FOOTBALL PREVIEW: BRENHAM VS. LIBERTY HILL
For the second straight year, the Brenham Cubs and the Liberty Hill Panthers will face off in the Area Round of the Texas High School Football Playoffs.
Last year, the Cubs beat the Panthers 30-27. The rematch will be tonight (Friday) at 7pm at Hutto High School. Doug Brown and Tommy Lange will have live coverage beginning with the pregame at 6:30pm on KWHI 1280AM, 101.7FM, and KWHI.com.
Brenham comes into the game with a 10-1 record after beating Texas City 28-7 last week in the Bi-District round. The Cubs were the runner-ups in District 10-5A Division II. They average 38 points a game, and give up only 16 points a game.
QB Xyran Upshaw (Sr.) is closing in on a milestone. Upshaw has completed 107 out of 174 passes for 1,946 yards for 27 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He is just 54 yards away from 2,000 yards passing on the season.
RB C.J. Glover (So.) leads the Cub rushing attack. He has 159 carries for 1,037 yards and 14 touchdowns.
WR's Chris Guidry (Sr.) and Cartelle Brown (Sr.) are having incredible senior seasons. Guidry has 61 catches for 1,223 yards and 20 touchdowns. Brown has 36 catches for 603 yards and six touchdowns.
The defense is led by LB Caleb Espinoza (Sr.) with 69 tackles, DT Job Rodriguez (Jr.) with 60 tackles, LB Brooks Roznovsky (Jr.) with 56 tackles, and LB Kristian Prosper (Sr.) with 55 tackles.
DE Jase Mueller (Sr.) leads the Cubs in sacks with five, while DE Doyle Brown (Sr.) and Prosper have four sacks each.
Meanwhile, Liberty Hill enters the game with a 9-2 record. They were the Champions of District 11-5A Division II.
They defeated San Antonio Lanier 62-0 in the Bi-District Round last week. They have a high scoring offense that averages 54 points a game to giving up only 18 points a game.
The Panthers run the Slot-T offense. Running the football is their bread and butter. For the entire season, they have completed only 4 of 16 passes for 168 yards.
However, their rushing attack has been putting up "video game" type numbers. Against Pflugerville Connally, they ran for 702 yards en route to a 73-35 victory. In a 58-7 victory over McCallum, the Panthers ran for 600 yards. In their 70-27 victory over Pflugerville, they ran for 590 yards.
RB Pierre Dylan Belinga (Jr.) is their leading rusher with 117 carries for 1,382 yards and 20 touchdowns. He averages 11.8 yards per carry.
They also have RB Preston Benefield (Sr.), who has 85 carries for 827 yards and 15 touchdowns. RB Bruce Muchaw (Sr.) has 117 carries for 775 yards and nine touchdowns.
Their defense is led by LB Kayden Cockburn (Sr.), who has 86 tackles and three interceptions. LB Orrin Cole (Sr.) has 84 tackles and three sacks. while DE Allister Vallejo (Sr.) has 66 tackles and leads the team with four sacks.