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District 14-3A, Division II
DISTRICT 14-3A, DIVISION II Area Teams building off playoff appearances
BY PETER L. SCAMARDO II
PSCAMARDO@VICAD.COM
Tidehaven, Rice Consolidated and Van Vleck all made the playoffs out of District 14-3A, Division II, but not one made it out of the bi-district round.
Tidehaven is seeking its ninth straight playoff appearance, Rice Consolidated is looking for its fourth straight and first-year head coach Rodney Dowell aims to build off Van Vleck’s playoff berth last season.
“To us last year was kind of a disappointment,” said Tidehaven head coach David Lucio. “We played a lot of freshmen, they’re a year older now. I’ve got a real strong senior class, real strong sophomore class. We got a few more coaches to make our coaching staff better. So, we’re actually pretty excited about this year with what we’ve got coming back as far as coaches and players.”
Tidehaven returns 12 starters and is led by quarterback Logan Crow, who threw for 1,076 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 914 yards and 10 scores.
Rice Consolidated head coach Jared Sloan has led the Raiders to the playoffs all three years and is looking to make it fourin-a-row with his original freshman class.
“They understand what we’re asking them to do, the work ethic, the mentality, the leadership from some of those guys,” Sloan said. “We’ve had a couple young guys that have leadership potential step up this summer and I’m really looking forward to seeing them put it all together and have the chance to make plays on Friday nights.”
District MVP Michael Flores returns at linebacker, while running backs James Cotton and James Hurd are expected to lead the Raiders offense.
Dowell returns to Van Vleck after working as an assistant in 2010 and 2011.
Van Vleck returns 12 starters. Quarterback Payton Brown will lead the Leopards’ offense and Garrett Chambless will anchor both sides of the line.
So far, Dowell has been impressed by the player turnout and the support from the Van Vleck community.
“If we can keep everybody united and directed in the right direction everything will work out,” Dowell said. “I think as far as the coaching staff goes, I can’t be more pleased with the effort that they have shown and bringing new coaches in we had a good summer kind of melding together and building a family and we’re excited about that.”
DISTRICT 14-3A, DIVISION II
Tidehaven Tigers
Coach: David Lucio Last Season’s Record: 5-5, 3-2 district Last Playoff Appearance: 2020, bi-district Returning Starters: QB Logan Crow, RB/MLB Jose Martinez, WR Connor Claxton, WR/DB Ricky Rubio, WR/DB Joseph Dodds, OL Taylor Rickaway, DT Jerry Johnson, DT Woody Galvan, OLB Xain Dusek, OLB Seth Winkenwerder, DB Blake Montague.
Rice Consolidated Raiders
Coach: Jared Sloan Last Season’s Record: 4-6, 3-2 district Last Playoff Appearance: 2020, bi-district Returning Starters: RB/LB James Cotton, WR/ DB Deondre Cotton, FB/LB Straton Pieprzyca, FB/ LB Michael Flores, QB/DB Rafael Herrera, OL/DL Quinton Porch, OL/DL Kason Brown, OL/DL Luis Reyes.
Van Vleck Leopards
Coach: Rodney Dowell Last Season’s Record: 3-6, 3-2 Last Playoff Appearance: 2020, bi-district Returning Starters: OL/LB Garrett Chambless, RB/ LB Kadarius Woodard, OL/DL Ronnie Cathey, OL/ DL Garrett Mayfield, OL/DL Wesley Moss, RB/LB Cameron Austin, WR/DB Bryson Blackmon, OL/ DL Jacob Perez, WR/DB Jace Mackenzie, WR/DB Kayne Williams, RB/LB Brett Noster, QB/DB Peyton Brown.
VICTORIA ADVOCATE, August 26, 2021 — F19
DISTRICT 15-3A, DIVISION II Karnes City looking to end playoff drought
BY PETER L. SCAMARDO II
PSCAMARDO@VICAD.COM
Karnes City came one game short of ending a five-year playoff drought in 2020.
After losing their first four games, the Badgers defeated second-seed Stockdale 28-27 in their final game but lost a tie breaker to George West for fourth place.
Poth and George West look to be the favorites in District 15-3A, Division II, but Karnes City has the numbers to make a run with 19 lettermen returning.
“The attitude has been awesome,” said Karnes City head coach Daniel Oelschlegel. “It’s been a complete buy in from our kids and we told them it’s going to be different, it’s going to be hard but it’s going to be worth it. I think they have embraced that and I’m really looking forward to this season with these kids.”
Warrick Thompson and Jerrick Beaver are speedy wide receivers who also play in the secondary. Karnes City will have to find a quarterback but will benefit from Joey Valdez and Zeke Guzman anchoring the offensive line.
Nixon-Smiley will continue to rebuild under first-year head coach Troy Moses.
The Mustangs have to recover from losing a large senior class and will rely on players like Bradyn Martinez and Sebastian Ortiz to have an impact both ways.
Nixon-Smiley went 3-6 overall and 1-5 in district in 2020. Its last playoff appearance was in 2019.
“Right now we’re focusing on us,” Moses said. “We’re not really concerned about our opponents or anything like that right now. The only thing we can control is who we are and the effort and attitude that we come to practice with everyday.”
DISTRICT 15-3A, DIVISION II
Karnes City Badgers
Coach: Daniel Oelschlegel Last Season’s Record: 4-6, 3-3 district Last Playoff Appearance: 2015, bi-district Returning Starters: WR/DB Warrick Thompson, WR/DB Jerrick Beaver, RB Charlie Foley, OL/DL Zeke Guzman, OL Joey Valdez, DB/TE Gabe Gutierrez, OLB Jason Foley, LB James Mejia, DE Aidan Garza, DE Mason Moore, DL AJ Mendoza, OL Justin Barrientez.
Nixon-Smiley Mustangs
Coach: Troy Moses Last Season’s Record: 3-6, 1-5 district Last Playoff Appearance: 2019, bi-district Returning Starters: QB/DB Bradyn Martinez, LB Jason Adams, OL Sebastian Ortiz, LB Michael Brown.
