So, basically, this article is much longer than I expected and I didn’t want to divide it up into 2 parts. Unfortunately, there are no Cliffs Notes for my article (as Warparth1.com asked me). You, the reader, have total freedom to either read it in its entirety or skip to your favorite TNL games or teams. I will have no hard feelings!!! Maybe a little!!!
I would love to hear your thoughts on the TNL games and teams so please comment here, on Twitter, or on Facebook. One reader already expressed his dissatisfaction that the Lanier Voks aren’t going to be on TNL this year. I would’ve liked to have gotten another game for Week 1 instead of the Gucci Bowl because it feels like we always have that game to start the season.
Enough with the formalities, let’s get down to business!
On August 25th, I will begin my 8th year as the High School football statistician for Thursday Night Lights (TNL) on CW35 in San Antonio or online at www.kmys.tv/tnl. The broadcasters, Don Harris (play-by-play) from News 4 San Antonio and Chuck Miketinec (color) from Fox 29 San Antonio, will be in their 4th year.
Usually when it comes to jobs, it is who you know but in this case, it was my experience. I started as a statistician for the Texas Sports Radio Network in 1997 and retired from that position last year to focus on my writing and photography. In case you’re wondering, it was who I knew that got me started as a statistician a few years before the Texas Sports Radio Network.
For the sake of simplicity, when I mention players, I will be referring to their classification from the 2015-2016 school year.
Here are the 10 games that TNL will broadcast for 2016.
8/25 – Clark vs. Churchill, Comalander Stadium
This will be the 34th meeting between the Clark Cougars and the Churchill Chargers. This game is also known as “The Gucci Bowl.” Yeah, a bowl game in August, and guess what? Gucci isn’t a sponsor – I don’t even think they know they have a bowl game named after them. It is called The Gucci Bowl because both schools are located in fairly affluent areas of San Antonio.
In 1991, I was a freshman at Clark (yes, I will be rooting for my Cougars), and had the opportunity to be a student trainer. Well, that opportunity only lasted one game, which was The Gucci Bowl. I didn’t like the attitudes of the football players towards me; they weren’t nice. I then decided to become the student manager of the basketball team and I did that for all 4 years – I filmed all the Varsity games, kept stats, operated the scoreboard, and provided support to the players and coaches. Today, 25 years later, I am still in touch with the two coaches, Danny Murphy (he is a real estate agent) and Kevin Hamilton (he is an assistant Athletic Director at the school district), and am Facebook friends with several of the players. Maybe, I can gather them all up for a reunion.
Besides getting married, I think that choice I made as a freshman was one of the best things I have ever done. I sometimes think how different my life would’ve been if I had not given up being a student trainer. I definitely wouldn’t be a high school football statistician or a writer – nor would I be married to the sweetest woman I know on the planet.
I am excited to the Clark’s, Jake Stewart, who may end up as the starting running back and Antonio De La Trigg, the quarterback (both will be Seniors in the upcoming school year).
Jordan Cardenas, the starting running back for Churchill had 889 total rushing yards with 11 touchdowns last year as a Junior.
9/1 — Open Date —–
I am glad this is our bye week because I am looking forward to spending a whole weekend celebrating my wife’s birthday.
9/8 – Judson vs Roosevelt, Heroes Stadium
If you want to see 4 of the top running backs in the San Antonio showcase their abilities, then you have to see the Judson Rockets. They were so close to each having over 1,000 rushing yards last season (a feat that is absolutely remarkable) and I didn’t even mention they were all underclassmen!!!
These numbers will be mind-blogging:
Mi’kel Jackson, a Junior, led the team with 1,217 yards; Jay Miller, a Sophomore, had 937 yards, Julon Williams, the Sophomore quarterback (he started as a Freshman and he helped lead the Rockets to the state semi-finals), had 841 rushing yards and 2,100 passing yards with 36 total touchdowns; and Sincere McCormick, a Freshman, had 812 yards. I can’t wait to see them.
This will finally be my opportunity to see the quarterback for Roosevelt, Bryson Carroll. He had 1,381 rushing yards and 1,080 passing yards with 27 total touchdowns last year as a Junior.
9/15 – Harlandale vs Holmes, Gustafson Stadium
One of the best things about TNL is they get schools that don’t normally get the attention they deserve, so I am excited we get the Harlandale Indians. They return their leading rusher, Christian Villarreal, who had 684 rushing yards last year as a Junior. Although his numbers as a Sophomore wide receiver aren’t impressive, I am expecting Rene Palomino to have a break-out season.
The Holmes Huskies will have to find a replacement for Senior quarterback, Joel Ortiz, who last year had 2,734 total yards (he led them in passing and rushing). As I am looking at their roster from last year, a lot of them were Seniors.
9/22 – N.B. Canyon vs New Braunfels, Unicorn Stadium
One of the things I truly enjoy about being a High School sports writer is the feedback I get from the readers. One of my readers, Eliseo Rodriguez, lives in New Braunfels and when I saw his excitement in a Tweet reply about the TNL schedule and especially this particular game, I knew I had to have him write something for me.
Among the highly anticipated rivalry games like the Gucci Bowl will be the showdown between the two 6A schools in New Braunfels, Texas. The game, dubbed “The Wurst Bowl” because of the city’s world famous Wurstfest fall festival, pits New Braunfels vs Canyon high schools in a battle of cross town rivals.
From a historic perspective, it is the newer rivalry on the block. For decades, the premier matchup in New Braunfels was the “Guadalupe River Bowl”. New Braunfels played (and still plays) Seguin in this matchup of bitter rivals. But in the 1970’s, in the first matchup of New Braunfels and Canyon high schools, the cross town rivalry was born. Unlike many cross town rivals, both schools are in different school districts. Canyon High School came from the consolidation of smaller, rural school districts in Comal County. This demographic distinction has made New Braunfels the larger high school in the rivalry up until a few years ago. In fact, in the 1990’s the Wurst Bowl was only played four times (1992-1995) because New Braunfels was in 5A (now 6A) and Canyon was in 4A (now 5A).
The series has also been somewhat of a pain point for Canyon from a series record perspective. The New Braunfels Unicorns have a lopsided 27-7 series lead since 1976. Canyon has averaged 2 wins a decade. But the Canyon Cougars have won their victories in style. Both Canyon victories in the 1990’s were in lopsided games. Canyon also handed New Braunfels it’s lone district loss in 2002. New Braunfels would end up advancing all the way to the 4A (now 5A) D1 state championship game.
The Wurst Bowl will shine in TNL local broadcast this year, but it isn’t the first time that the rivalry game is televised. In 2009 and in the inaugural TNL broadcast season, New Braunfels mauled Canyon 69-2 on its way to the 5A (now 6A) state semifinals. But don’t expect that type of a game this year. Both teams have reached parity again and it should be one game to remember!
9/29 – O’Connor vs Warren, Gustafson Stadium
Last year, the O’Connor Panthers used 2 quarterbacks (one was a Senior and the other a Sophomore). I am really hoping that Roel Sanchez gets his opportunity to shine and not have to battle with another quarterback. Sanchez had 779 passing yards and 414 rushing yards with 7 total touchdowns. If he is the only main quarterback, I expect those numbers to increase and he could easily be one of the top quarterbacks (that you haven’t heard of) in the San Antonio area. One player I am going to miss from O’Connor is, Jamontae Edwards, the Senior running back. But, I am very confident that the Panthers won’t miss a beat running the ball since they have Brandin Bradford, a Junior last season, who had 6 touchdowns on 48 carries.
The Warren Warriors will definitely have a quarterback battle brewing. Vincent James, a Junior last year had 1,044 passing yards with 3 touchdowns and Kyree Johnson, also a Junior last year had 795 passing yards with 9 touchdowns. Maybe, they will split time like O’Connor did last season.
10/6 – Brandeis vs John Marshall Farris Stadium
The Brandeis Broncos will have to find new players to replace Paul Lozano, the quarterback; Jaylon Dukes, the running back; and Tommy Woods, another running back. Those 3 players combined for about 92% of the total yards!!! They do return the leading wide receiver, Sean Mellish. Last year, as a Junior, he had 38 receptions for 698 yards with 11 touchdowns.
Marshall didn’t win a game last year and I really hope they don’t have a repeat.
10/13 – Sam Houston vs Highlands, Alamo Stadium
Alamo stadium is one of my favorite stadiums in San Antonio because in 2013 and 2014, I got to photograph the renovations from start to finish. I had to don a hard hat and safety vest during most of my site visits because I got inside access to everything (even the adjoining gymnasium that also got a renovation) with the approval of the school district and the construction company foreman. Every time I step in the press-box or on the field, I feel like I am a part of the Alamo stadium history (it was built in 1940). My photos were featured on TV, several websites, a book, and my famous mugshot was also on TV several times.
In 2015, I photographed the renovation of Lehnhoff stadium and this year, I am photographing the construction of the new gymnasium in the Northside ISD (it is next to Farris stadium). I didn’t get inside access to Lehnhoff, but am hoping to get inside access to the gymnasium (the NISD Athletic Director and I have been communicating thru email).
Sam Houston won 10 games last year and they will have to find a new quarterback to replace Raymonte Prime (he was one of the top quarterbacks in the San Antonio area as a Senior). He had 2,724 passing yards with 40 touchdowns. One of his main targets was Jawon Anderson, a Junior, who led the receiving core with 787 yards and 12 touchdowns. Sam Houston always has speed and extreme athleticism and don’t be surprised if they have another undefeated regular season.
In 2014, Highlands went winless. Last year and in his 1st year as head coach, Juan Morales led the Highlands Owls to a 7-4 record and a first round appearance against Lockhart in Bi-District competition. Because of such a turnaround, he was voted 2015’s Express News All-Area Coach of the Year. Coach Morales liked one of my Tweets, so I asked him to write something about his Highland’s team this year and without hesitation, he said, YES SIR!!!
Returning 21 Letterman and losing 30, the team will be very young in crucial skill areas. There are only 4 Offensive Returners (QB Dylan Camacho included) and 3 Defensive Starters (including Middle Linebacker Rene Lopez Jr.). Their leadership will be important in directing teammates against an always athletic Sam Houston team. The big keys of the games will be controlling the tempo, minimizing turnovers, and most importantly containing the “Big-Play” Players. The interesting thing to see is where Sam Houston plays Jawon Anderson (6’3”, 185). He was a huge receiving threat last year, but his skills may be better suited at the QB position which would make Sam Houston much harder to defend. Having a new head coach will also be an adjustment for Sam Houston,
For Highlands, ensuring we don’t have sophomore-ish mistakes made at crucial points in the game will be extremely important. Last year, the defense held fast for the better part of the 1st half of the game, but the starting RB in the second series, costly turnovers and a blocked punt shifted momentum to a point where Highlands started playing catch up the second half of the game even though we were only down 14 points, making an already athletic Sam Houston team quite comfortable and dangerous. We were not able to recover offensively in that game.
This game will be Highlands’ 5th district game of the season so it will more than likely have big stakes attached to it in terms of earning a district championship and possible playoff implications.
10/20 – Burbank vs Brackenridge, Alamo Stadium
Just like the Sam Houston quarterback, the Brackenridge Eagles quarterback, Antonio Lopez, was another one of the top quarterbacks in the San Antonio area. Last year, as a Senior, he had 2,338 passing yards with 20 touchdowns. His back-up, Vincent Gonzalez, a Sophomore had 838 passing yards with 9 touchdowns. I really hope he learned a lot from Lopez because he will very likely be the starter. Gonzalez does have Justin Eaton, a Junior who had 23 receptions for 530 yards with 9 touchdowns (he was 3rd in receiving yards behind two Seniors).
Last year, Burbank went winless with a Sophomore quarterback, Dylan Gusme, who had 1,022 total yards with 7 touchdowns.
10/27 – Holmes vs Taft, Gustafson Stadium
For the past 3 years, the Taft Raiders have had a consistent running back in Christian Mallard, but he graduated this year and is a verbal commitment to the Air Force Academy. His toughness and willingness to win can’t be replaced. The 2nd leading rusher (being Mallard last year) was Kali Stevens, a Junior. He had 546 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns. The leading receiver last year was Mychel Cooper, another Junior.
11/3 – N.I.S.D. Playoff Game
The Northside ISD has 10 High Schools, but they are divided into 2 zones — Zone A and Zone B. The first place teams in both zones will clinch a playoff berth and they will play each other in Week 11 for the District Championship. Then the second place team in each Zone will play the third place team in the other Zone…the winners will clinch the final two playoff berths.
Basically, this game could be any of those 3 match-ups, but in the back of my brain, I want it to be the District Championship. Last year, it was one of the win or go home games between Brandeis and Taft (which Brandeis won). Brennan won the District Championship.
I am planning on using Facebook live so if you want to see exclusive coverage that nobody else will have, then like The Stat Man Speaks on Facebook. I will have recaps and pictures for each game published on my website, www.thestatmanspeaks.com. You can also follow me on twitter @statmanspeaks for game-day updates.
I still haven’t made up my mind on what I will do on Friday’s throughout the season and my explanation is very simple. By the time August 26th rolls around, I will have a 4-month old son at home and I don’t want to miss spending time with him and my wife during. Basically, it really depends on Niko (that is his name). Right now, I am leaning a certain direction (but, I don’t want to tell you because plans can change instantly.
