the contest.

Hollenbach led all rushers with 105 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, while Kresta completed 5-of-6 passes for 124 yards and two scores. Markham led all St. Paul receivers with three catches for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Luling 46, Brooks Academy 0

Luling scored all 46 of its points in the first half as the Eagles flew past Brooks Academy, 46-0, Friday at Eagle Stadium in Luling. The win combined with George West’s win over Jourdanton sets up a showdown for the 15-2A-DI crown at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Eagle Stadium as both teams are 5-0 in league play.

Brendan Cubit began the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run at the 8:28 mark of the first quarter. Trayden Staton scored from 18 yards out to make it 14-0 Luling with 5:03 left in the first quarter.

Staton threw a pair of touchdown passes before the end of the first quarter. The first was a 30-yarder to Josh Alvarez and the second a 31-yarder to Taylen Moore as the Eagles led 27-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Quinton Grant got into the scoring act with a 25-yard touchdown run at the 11:34 mark of the second quarter before Jorge Munoz scored on a 41-yard run with 9:40 left in the second quarter. Corey Bermudez capped the scoring with a 4-yard run with 3:52 remaining before halftime.

Grant led all rushers with 111 yards and a touchdown on just five carries, while Staton was 3-of-3 passing for 66 yards and two scores. The second half of the game was played with a running clock because of the lopsided halftime score.

Natalia 51, Nixon-Smiley 23

Natalia scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to clinch its first win of the season, 51-23, over Nixon-Smiley Friday at Mustang Stadium in Nixon. In this Battle of Mustangs, it was Natalia who had the upperhand as it outgained Nixon-Smiley (1-8, 1-5 in 15-2A-DII), 365-250, on the ground.

While Natalia ended up running away with the win, it was Nixon-Smiley who got things started on the scoreboard thanks to a 79-yard touchdown run form Tristan Newman to give the home team a 7-0 lead at the 7:45 mark of the first quarter. A 65-yard touchdown pass from Bert Villarreal to Eric De La Rosa cut the Nixon-Smiley lead to 7-6 with 6:25 remaining in the first quarter.

Natalia took its first lead of the game on an 8-yard touchdown run from Albert Alderette. Villarreal added the two-point conversion to give his team a 14-7 lead at the 4:44 mark of the second quarter.

Nixon-Smiley took a page out of Natalia’s pass-happy playbook as Nick Pena hit Miguel Hernandez for a 55-yard touchdown pass. Jared Van Auken’s two-point conversion put the home team back on top, 15-14, with 1:55 remaining in the second quarter.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Natalia (1-8, 1-5 in 15-2A-DII) received a 4-yard touchdown run from Ramon Aranda with 49 seconds remaining before halftime. Villarreal hit Art Contreras for two as the visitors led 22-15 at the break.

Natalia added to its lead at the 7:42 mark of the third quarter as Alderette scored on a 12-yard run to put his team up 29-15. Pena connected with Hernandez again for a touchdown – this one from 16 yards out – and Newman added the two-point conversion to cut the Natalia lead to 29-23 with 1:54 left in the third quarter.

Natalia began to put the game away early in the fourth quarter as Alderette scored from a yard out and Villarreal hit Mario Bermea for two to give the visitors a 37-23 lead at the 11:24 mark of the fourth. Contreras and Aranda added touchdown runs of 5 and 1 yards, respectively, to put the game away.

Newman led Nixon-Smiley with 156 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Pena completed 6-of-11 passes for a career-high 153 yards and two scores, while Garrett Earlywine caught three passes for 72 yards and Hernandez had two catches for 71 and two scores.

Nixon-Smiley closes out the 2012 season at Poth Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30.