These teams are hot, so you may want to have the local fire department on call. Cibolo Steele started 1-4, before going winning its last six games. Vandergrift won five of its last six and its four losses came to playoff teams, three of those losses by 12 points or less.
Both will look to keep up their good play this week when they take the field at New Braunfels Canyon High School Stadium.
Steele Knights
The Knights are feeling it. As mentioned, its six-game win streak comes against pretty solid teams. Its last, against Brennan who took the area-best team O’Connor to overtime just a few weeks ago.
Freshman Wyatt Beagal has grown up as the starting quarterback, helping his team to victory. This year, he has 704 yards, seven touchdowns and only two interceptions. His workload has been considerably lessened with the help of his backfield.
Led by Rice-committ Brenden Brady with 1,612 rushing yards, the group has totaled for more than 2,700 on the year. Of the teams 46 total touchdowns, 31 of them come on the ground – 20 of those from Brady.
Last week, Brady helped considerably as Steele routed Brennan 30-3, as the senior led the way with 255 yards.
For Steele to stretch its win streak, it’ll need another monster performance from Brady and for its freshman to ignore the big stage of the area round.
Fast Vipers
If this game comes down to defense, the hot hand may win it. Vandegrift’s black swarm didn’t start the season too great. In the first four games, teams scored 30 or more on the group. In its last six games, it allowed 28 or less – in four of those, it kept teams to 0, 7, 13 and 20.
Offensively, the Vipers will keep the game fairly balanced, but will rely on passing more than the Knights. Its senior quarterback Justin Moore has 2,459 yards, 24 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Moore isn’t going to wow you with his feet (60 carries, 78 yards, two touchdowns), but has been able to spread passes out to his receivers.
Four of those have 20 or more catches. The leader, Peyton Ausley. The 6-foot-3 senior has hauled in 73 balls for 934 yards while scoring 11 times.
Evenly Matched
The defenses of these squads are eerily similar in terms of points allowed. If you look at the offenses, though, Steele has the upper hand. Although Steele may score more often, that doesn’t automatically secure a Knight win. Both teams are evenly matched, one with a hot streak as of late. This has the makings of another close game, as Vandegrift was in one last week. But football games are not played on paper.
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