SAN ANGELO, TX — As Richland Springs prepares for a state championship game, and Wall gets ready for Gunter in the state semifinals, there are plenty of teams outside our area preparing for big games as well this weekend.
The smallest 11-man teams, from Class 2A Division II, are prepare for a new state rushing champion and a possible state final rematch.
Gruver Greyhounds (12-2) vs. Muenster Hornets (12-2)
Both Gruver and Muenster beat district opponents last weekend to advance to the state semifinal game. It’s actually a rematch from last season’s semifinal game that Muenster won, 49-26, on the way to a state championship.
As far as points go, these two teams pretty much mirror each other. Gruver has scored 615 points this season and given up 189, while Muenster has put up 673 points and allowed 246.
From their state run last year, Muenster returned quarterback Casen Carney, who has been elite this season. Carney has a 73% completion percentage (138-of-189) and thrown for 2,368 yards and 34 touchdowns with two interceptions.
Gruver’s Briggs Satterfield has been really good as well, going 154-of-228 (66%) for 2,341 yards, 34 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Both of these quarterbacks also run the ball. Carney has 1,570 rushing yards and 21 TDs, while Satterfield has 856 yards and 22 TDs.
Gruver is a little more balanced on offense with 2,260 rushing yards to 2,406 passing yards. Muenster relies on the running game more with 3,929 yards on the ground to 2,555 yards through the air.
Muenster has a potent offense that could run into a wall against this Gruver defense, led by sophomore Bo Cowen, who has 131 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 13 sacks and three fumble recoveries on the season so far. In fact, the Greyhound defense has 32 total sacks and 14 interceptions. They pretty much live in opposing backfields with 131 tackles for loss.
Gruver has Cowen, but the Hornets have an ace up their sleeve as well — their back seven. Simon Johnson, Jake Wheeler, Mason Mills, and freshman, yes freshman, Titan Binder lead a stout defense. Johnson, Wheeler, and Mills have 12, 11, and 9 passes defended, respectively, while Binder leads the team in interceptions with seven.
The Gruver Greyhounds play the Muenster Hornets at 6 p.m. Thursday in Canyon at Happy State Bank Stadium.
Mount Enterprise Wildcats (14-0) vs. Shiner Comanches (14-0)
Shiner ended Junction’s run last week in Hutto, and this week they’ll face Mount Enterprise, which won a shootout against Bremond, 64-58. Most notable from the game was senior running back Keagan Ash obliterating the Texas single-season rushing record, a mark of 4,045 yards that had stood since 1953 when it was set by Sugar Land's Kenneth Hall. Ash had 501 rushing yards and 102 receiving yards in the game and broke the rushing record on a 36-yard TD run. He now has 269 carries for 4,322 yards and 67 TDs. Combined with the fact that Shiner utilizes running the ball with Jarvis Williams, Quincey Jones, and Clayton Fric, means this game could be over early as both teams grind the clock.
Despite Ash's running ability, Mount Enterprise can effectively throw the ball. Quarterback Joshua Bennett has only thrown 74 times but has 1,194 yards, 15 TDs and three interceptions. He has a few weapons besides Ash in Jase Webb, Coy Freeman and Aadin Alsup. But it shouldn’t be a surprise they grind on teams with 438.6 rushing yards per game.
Defensively, four players have over 100 tackles, led by Bennett with 155. Ash makes his presence felt on defense with 102 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
Shiner is no stranger to big games as just last season the Comanches were the state runner-up after losing to Muenster, 36-29. Their defensive stats are not on Maxpreps, but Bo Boehm and Brody Popp made numerous plays against Junction's explosive offense.
The Shiner Comanches play the Mount Enterprise Wildcats at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, at New Caney’s Randall Reed Stadium.
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