San Angelo Central hopes to maintain momentum in 2-6A opener at Midland

Two weeks after finishing up nondistrict play with a bang, the San Angelo Central High School football team will face an explosive Midland High squad in the District 2-6A opener Friday night at Midland's Grande Communications Stadium.

Central (3-2) pulled off a dramatic 63-61 win at home against Abilene Wylie two weeks ago, as senior quarterback Tyler Hill accounted for seven touchdowns and 552 yards. He threw a last-second Hail Mary pass to Ben Imler for the game winner.

Midland (4-1) wrapped up nondistrict play two weeks ago with a 74-14 blowout at home against El Paso Andress.

Kickoff for the Bobcats vs. Bulldogs showdown is scheduled for 7 p.m. Radio coverage will be on KIXY 94.7-FM.

Both teams had a chance to heal up some bumps and bruises heading into the meat of the schedule that will determine their playoff fates.

"I feel like the off week came at a good time this year," Central head coach Kevin Crane said. "Coming off that emotional win and all that, I thought having the extra time was a good thing for us.

"You kind of get to freshen up a little bit. As a coach, you try to balance the fact that you've still got to get some work done in the open week, but then you want to give them a little bit of time away as well. You try to balance that the best that you can, so we have a little system that we've done for several years and it works pretty good."

In the thriller against Wylie, Hill completed 18 of 26 passes for 279 yards and three TDs against one interception. The dual-threat QB also had 23 carries for 273 yards and four scores.

For his efforts, the Bobcat QB was honored as the Ford Built Tough Player of the Week in Class 6A for Week 5.

"Obviously, he had a really good night," Crane said. "The thing that I was proud of was that he had a couple weeks back to back where he played good. He's got to be consistent for us moving forward if we're going to have the type of success that we want to have in district.

"Obviously, to win that Built Ford Tough Player of the Week is a big honor. He's the fourth guy we've had since I've been here (since 2009) to win it. All of them are quarterbacks, so it's pretty elite company winning that award."

Of course, football isn't a one-man show.

"He'll tell you the same thing that really and truly it's a team award as well," the Central coach said. "He doesn't have the stats that he has if it's not for his teammates, whether it's the O-line blocking or the running backs blocking or the receivers making plays for him.

"Not only is it good for Tyler, but it's really good recognition for our whole team. To be featured on Bally Sports and stuff like that is good for our program. It brings attention out here to West Texas and that's good for our program as well."

The Bobcats will try to maintain the momentum from the Wylie game into the 2-6A opener against a Midland High team that's capable of lighting up the scoreboard. The Bulldogs' only loss was against Amarillo High.

"They're 4-1 and playing really good," Crane said of the Bulldogs. "You watch the film and what pops out to me is they play really hard. On offense and defense both, they're playing really hard.

"Coach (Thad) Fortune's done a fantastic job over there. He's a good friend of mine. They have a great rushing attack with their Flexbone offense. I know they've been racking up a lot of yards on the ground. They've got several good backs and a good quarterback and they're all just playing hard."

Preparing for Midland's triple-option Flexbone offense is a lot different than facing a pass-happy spread offense, but it's nothing new to the Bobcats.

"We've seen it over the years," Crane said. "It's tough to prepare for, but I think our kids look forward to option weeks. It's a little bit different in practice and stuff, so I think they look forward to it."

Brylee Perez is Midland's top rusher with 68 carries for 608 yards (8.9-yard average) and six TDs. Meckie McCoy (70 carries for 487 yards) has a team-high 10 rushing TDs.

The Bulldogs don't go to the air very often. Quarterback Jake Cunningham has completed 11 of 29 passes for 103 yards, one TD and one pick.

Stroman Bridges, the backup QB, has a team-high five receptions for 59 yards and one score.

The next five weeks will determine which four teams make the playoffs in what looks like a very competitive district.

"It's going to be a dogfight every week, I think," Crane said. "Just looking at everybody's record, I think everybody's got a good team this year. Permian's sitting at 5-0 and Midland High's at 4-1. Frenship's at 4-1 and we're at 3-2.

"Odessa High's 3-2 and (Midland) Legacy, they're 2-3, but they've played some really good teams. It's going to be a fun district season and it's going to be tough. You've got to come every week ready to play or anybody can beat anybody is the way it looks right now."

This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: San Angelo Central Bobcats bracing for Midland High in 2-6A opener