The Wimberley Texans entered Friday’s area round contest against the Sinton Pirates as favorites and showed why in a lopsided 52-24 win at Floresville High.
Wimberley (11-1) used a 35-point first quarter to jump out to an early lead over the Pirates.
Wimberley senior quarterback JoJo Weeks threw for 216 yards and 4 touchdowns in the first quarter alone, with wide receiver Cade Stoever on the receiving end of three of those touchdowns.
The Wimberley defense did its job as well in the first quarter. Senior Matt Mitchell came away with an interception that set the Texans up to take a 21-0 lead. They also got to the quarterback, recording two sacks in the first quarter. Wimberley held a commanding 35-7 lead over the Pirates after one quarter of play.
Stoever kicked off the second quarter in style by tip-toeing the sidelines and maneuvering his way through the Sinton defense for a 65 yard punt return touchdown.
That touchdown was Stoever’s fourth all-purpose touchdown of the first half and gave him over 200 all-purpose yards. Stoever finished with six receptions for 133 yards.
Head Coach Doug Warren was not surprised to see Stoever play well.
“He’s been lights out all year. He’s been the heart and soul of this group all year, and makes plays all over the field,” Warren said.
Wimberley led 42-10 at intermission.
“He’s been lights out all year. He’s been the heart and soul of this group all year, and makes plays all over the field.” Doug Warren, Texan head coach
The second half was a much more competitive half of football. The Wimberley defense stepped up early, with junior Hayden Krebs coming up with a sack on Sinton’s first drive. Stoever then struck again, picking off a Sinton pass and giving the ball back to the Texan offense.
Texans were held to a field goal, which expanded the team’s lead to 45-10.
The Pirates found their groove on offense as Sinton senior Colt Gorman found a groove in the passing game. The Pirates scored to trim the lead down to 45-17 going into the final quarter.
Wimberley responded to start the fourth quarter as senior Thomas Carruthers broke loose and ran 30 yards to extend the Texan lead to 52-17.
Sinton answered back, and scored the final points of the game when Sinton’s senior running back Anthony Villareal tallied a touchdown.
Warren was pleased with how his team came out of the gate fast.
“That is what we challenge our kids to do, come out and hit them in the mouth. I thought we did that both sides of the ball early,” Warren said.
Wimberley finished with 476 total yards of offense, 200 on the ground and 276 in the air.
Carruthers ran for 163 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Weeks threw for 276 yards and 4 touchdowns in the contest. Stoever also recorded 4.5 tackles and an interception on the defensive side of the ball. As a team, the Texans collected four total sacks.
