An Evening with the Tivy Antlers

With Cy Woods having last week off, I decided to go out for a drive on Friday. After all, it was an absolutely beautiful day and I hadn't gone out for a long drive since the summer. This would be the first time that I'd go on a drive starting in the late afternoon, though.

My destination? Lockhart, the Barbecue Capital of Texas. I went out that way to watch some 5A football and to catch up with a few gentlemen from my past. Sadly, there was no time for me to get food though.

Aside from having to endure one long work zone on I-10 in Waller County, the drive was refreshing and incident-free. And yes, there were two trips to Buc-ee's shoehorned into the itinerary.

My photos.

Top: Bleachers of wood, seats of metal

Bottom: Tivy's run-through sign 

Sorry, those are the only two I took all night

As for the game, the Tivy Antlers made the journey from one end of the Hill Country in Kerrville to the other as they took on the Lockhart Lions. The Antlers traveled well and had a solid contingent in the stands. The Lions were on the periphery of the playoff race but they also had a nice turnout for their final home game of 2018.

The first quarter literally lasted an eternity. Daequan Ellison opened the scoring in Lockhart's favor when he scored from 75 yards on the first play of the game. He ended up running for 245 yards in the first quarter and in a little over 13 minutes of game time, Ellison had 366 yards and five touchdowns on just nine carries. 

Somehow, Tivy emerged from the first 12 minutes with a 35-28 lead as they managed to keep pace with their dynamic duo of Trapper Pannell and Karson Valverde. Unfortunately, Ellison and his brother, Daetron, emerged as serious problems for the Antler defense as the Lions regained the momentum in the second quarter. Again, though, Tivy managed to stay in contact even as they missed a field goal at the halftime buzzer that would have cut the Lockhart lead to 45-41. They would completely turn the tables on the Lions in the second half. Lockhart could only muster up a field goal in the final 24 minutes and the Antlers were finally able to take control and came away with a 62-48 victory.

Daequan Ellison finished with 444 yards and five touchdowns. In addition, Daetron Ellison chipped in with 190 yards of his own and scored twice. I can't say I've seen or heard it all because that statement simply isn't true. This was definitely the first time that I saw a team allow almost 700 rushing yards and still win a football game. You are guaranteed to see (or hear about) some weird things every week in Texas high school football... 

After the game, I got to catch up with Coach Jones, Coach Hickman, and Coach Kubacak. As many of you remember, Coach Jones was Cy Woods' first head coach. Coach Hickman, who is the defensive coordinator at Tivy, coached the cornerbacks and then the linebackers at Cy Woods. And finally, Coach K is Tivy's offensive coordinator; he was the running backs coach at Woods. 

I met Coach Jones' family for the first time since they left Houston. I remember his twin sons, Cade and Carson, running around with the limitless energy typically found in toddlers; now, they're in middle school serving as ball boys for the team while they wait for their opportunity to become Antlers. Ryan Kate, his daughter, just started high school and she was about midway through elementary school when they were still in Cypress.

Coach Hickman told me that Lockhart was a team that they had little trouble with over the last seven years but they surely made a few tweaks to the Slot-T attack and that caused them so much trouble early on. The Lions wanted in on the Tivy track meet and they caused a legitimate nuisance in the first half. Whatever Coach Hickman said at halftime to fire up his kids definitely worked in the end.

I left with the impression that these Tivy boys can play. They've got the talent to make some serious noise in 5A Division II. If they were at Woods, they'd definitely play.

I mentioned Karson Valverde and Trapper Pannell earlier. Valverde finished with 260 total yards and six touchdowns. He's been their home-run threat all season and they needed every single yard and every single touchdown out of him on Friday. Pannell, meanwhile, threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns, added another touchdown on the ground, and also intercepted a pass near the end of the first half. He even chipped in with three tackles on the night as a safety. That's classic Texas tough. You have to expect that from a kid named Trapper...

Cole Mixon, Tyler Jenschke, and James Huff also came up big from their linebacker spots. The three of them combined for 46 tackles; Mixon had 17, Huff 16, and Jenschke 13. They all played with the fire that Coach Hickman instills in every kid that he's coached. It felt like a Lockhart runner was surrounded by seven or eight guys in gold helmets because that's what happened all night outside of Daequan Ellison's long scoring runs. 

Also, Jared Zirkel, their kicker, is going to be the next Braden Mann. I heard that he made a 59-yard field goal in an actual game and wanted to see him for myself and that kid is legit. All but one of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks and... well, he did miss a 41-yard field goal right before halftime, but that leg of his is a real weapon. The top specialists in Texas are usually kids at 6A or the big private schools... but for a high school football team in a town that's modestly sized like Kerrville, kickers like Jared Zirkel don't come around very often.

I still have tremendous respect for Coach Jones, Coach Hickman, and Coach Kubacak and I'm glad that they took some time to catch up. I will always be grateful that they gave me a chance to become a part of something truly special at Cy Woods and I am extremely glad that they are continuing to have success as they try to build something special of their own in Kerrville. The cardinal and gold of Cy Woods may run through my veins, but I've also become somewhat of a Tivy Antler fan.

I didn't understand the sacred nature of Texas high school football until I entered high school. I feel like those years were the catalysts for me: Cy Falls making it to state, hearing about Sam McGuffie's exploits at Cy-Fair, helping build a tradition at Cy Woods... by far, my four years at Cy Woods provided the most critical events towards fostering my love for this game, first as a player, and now as a fan. Before this year, I promised myself that I'd go out and see more teams besides the ones that play Cy Woods, especially now that the Cats are in a new district and back in Region II. I think I did alright in that regard, but maybe when work is a little more stable, I'll have more time to do that.

Maybe I'll go see a Tivy game in Kerrville next time, and also when the weather is a little bit warmer.