Photos by Ralph Arvesen
The Wimberley Texans came into the season off of a historic 2022-23 season. Last year, the Texans went 10-0 in their regular season, undefeated in District 13-4A Division II play, and made it all the way to the UIL 4A Division II state championship. In the title game, they matched up with the Carthage Bulldogs and lost 42-0. 
The Texans have been a program on the rise over the past 5 seasons. In 2018, they went 4-7. But since then, Head Coach Doug Warrens’ team improved each season. They went 12-4 in 2019 and 2020, 10-3 in 2021, and 15-1 last season. This year, the Texans had their eyes set on getting back to the state title game and winning their school’s third state championship.
Wimberley got their season off to a great start. In week one, they beat Canyon Lake, 60-6, led by quarterback Cody Stoevers 6 total touchdowns. They continued their excellent start with a 44-6 win over Pieper. But, in week 3, they got challenged.
The Texans faced Brock in week 3. Wimberley had the 21-7 halftime lead, but Brock tied the game in the third quarter. With 2 minutes to go in the game, the Texans scored to go up 35-27, and then the defense intercepted Brock to win the game, 35-27.
After week three, Wimberley started to dominate opponents. They beat Fredericksburg 48-10, a game in which Stoever had 6 touchdowns, then beat Lampasas 41-20. After a 49-13 win at Jarrell, the Texans played one of their best games of the season. 
In week 10, Wimberley beat Manor New Tech, 72-0. They went on to win their last three games of the regular season, 48-20, 34-22, and a big 70-6 win over Austin Achieve. The Texans once again finished the regular season undefeated and finished first in district play at 5-0.
The Texans faced off against Pearsall in round one of the playoffs and dominated them, 68-0, for their second shutout of the season. Stoever threw three touchdowns, and Benji Olmedo ran for 100 yards and a touchdown.
In round two, they faced Orange Grove. Stoever threw for 294 yards and 4 touchdowns and added 132 yards rushing and rushing touchdown to lead the Texans to a 49-8 win. Next up was Ingleside, who the Texans beat easily, 63-14, to advance to face the Sinton Pirates.
The Pirates were coming off a 50-14 win over Navarro and were on a 9-game win streak. The Wimberley defense held Sinton to just 13 points, and the offense, led by 234 yards rushing from Stoever, put up 38 points to advance to the state semifinal. Waiting in the semifinals was the undefeated Bellville Brahmas. Bellville was 36-2 over the last three seasons coming into this game.
Bellville featured a powerful running game with two 2,000-yard running backs, Murray and Hranicky, and a third back, Hood, who rushed for over 1,600 yards this year. But, it was the Bellville defense that struck first in the state semifinal game, forcing a fumble and returning it for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Wimberley responded late in the first quarter on a Cody Stoever 5-yard touchdown run to tie the game. The 7-7 score would hold into halftime.
The Brahmas struck first in the second half, with a 65-yard rushing touchdown, but once again Wimberley responded, again on a Stoever touchdown run to tie the game. However, Bellville was able to score twice more quickly in the third quarter to take a 28-14 lead. But Wimberley was not done fighting for their undefeated season. Stoever scored on his third touchdown run to cut the lead to 28-21 going into the 4th quarter. 
Like Bellville did on the first and second quarter’s first drive, they scored on the opening drive of the fourth quarter to take a 35-21 lead. But once again, the Texans weren’t done fighting for a spot in the state title game. They scored again to cut the lead to 35-27, but they missed the PAT. With under a minute to go, they had the ball back, and Stoever was able to score on a run to cut the lead to 35-33, but the two-point conversion to tie the game was unsuccessful. Bellville won, 35-33.
Wimberley finished the season with one game shy of returning to the state title. It was a heartbreaking end to the season for the Texans, but they have established themselves as one of the best 4A programs. With key players like Cody Stoever, Nolan Waida, Reid Leinneweber, and Ty Thames, the Texans will be one of the favorites to reach the championship game next year.
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