What's trending in high school football? Flour Bluff welcomes back Wyatt Elwood

The Flour Bluff football team faced some adversity during the challenging non-district part of its schedule. Last week, the Hornets opened play as a member of the new-look District 15-5A Division II and earned an impressive win against tradition-rich Edcouch-Elsa to even their record at 3-3.

The Hornets received a welcome sight in the win with the return of senior leader Wyatt Elwood, who missed much of the early schedule after suffering an injury against Boerne in the season opener.

The jack-of-all-trades and one of the most experienced players on the Flour Bluff roster was missed, but it also gave some players, including senior Kyler Meschi, a chance to step up.

Meschi is now the team’s leading receiver, sophomore Cameran Dickson has continued his development into an important two-way player for Flour Bluff, along with the emergence of Andre Mims and Jayden Johnson in the slot receiver position.

“It felt really good — especially having Wyatt Elwood back,” Flour Bluff head coach Chris Steinbruck said. “We hadn’t had him since the first quarter against Boerne. We went right to him three plays and he scored. He converted a 2-point play for us. It was good getting him back. We limited him on defense. He’ll get back to playing both ways for us.

“It is a small district, so every one of those district games is important and it was good to get the first one under our belt.”

The senior was noticeably excited as he returned to the sideline after the opening scoring drive.

Steinbruck said Elwood’s return to the field provided his team with a boost.

“Everyone was excited to have him back,” Steinbruck said. “That lifted our spirits in the locker room. Since he has been out, it has been a great opportunity for Kyler Meschi. He has been targeted more. With Wyatt coming back, we have another weapon. Cameran Dickson and Wyatt can play all over the field for us. You have to pick your poison as a defensive coordinator calling against us.”

Carroll continues to surprise

Carroll picked up its fourth win of the season last week in a win against Moody. For perspective, the Tigers won three games combined in the previous five seasons.

Regardless of the outcome of Carroll’s remaining four games, the Tigers are guaranteed their best season since 2016 and with two more wins would have a winning record for the first time since 2015, which would likely include a postseason berth.

The Tigers were outscored 478-190 last season and only played two games within one possession in an 0-10 campaign.

The 2022 squad is averaging 35 points a game and has scored at least 49 points in all four wins.

Miller defensive coordinator up for award

Miller defensive coordinator Eric John is up for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s DairyMAX assistant coach of the week.

The Bucs posted their first shutout of the season last week against King and are allowing 16 points a game this season.

Miller has held five of six opponents below their season average.

Injury-plagued Pirates roll in district opener

Sinton opened district in big way after capturing an 83-20 win against Robstown last week. The Pirates have won four games and they've done it without several key players.

Starting quarterback Braedan Brown is week-to-week after injuring his shoulder against La Vernia in Week 5, Sinton head coach Michael Troutman said.

The Pirates have also been without running back Aidan Moody, quarterback Tristan Handson and slot receiver Rylan Lopez, who are also battling injuries.

Sinton has had a bright spot in backup quarterback Justin Veliz, who has passed for 266 yards and four touchdowns in two starts against Raymondville and Robstown.

"Justin was our third quarterback and has done a superb job," Troutman said. "He handled being under pressure and just took that role as our quarterback and ran with it."

The Pirates continue district play Friday against Orange Grove.

“Coach (Gage) Perry has done a good job and I want to give credit to him," Troutman said of last week's win against Robstown. "I believe that coach (Brent) Kornegay is a really good coach and he has the kids believing in Orange Grove Bulldog football. They play with heart, passion and they're disciplined. We will have to come up and play disciplined football."

Calallen, Alice square off at Phil Danaher Stadium

Calallen could be playing its first first four quarter game this week since Cuero in Week 4.

The Wildcats downed the Gobblers 24-8, but since then have outscored their opponents 189-23.

The Coyotes improved to 5-1 start after last week's win against Tuloso-Midway. Alice is averaging more than 30 points a game, but face a tall task against a Calallen team that is giving up eight points a contest.

This game could decide the district championship in 16-4A Division I.

Earlier road trip helps Falfurrias to key district win

The groundwork for Falfurrias’ 26-22 victory against Lyford on Friday was laid during a road trip to San Antonio on Sept. 23. The Jerseys lost a 24-6 to San Antonio Young Men’s Leadership Academy, but the road trip was important for the squad to experience as they push for a playoff spot.

“It took a lot out of us,” Falfurrias head coach Ruben Garcia said. “We played in a big stadium and to be a playoff team you have to be ready to travel. We came out sluggish and struggled but it really helped us.”

Two weeks later, Falfurrias put together one of its best performances in the victory against Lyford.

“We are playing good defense, we are running the ball, controlling the line of scrimmage and controlling the game clock,” Garcia said. “It puts us in a good situation and throw when we need to. We are just playing well in all three phases, really playing as a team and unselfish football and it’s showing.”

Young offensive line keys Ben Bolt

Ben Bolt coach Gary Cunningham said a major factor in the Badgers’ key 42-20 victory against rival Premont on Friday was the maturation of its offensive line. The group of six consists of one senior, two juniors and three sophomores.

In Friday’s 42-20 victory against the 16-2A Division I rival Cowboys, the Badgers line helped pave the way to 203 yards for running back Devin Godines.

“We tend to forget that these sophomores missed one year because of COVID, their eighth-grade year, and their ninth-grade year was cut a little bit short,” Ben Bolt coach Gary Cunningham said. “They are just now learning, just now growing up and learning how to play. It’s taken a little while.”

The victory puts the Badgers (2-4, 1-0) in a solid position moving forward over the next four weeks in district play after the win against Premont.

“We just got to make sure we do what we do,” Cunningham said. “We can’t try to be somebody else. Our deal is we’ve got to run the football and if we can run the football it opens up a lot of other things for us.”

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Key player returns for Flour Bluff; Miller DC up for statewide award