Wimberley Texans, Dripping Springs Tigers look ahead to the Friday night lights

The Wimberley High School Texans and Dripping Springs High School Tigers success stories last year ended before the final chapter for both football teams could be finished; each are eager to pick up where they left off, but the rewrite won’t be easy.

PHOTO BY Wayland D. Clark
Cody Stoever, the 2023 News-Dispatch Player of the Year and District 13-4A MVP, leads the Texans’ offense again this year. Last year, he completed 191 of 266 passes for 2,992 yards with 41 touchdowns and carried the ball 209 times for 1,585 yards and scored 32 touchdowns. Stoever accounted for 73 of the team’s total of 102 touchdowns.[/caption]

The Texans return Cody Stoever, last year’s News-Dispatch Player of the Year (POY), who will be a third-year starter at quarterback as a senior this year. “People who watch him play get to see what he can to on the field, but I get to witness what he does off the field all the time." Wimberley head football coach Doug Warren said. "He’s a model young man, leads the kids, a warrior and somebody you want on your football team. He hates to lose and that is very evident in the way he plays. I’m blessed to be able to coach him and glad he’s a part of the Wimberley Texans.”

A 35-33 loss to Bellville in the Class 4A State Semifinal on a failed two-point conversion, which would have likely sent the game into overtime, ended the Texans' season and a chance to play for the State Championship. In that game, Stoever had 43 carries for 203 yards and scored all five of the Texans touchdowns, but, following a controversial call, the quarterback was stopped inches from the goal line.

After winning 14 games last year, Wimberley graduated 34 seniors on the team, but Stoever isn’t the only array of returning resources available to Warren. Juniors from last year’s roster likely returning are: Nolan Waida, averaging more than 20 yards per catch; Reid Leinneweber, an outside linebacker; Ty Thames, a middle linebacker; tight end Caleb McCreless; and others.

“My teammates, coaches and I put in a lot of hard work. I’m in a position where I kind of get to shine and I’m very thankful for that,” Stoever said at the award presentation. “I give the Lord all the credit for giving me the ability to do what I get to do. I’m just playing to win games.”

The Texans will face some unfamiliar teams this year in 4A Division 2 Region IV District 13 against Gonzales, Salado and Smithville high schools, and some holdovers from last year Jarrell, Lago Vista and Geronimo Navarro high schools, and non-district opponents Canyon Lake, Fredericksburg, Austin LBJ and Lampasas high schools.

Wimberley will open the season with back-to-back home games versus Canyon Lake High School on Friday, Aug. 30 and Fredericksburg High School on Friday, Sept. 6. The Texans will be on the road for three consecutive away games and a bye before hosting Salado High School on Friday, Oct. 11. A short trip up I-35 to face Jarrell High School on Oct. 18 and the Texans return home to take on Gonzales High School on Oct. 25, before a trip to Smithville High School on Nov. 1 and the final home game of the regular season is on Nov. 8 against Lago Vista High School. All games are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kick off.

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DRIPPING SPRINGS TIGERS

The Tigers are hanging tough in Class 6A. Dripping Springs in Region IV District 26, in their third year in 6A, has done well earning a 14-2 district record and second place finish in the

PHOTO BY Wayland D. Clark
Maddox Maher, a junior last year, was not the full-time quarterback, but still managed to rush for four touchdowns and passed for 1,713 yards and 22 touchdowns. Barring any injury, Maher should be a permanent fixture taking all the snaps for the Tigers this year.[/caption]

previous two years. The Tigers will return a load of talent from last year’s 11-3 season, with only two losses during the regular season and a season ending 28-21 loss to Steele High School in the Division 2 Region IV Finals. The Tigers trailed by 7 points in that game late in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the game, but, with under two minutes, the Knights defense forced senior quarterback Jack Williams out of the pocket and his pass was intercepted. The Knights took over and a first down sealed the Steele victory.

The Tigers graduated a lot of talent and, as in years past, head coach Galen Zimmerman is counting on players to step up. The Tigers’ offense will likely rely on last year’s District MVP Jack Tyndall, a running back returning this year, who had 247 carries for 1,644 yards, scoring 19 touchdowns. A quarterback Maddox Maher, who rushed for four touchdowns and passed for 1,713 yards and 22 touchdowns last year, should be a permanent fixture taking the snaps this year. One of Maher’s targets will be 6-foot-5-inch Cooper Reid, a sophomore last year, who had 36 receptions for 636 yards and seven touchdowns.

Dripping Springs will open it's season at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30 on the road against a team it lost to in the season opener last year and the Tigers will be looking to turn the table. That loss (27-7) was to Vandegrift High School, who went undefeated until the first round of the playoffs when the team lost 13-10 to Lake Travis High School, a team in the Tigers’ district that they beat 24-6. The Tigers other season loss (27-14) was to perennial powerhouse Westlake High School and that game was much closer than the score indicated.

The Tigers home opener is at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 versus Wagner High School. Locals won’t have to wait long for more. The Tigers travel to Harker Heights High School at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 13, before returning home on Sept. 20 to face Buda’s Johnson High School at 7:30 p.m. Also at 7:30 p.m., Dripping Springs will have two games at Burger Center: Thursday, Sept. 26, versus Akins High School and Oct. 11 against Bowie High School. In between, there will be a home game on Oct. 4 versus Austin High School. A couple of likely home sellout games are Oct. 18 against Lake Travis High School and Nov. 8 hosting Westlake High School. A game at Del Valle High School on Oct. 25 will split those two.

The top four teams from the district make the playoffs. The two schools reporting the highest enrollment will go to Division 1 and the other two go to Division 2 in the playoff rounds.