By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
If the lineup of the Texas Football Classic isn’t enough to get high school football fans excited about the start of the 2008 season, these two words might – air conditioning.
With high temperatures, muggy conditions and possible thunderstorms forecast for the San Antonio area over the Labor Day weekend, football fans can take comfort in the fact that all five games of the Texas Football Classic will be played indoors at the air-conditioned Alamodome.
The contests begin on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. when Georgetown takes on San Antonio Southwest and concludes with three games on Saturday – Katy Cinco Ranch vs. San Antonio Reagan at noon, Brownwood vs. Burnet at 3:45 p.m. and Mercedes vs. Port Lavaca Calhoun at 7:30 p.m.
The highlight of the weekend, however, may be the matchup between defending 4A state champion Lake Travis of Austin against 5A Round Rock Westwood on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Lake Travis returns one of the nation’s best quarterbacks in Garrett Gilbert, who set state records last year by completing 360 of 556 passes for 4,827 yards. His 52 touchdowns rank sixth on the all-time list in Texas.
Gilbert led Lake Travis to a 15-1 record last year, including a 36-34 win over Highland Park in the state finals. While Gilbert is certainly the attention getter for the Cavaliers, he is just one of 11 returning starters, which is why Dave Campbell’s Texas Football has tabbed Lake Travis as the favorite to win the Class 4A championship in 2008.
Gilbert has a pair of talented wideouts in Cohl Walla (68 catches, 1,072 yards, 13 TDs) and Cade McCary (48 catches, 818 yards) at his disposal along with an outstanding backfield mate in Chris Aydam (20 TDs). He also has some talent protecting in the front line in preseason all-state choice Paden Kelley (6-5, 265), who will join Gilbert at the University of Texas next year.
The Cavaliers face a Westwood team that went just 3-7 overall last year, but the Warriors return seven starters on both offense and defense and are expected to move up near the top of the 5A District 16 rankings.
The Warriors have a playmaker at quarterback in Tyler Grabarkewitz (1,886 yards, 10 TDs) and a 1,000-yard candidate at running back in Princeton Collins. Linebackers Chase Briesbach and Kyler Fry figure to make life difficult for Gilbert and the Cavaliers.
Thursday night’s matchup features highly-regarded San Antonio Southwest against the rebuilding Georgetown Eagles.
Southwest has 11 returning starters from a team that went 11-1 and was the 5A District 29 champions. A strong senior class, led by running back Stephen Salinas (262-1,936 yards, 34 touchdowns), helps put Southwest at 22 in the State Farm/Texas Football 5A preseason rankings.
Georgetown, meanwhile, must figure out how to replace over 50 seniors who graduated from last year’s squad that went 6-4 in District 16. Coach Phil Blue returns just 11 lettermen, including talented defensive backs Dion McKinney and Nekechie Miller.
Saturday afternoon begins with a matchup between hometown San Antonio Reagan and Katy Cinco Ranch. Reagan went 11-3 last year behind the running of All-State running back Marcus Wright. However Wright has graduated and headed to Georgia Tech. He is one of eight starters coach David Wetzel must replace on offense.
One player he won’t have to replace is QB Derrick Walls, who earned all-district honors last year. The defense, which returns six starters, should be solid behind the play of defensive lineman Spencer Nealy (6-4, 250).
Cinco Ranch finished 5-6 in 2007, but is expected to battle Katy for first place in District 17. Seven returners are back on both sides of the ball including all-district running back Adam Hirtz on offense and junior linebacker James Radcliffe on defense.
A pair of former 4A schools meet in the afternoon game Saturday when Brownwood and Burnet clash. Brownwood has a storied tradition at the 4A level, winning seven state titles in school history. The Lions take over the favorite role in the 3A District 2 and are ranked as the No. 3 team in the 3A rankings by Texas Football. Brownwood quarterback Casey Pachall and defensive back Kenny Vacarro are both preseason all-state picks.
Burnet moves into 3A District 8 after finishing 5-6 last year. Ten starters return for the Bulldogs, including a solid defensive unit led by DE Alex Wallace and LB Chandler West.
The Texas Classic concludes Saturday with Mercedes meeting Port Lavaca Calhoun in the evening contest.
Calhoun enters the season as one of the top-ranked teams in Class 4A and the favorite to win District 30. Coach Richard Whitaker returns 25 lettermen and 17 starters, including all 11 on offense. The Sandcrabs figure to have a strong running game this year behind the likes of Xavier Archangel and fullback Sterling Jones.
The Mercedes Tigers certainly provide Calhoun with a worthy opponent. After posting a 6-5 record last year, Mercedes is favored to battle for the District 32 crown. The Tigers have speed in the backfield with track star Alex Trevino (1,141 yards) and experience in returning quarterback Albert Chavez (1,013 yards).