The 2022 high school football regular season is officially in the books! The last 11 weeks have flown by, and delivered some epic twists and turns. Some teams, like Steele, Boerne, Wimberley and Sabinal emerged with pristine 10-0 records. Others rebounded from slow starts to earn district titles on the final week.
Ultimately, the semantics of seeding and the pride from district titles do matter, but the most important thing is punching your ticket to the playoffs. If you’re in, you’ve got a chance. For a decent chunk of teams, Week 11 was their opportunity to prepare for the “second” season. The rest saw their seasons come to an end, and several rode into the 2022 sunset on a high note!
Our Big Game Coverage (BGC) from the past week featured some great games, so let’s recap the biggest moments from the week that was in the Best of BGC.
On Instant Replay, we selected the best of the best, including highlights from O’Connor, Wagner, Uvalde, Burbank and Pleasanton!
>> Click here to check out the Best of BGC from Week 11! <<
Be sure to check out all of the highlights from Week 11 as well:
(Copyright 2021 by KSAT – All rights reserved.)
Four undefeated teams remain standing at the conclusion of the regular season. Where does everyone sit as we turn the page to the playoffs?
>> See the full Week 12 rankings by clicking here! <<
(Copyright 2021 by KSAT – All rights reserved.) (KSAT)
REAGAN 24, BRANDEIS 9
If you didn’t know the name Cole Pryor before Friday night’s showdown at Comalander Stadium, you certainly do now.
After both teams traded field goals in the first half, Pryor’s body blows turned into haymakers in the second half. Reagan’s sophomore running back carried the rock 29 times for 208 yards and all three of the Rattlers’ touchdowns. Two of those came in the third quarter, as Reagan built a 17-3 advantage heading into the fourth. Brandeis quarterback JC Evans found the end zone on a one-yard plunge midway through the final frame to make it interesting, but Pryor answered with a 24-yard touchdown run with 54 ticks left in the game to secure the final margin.
Reagan’s defense was stellar as usual, holding an impressive Broncos offense to 217 total yards and 13 first downs. Giuseppe Sessi capped the performance with an interception in the waning seconds. Reagan has now won eight straight games and carries a ton of momentum into a high-profile Bi-District matchup against New Braunfels next week.
(KSAT)
McCOLLUM 27, HARLANDALE 20
Rivalry games are the bedrock of high school football. Saturday evening’s Frontier Bowl was the perfect capstone to an incredible regular season.
The Indians grabbed an early lead on a one-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jacob Saucedo late in the first quarter, but McCollum answered with 13 straight points in the second. Running back Julian Roque pounded Harlandale’s defense and scored a staggering four-yard touchdown midway through the frame, and after the defense recovered a pair of Indians fumbles, quarterback Justin Rodriguez showed some fancy footwork for a seven-yard touchdown of his own to give the Cowboys a 13-6 lead at the break.
Harlandale appeared to take the game over in the third quarter. Zion Molina made it a one-point game with a 12-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the second half, and Saucedo hit Saxon Langenburg on a 60-yard bomb that put the Indians on top 20-13 with a 18 minutes to play. Those would prove to be their final points. McCollum answered that surge with back-to-back scoring drives in the fourth quarter and wrestled the lead back. Roque added another TD run and finished the night with 22 carries for 115 yards and a pair of TDs. Rodriguez capped the scoring with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Steven Medina that proved to be the game-winner, as the Cowboys beat the Indians for the first time since 2012.
(KSAT)
BRACKENRIDGE 44, HIGHLANDS 42
Speaking of rivalry games, let’s keep it in District 14-5A Division II for another wild finish on Thursday night at Alamo Stadium.
This game saw 40 total points scored in the first quarter alone. The Eagles led 27-13 after dual-threat quarterback Brandon Garcia’s 14-yard touchdown run. Garcia posted 13 carries for 139 yards and three total touchdowns, as Brackenridge built a 34-21 halftime lead. Highlands clawed their way back into the game thanks to a pair of rushing touchdowns from QB Willie Gaskin. He ripped off a 30-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter that put the Owls up 42-41 with 7:49 left in regulation. Gaskin posted a whopping 261 rushing yards and accounted for all six of Highlands’ touchdowns.
Brackenridge just made a few more plays. Running back Xaviur Camargo rushed 29 times for 139 yards and a pair of scores, and he helped the Eagles drive for Edgar Barreda’s go-ahead 22-yard field goal. The defense did its job on the Owls’ ensuing possession, and Brackenridge concluded their wild season by securing some all-important bragging rights.
PLEASANTON 34, BEEVILLE JONES 28 (2OT)
There’s just something about Pleasanton and overtime this year.
After falling behind 14-7 early in the second half, the Eagles answered with 14 straight points of their own. Quarterback Sean Ramos hit Deigo Luna for a 23-yard touchdown in the third quarter, then running back Michael Castillo scored from a yard out to put Pleasanton back on top 21-14. Trojans running back Trey Barefield responded on the ensuing drive with a seven-yard score, and both teams ended regulation deadlocked at 21-all. This marked the fourth time this season that the Eagles played an overtime period. They’d need two to secure the victory.
Jayce Krauskopf scored from two yards out in the first OT period, and Castillo tallied his third TD of the game in the second OT period, as Pleasanton finished their season with a 3-2 record against District 15-4A Division I competition and built some momentum heading into the playoffs. Castillo ended the night with 31 carries for a game-high 201 yards. Next up, a Bi-District showdown against Tuloso-Midway.
(KSAT)
The greater San Antonio area has a phenomenal showing at the UIL State Cross Country Championships in Round Rock over the weekend.
The Lytle boys struck gold on Saturday, placing five runners in the top 23 places to win the Class 3A title with 72 points. Sophomore Johnny Alvarez led the way with a time of 16:26.6 that placed third overall among team competitors. The Great Hearts Northern Oaks boys took third. Isai Moran was the team’s highest finisher at 8th overall in 16:39.1. Cole senior Anthony Meyer took fifth overall individually with a time of 16:14.7.
On the girls side, Poth and Lytle both finished on the Class 3A podium with silver and bronze respectively. Poth freshman Brooklyn Albert finished second overall with a time of 12:05.2, while Lytle senior Marissa Lopez finished fifth in 12:20.8. Randolph sophomore Sophia Bendet finished fourth overall individually with a time of 12:12.2.
In Class 5A, the Boerne Champion girls posted their fourth consecutive podium finish by taking second overall with 85 total points. Freshman Elizabeth Leachman led the charge with a 13th-place finish in 19:06.7. Smithson Valley ended up sixth in the girls standings. Sophia Perez was the 10th-highest team scorer with a time of 19:02.3. Brackenridge senior Melody Espinoza was a smidge faster, finishing 15th in the individual standings in 19:00.6.
Jefferson junior Henok Hayele capped a remarkable season with a fifth-place finish in the Class 5A boys race. His final time: 15:28.7. Southwest Legacy junior Anthony Zapata was 13th in the individual standings with a time of 15:54.4.
Last but not least, Taylor Grona helped power Fredericksburg to a second place finish in the Class 4A girls team standings. Grona took second overall with a time of 11:38.3, missing out on gold by a little over a second.
Congratulations to every who competed this season! We’ll undoubtedly see a lot of these names during track & field season in the spring.
Here’s all the links to our high school sports coverage from the past week:
We’ll see you on Thursday night for the start of the playoffs!
Andrew Cely, KSAT 12 Sports Producer and Reporter
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