Getting back up

Shiner football coach Steven Cerny knew Hallettsville was a good team.

But he also believes that his Comanches could’ve performed better last week.

“We didn’t play as good as we should’ve last week,” Cerny said. “We played good in the first half, but didn’t have that same energy in the second half. We also missed a lot of tackles. I hope we learned from that.”

The end result of Shiner’s performance last week was a 49-28 loss to Hallettsville. The Brahmas accounted for 661 yards of total offense, including 385 passing.

“Hallettsville is very balanced and they did a good job of executing,” Cerny said.

The Comanches won’t have much time to dwell on last week’s loss. They have yet another tough Class 2A opponent in longtime rival Schulenburg, whom they host at 7:30 p.m. today at Comanche Stadium in Shiner.

Shiner (1-1) looks to snap a three-game losing streak to Schulenburg (2-0). The Comanches haven’t beaten the Shorthorns since the 2008 season opener when they won 41-8.

“We’ve had some close games with Schulenburg, but it’s been a while since we beat them” Cerny said. “They’re close to us and it’s a natural rivalry. They also have a great fan base so I expect a big crowd (tonight).”

Schulenburg beat College Station (35-8) and Victoria St. Joseph (30-15) to start the season. The Shorthorns’ offense revolves around quarterback Ross Bludau, who has accounted for more than 400 yards of total offense – 306 passing, 110 rushing.

In addition to Bludau, Schulenburg has a pair of running backs who produce well in Jyron McKenzie (129 yards rushing) and Gerardo Montoya (127 yards rushing), and are led in receiving by Jeffrey Lara (7 catches, 182 yards).

“Schulenburg is multiple on offense,” Cerny said. “They’ll go with two tight ends, split backfields and one-back formations. They’re similar to us, but they pass more than we do.”

What impresses Cerny most about Schulenburg is its offensive line, which has a trio of players who weigh 240 pounds.

“Their offensive line is impressive,” he said. “They’re aggressive and they get after you. We have to stay low and be quick on defense.”

Defensively, the Shorthorns operate out of a 50 front. They’re more of a true 5-2, according to Cerny.

“They’ve been doing the 5-2 for a while and it works for them,” he said. “We have to attack, hit the holes quick and go against them.”

Yorktown at Nixon-Smiley

There’s no place like home.

Those were the famous words of Judy Garland’s character, Dorothy, in the movie, “The Wizard of Oz.” These words also are synonymous with Nixon-Smiley football coach Carlton McKinney.

After playing their first two games on the road, the Mustangs will finally play a home game tonight when they play host to longtime rival Yorktown. Kickoff is set for 7:30 at Mustang Field in Nixon.

“I think with a young team, we’ll play better at home,” McKinney said. “We just have to limit our mistakes and execute.”

Nixon-Smiley (0-2) struggled in its first two contests as it lost to Flatonia (41-6) and Three Rivers (43-14). While the Mustangs fell behind 21-0 after one quarter of play last week, McKinney believes his team improved offensively from its season opener when Nixon-Smiley was limited to 10 yards of total offense.

“We’re coming around offensively,” he said. “We didn’t have fumbled punt snaps like we did against Flatonia and we had positive rushing yards, but we still could’ve executed better.”

Not only are the Mustangs young – there are just seven seniors on the roster – they’re also learning a new defense. Nixon-Smiley scrapped the split-6 for the 3-3-5.

“We have some young kids playing a lot of minutes, and we also had a lot of blown assignments with our new defense,” McKinney said. “But we just need to get familiar with the defense. We also can’t afford to fall behind early because our offense is not one where it is easy to come from behind.”

The Mustangs face a Yorktown team who is struggling as well. The Wildcats defeated Sacred Heart (8-0) in the season opener, but were limited to 92 yards of total offense in last week’s 21-6 loss to Goliad.

Yorktown (1-1) is led by quarterback/running back Derek Franke. A week ago, Franke was moved around quite a bit and finished with 46 yards and a touchdown rushing and 37 receiving as Jacob Garcia played quarterback.

“Yorktown is multiple on offense,” McKinney said. “They run option, veer or spread. They like to get the ball to Franke. He is their top gun and a quality player. We have to contain him.”

Before Yorktown moved down to Class A, it was in the same 2A district with Nixon-Smiley. The teams have managed to keep the rivalry alive with the Wildcats winning last year’s meeting, 20-13.

Yorktown operates out of a 27 defense similar to what the Mustangs saw against Flatonia and Three Rivers. Franke is their main defensive player as well at middle linebacker.

“They like to put their safeties in the box to take away the run,” McKinney said.

Tonight’s game is the final nondistrict tuneup for Nixon-Smiley, who celebrates a bye next week. The Mustangs open District 15-2A-Division II play Sept. 21 at home against Karnes City.

In last week’s loss, Tristan Newman ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries. Nixon-Smiley had 202 yards rushing.

Luling at Blanco

Missed opportunities can hurt a team.

According to Luling football coach Colby Hensley, his team missed plenty of opportunities in last week’s 39-13 loss to Rice Consolidated.

“We lost two fumbles that were returned for touchdowns, threw two interceptions and dropped seven passes,” Hensley said. “We probably lost about 130 yards of offense because of those dropped passes.”

While the Eagles fell behind 19-0 after one quarter of play, they found a way to fight back to a six-point deficit – 19-13 – at halftime. Hensley was pleased with his team’s efforts in the second quarter.

“I was excited that our kids found a way to get back in the game after falling behind,” he said. “But Rice is a good team. We know what we need to work on now.”

Luling (1-1) will have a chance to redeem itself tonight when it takes on Blanco (1-1) at 7:30 at Panther Stadium in Blanco.

The teams were district rivals the last two years with the Panthers winning both years and knocking the Eagles out of the postseason.

“Blanco is disciplined and physical, and they don’t make a lot of mistakes,” Hensley said. “We have to execute better. I want to see us execute better each time we take the field.”

If there’s one thing Luling improved on last week it was the running game. After gaining just 23 yards on the ground in a 35-6 win over Randolph on Aug. 31, the Eagles ran for 134 yards a week ago with Brendan Cubit gaining 119 of those on 19 carries.

“If we can keep getting production like that from Brendan, we’ll be in good shape,” Hensley said.

Hensley hopes that his team is clicking on all cylinders tonight. Blanco operates offensively out of the wing-T and defensively out of a 4-3 cover-4.

“They run a lot of toss sweep and trap, and they have two running backs who are hard runners,” Hensley said. “They’re some of the toughest running backs we’ll face all season.”

Fullback Tim Goodman is the workhorse for the Panthers with 150 yards on 28 carries so far this season. Tailback Colton Childress has 84 yards and three scores on 14 carries, and quarterback Sam Isenberg has run for 73 yards and passed for 153 on 12-of-19 passing.

Blanco opened the season with a 26-21 loss to Class 3A Canyon Lake on Aug. 31 before whipping longtime rival Comfort, 42-14. The Panthers accounted for 420 yards of total offense in the win, including 291 on the ground.

Defensively, Hensley expects Blanco to keep seven players in the box at all times with its defensive backs staying back in coverage. The Panthers also limited Comfort to 234 yards of total offense.

“Their DBs will sit back in coverage, but they’re physical,” Hensley said. “We have to pick up their guys and block them. If we just play the game we’ll be fine.”

St. Paul vs. Katy Pope John XXIII

Tonight’s contest between the St. Paul and Katy Pope John XXIII football teams has been cancelled. The schools agreed to cancel the game.

The cancellation of tonight’s contest gives the Cardinals an extra week to prepare for their upcoming game against Weimar Sept. 21 at Comanche Stadium in Shiner. St. Paul (1-1) is coming off of a 36-31, last-second loss to Fort Bend Christian last week.

“We have a lot of work to do,” St. Paul coach Jake Wachsmuth said. “We had a lot of chances to score more points last week, and we felt like we should’ve won. We didn’t always play well enough to win, but it would’ve been nice to find a way to win.”

The Cardinals also have a bye on Oct. 19, but may try to find a nondistrict game on that date.