Celina, Kenedy, Vandegrift, Lake Travis Victorious in Week 1

There were several big-time matchups to open the high school football season in Texas in week one. From dominating performances against ranked opposition to a quarterback lighting up the scoreboard, here are the top performances, individual or team, from week one.

5. #6 Celina snaps losing streak against #3 Melissa in dominating fashion

Celina squared off with Melissa in a 4A Top 10 matchup to open the season for the second year in a row. The two teams were tied at 13 at halftime, but Celina asserted its dominance in the second half. Celina running back Troy Peterson found paydirt from 14 yards out before quarterback Noah Bentley, an Oklahoma baseball commit, added two more touchdowns, one on the ground and another on a beautiful 40-yard touchdown pass over the Melissa defense to his receiver Collin Urich. Those three touchdowns were the only points scored in the second half as Celina ran away with a 34-13 victory. With this convincing win, the Bobcats certainly showed that they will be a threat in 4A Division II this year as they look to reach the heights they did in 2015 when they were the runner-up at state.

Bentley’s 40-yard TD pass to Urich (Courtesy of Matthew Alan Brice): https://twitter.com/KingMathias81/status/1431449287347642369

4. Kenedy knocks off Karnes City for the first time in nine years

The Battle for Highway 181 is always a season-opening fixture down in Karnes County. Heading into this season, the past seven editions had been won by Karnes City. That was about to change.

Running back Geovanni Gibson helped Kenedy out to a 12-0 lead in the third quarter after touchdown rushes of 12 and 17 yards. Karnes City’s own running back Jeremiah Rivera responded as he broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run up the middle before quarterback Treyton Clark found his receiver Jerrick Beaver open in the end zone for an 11-yard score to give Karnes City its first lead of the game in the fourth quarter at 13-12.

From there, a key act of leadership played a big role in making sure Kenedy didn’t let its opportunity to beat its archrival slip away. “Our senior running back and free safety, Jaydin Chapa, huddled the team up late in the 4th quarter and told the guys that he wasn’t going to let them beat us; His speech was pivotal,” said Kenedy head coach Shawn Alvarez. “The guys rallied behind him and got the job done.”

Get the job done they did. Gibson found paydirt for the third time, this time from two yards out to give Kenedy an 18-13 lead with just under two minutes to go. The Kenedy defense then came up with a big-time stop to seal the game on fourth down, and earn Kenedy’s first victory in the rivalry since 2012.

“This win has rallied our community, school, and team,” Alvarez said. “Our boys were hungry for this one. 9 years waiting to kick the door down! Finally! We told them to enjoy it, get back to the grind Saturday morning, and get ready for the next opponent.” Kenedy will look to keep that momentum going when it travels to take on Progreso in a neutral-site encounter this Saturday.

3. Vandegrift throttles Cedar Park in the annual rivalry

Cedar Park and Vandegrift met for the 12^th straight season on Thursday night. A year after Cedar Park defeated the Vipers 21-7 in the season opener and went on to go to the 5A Division I state title game, Vandegrift wanted to set the record straight. And set the record straight they did. The Vandegrift defense forced six turnovers, while Vipers quarterback Brayden Buchanan found receiver Reece Beauchamp for touchdowns of 40 and 36 yards in the first quarter, giving Vandegrift an early and commanding lead that it never relinquished. Beauchamp also played some quarterback on the night, finishing with 47 passing yards, 132 receiving yards, and 4 total touchdowns. Buchanan, meanwhile, threw for 168 yards and three touchdowns and also added another touchdown on the ground. With two starting-caliber quarterbacks on its roster and a tenacious defense, look for Vandegrift to make some noise in 24-6A after this season-opening, statement win.

2. D.J. Johnson stars all over the field for #8 Lake Travis in win over #9 Arlington Martin

D.J. Johnson had a night to remember last Friday as Lake Travis picked up a momentous 40-28 victory over fellow 6A top-10 foe Arlington Martin. Johnson only had ten offensive touches, but he made the most of them. It started with under two minutes to go in the second quarter as Lake Travis quarterback Bo Edmundson threw a dart of a slant pass, hitting Johnson in stride. Johnson did the rest taking it 64 yards for the score. On the first play of the second half, Johnson struck again as he found a hole and raced away for a 52-yard rushing touchdown. And then in the fourth quarter, Johnson completed his touchdown trifecta, taking a handoff, running through a would-be tackler, and dashing away for a 60-yard score to put Lake Travis up 40-28. Johnson finished with 145 yards rushing and 72 yards receiving on just 10 touches, while also adding eight tackles defensively. It was a huge night for Johnson in a huge win for the Cavaliers.

Johnson’s 64-yard catch-and-run touchdown (Courtesy of Nick Harris): https://twitter.com/NickHarris247/status/1431426977228021762

1. Richard Torres has a historic night in blowout San Antonio Southside win

Southside quarterback Richard Torres burst onto the recruiting scene this past spring before committing to Nebraska in June. On Thursday night, he showed why. He carved up the Brownsville Lopez defense, throwing for 299 yards and eight touchdowns of 33, 14, 12, 56, 61, 26, 17, and 18 yards. Even more impressively, seven of those touchdowns came in the first half as Torres played just two plays in the second half as Southside cruised to a 62-14 victory. “He has a unique skill set for a 6’6″ athlete,” Southside head coach Ricky Lock said. “[He] played outstanding this past week. I think he has really improved from last year.”

With his eight-touchdown performance, Torres became just the 59^th player in UIL’s 11-man history to throw for eight touchdowns in a single game. Torres and his Cardinals will certainly be a team to watch in District 14-5A Division I as they seek their second district title in a row.

Torres’ eighth and final touchdown of the night (Courtesy of Robby Chavez): https://twitter.com/RevengOfThe4th/status/1431073309723140097