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VYPE Central Texas Game of the Week Preview: Anderson vs. College Station
With new Austin-area high schools seemingly popping up as fast as Starbucks in that old episode of The Simpsons, you wouldn’t think it would take teams from the Bryan/College Station area to fill out an Austin-centric 5A district. Yet, here we are, as the Anderson Trojans head into their District 12-5A-1 opener Friday (9/12) vs. College Station in the VYPE Central Texas Game of the Week from venerable House Park.
Anderson has stormed out of the gates. Coach Donald Hatcher’s Trojans are 2-0 on the young season, following up a 37-2 wipeout of McCallum in the “Shoal Creek Showdown” (né the “Taco Shack Bowl”) with a 42-0 blanking of Elgin.
Junior quarterback Cove Darbyshire (13-19, 289 Yds., 3 TDs) leads a balanced offense that features senior running back Caleb Crenshaw (24-297, 12.4 YPC, 4 TDs). Seniors Pierce Miller and Alex Longoria pace a Trojans defense that has yet to allow a score in two games.
College Station doesn’t look all that imposing on paper. After a 2024 campaign that saw the Cougars bow out in the regional semifinals at 11-2 after placing second in the district at 7-1 behind A&M Consolidated, Coach Stoney Pryor’s club is off to a 0-2 start.
But look closer. Those two losses were both highly competitive games against 6A powers Klein Collins and Magnolia. The Cougars are hungry for a breakthrough win. To get it, they’ll rely on the arm (24-44, 357 Yds., 4 TD, 2 INT) and legs (26-128, 4.9 YPC, 4 rushing TD) of senior quarterback Keaton Johnson and his favorite target, senior Zac Cosser (10-154, 15.4 YPC, 3 TD). Both will test the Trojans defense.
Anderson is the sole City of Austin team in a sprawling District 12-5A-1 that spans Pflugerville’s Hendrickson and Weiss to the north; Bastrop and Cedar Creek to the south and further down IH-35 to Hays and Lehman. After all those teams chased the interlopers from Aggieland – College Sation and A&M Consolidated – last year, Anderson in particular hopes to clamber over them and climb atop the district standings.
The Trojans will get their first chance Friday night.
What: Anderson vs. College StationWhen: 7:15 Pregame, 7:30 Kickoff
Where: House Park
Who: Patrick “Wheels” Smith, David Roy
Watch: https://www.vype.com/7pm-football-anderson-vs-college-station OR https://vypelive.com/web/g/16021
VYPE Central Texas Game of the Week Preview: Liberty Hill vs. Rouse
Liberty Hill vs. Rouse may not be quite the grudge match in football as it is in baseball, but it’s still an intense affair when they meet up. The latest installment kicks off Friday night (9/5) when the Panthers meet the Raiders in the VYPE Central Texas Game of the Week from Gupton Stadium.
Liberty Hill (0-1) typically punches above its weight during non-district and last week’s opener vs. Cibolo Steele was a perfect example. The Knights – one of the more powerful 6A teams in the state every year – throttled the Panthers’ powerful running game enroute to a convincing 45-10 victory.
Liberty Hill lives or dies with that running game – the Panthers threw just one incomplete pass the entire night – but Steele held the vaunted Slot-T rushing attack to just 190 rushing yards on 56 carries. Senior running back Bryce Muchow led the way with 76 yards on 21 carries -- but he’s been known to log that many yards on the way from the bus to the locker room.
First-year Head Coach David Seaborn not only hopes his Panther offense can get untracked, but that Liberty Hill’s defense will fare better against Rouse after giving up 21 first-quarter points and 461 total yards on the night vs. Steele.
That won’t be easy, as Rouse (1-0) scored early and often, outlasting Pflugerville Connally in a 55-33 track meet. Longtime Raider Head Coach Joshua Mann – the only coach in Rouse’s history – hopes his squad can pick up where it left off at The Pfield. Senior quarterback London Morgan lit up the Cougars for 375 yards and six touchdowns, while junior Joshua Park (4-159, 39.8 YPG, 2 TD) and senior Anthony Reyes (10-105) chewed up Connally on the ground.
The Raiders needed all that offense, however, as their defense gave up 33 points and 432 yards.
Liberty Hill leads the series 5-2 and many of those games were high-scoring affairs. While their baseball and football teams always go at it, this non-district showdown between Liberty Hill and Rouse may more likely resemble a basketball game.
What: Liberty Hill @ Rouse
When: 6:45 Pregame, 7:00 Kickoff
Where: Gupton Stadium, Leander HS
Who: Trevor Hargrove, Matt Lorenz
Watch: https://www.vype.com/7pm-football-liberty-hill-vs-rouse-2673957188