Prepped And Ready: The All-Snub Team
Travis senior wide receiver Johnny Williams (5) fights with McCallum junior Sabian Cannon for the football in a game at House Park on Oct. 17. In December, Cannon made the All-Central Texas football team as a utility player. With 10 touchdown catches in 2013, did Williams deserve a spot too?
By Danny Davis
Hours after Florida State had won the BCS championship game on Monday night, Holmes Onwukaife celebrated the victory in a classroom.
Onwukaife, a Cedar Park product, had been on the sidelines for Florida State’s 34-31 win over Auburn. But Onwukaife had to catch an early flight out of California in order to make an 8 a.m. real estate class in Tallahassee. Not that he minded.
“First of all, I want to give all the credit to my teammates and (Florida State head coach) Jimbo Fisher,” Onwukaife said on Tuesday. “Just to experience it and be part of something new… it was really special.”
A three-year letterman at Cedar Park, Onwukaife was a three-star prospect when he signed with Florida State in 2010. The six-foot-two-inch, 245-pound linebacker was also a member of Fisher’s first signing class with the Seminoles.
But Onwukaife redshirted in 2010 and four shoulder surgeries kept him off the field. He was medically disqualified before the 2012 season.
“You think about (playing football) and miss it every day,” said Onwukaife, who will graduate with an economic degree in the summer. “But I had to take a look at the long run.”
Onwukaife was kept on scholarship, and he mentored freshmen teammates during the summers. Onwukaife is roommates with linebacker Christian Jones and wide receiver Christian Green, and he also attended the Seminoles’ home games.
On Tuesday, Onwukaife downplayed his role on the team – “I don’t want to take the credit from the guys who have been grinding and putting the work in,” he said. But he still expressed pride in what the Seminoles had accomplished.
“I don’t think it will fully hit anyone until we’re fully Florida State alumni,” Onwukaife said. “We’ve all faced adversity and my adversity might have been different than another person, but I’m just grateful that even though I’m not able to continue playing the game the love, I’m able to be a part of the program.”
UNDER THE RADAR
Each week, we’ll introduce you to a player who is making big plays despite not having a big name. This week, we’re taking a look at Rouse seniors Mariah Merriweather and Baylee Peck.
Merriweather (13.6 ppg) and Peck (9.7 ppg) entered the week as Rouse’s top and third-leading scorers, and both players contributed 18 points in a 63-50 win over Cedar Park on Tuesday. Rouse improved to 19-6 with the victory, and the Raiders are 6-0 in district play.
Peck, a Utah State-bound guard, and Merriweather, a forward, were both freshmen on a Rouse team that won nine games during its inaugural varsity season. Rouse made its first postseason appearance in 2013, and the Raiders are currently the only District 25-4A team with an unblemished district record.
THE LIST
The American-Statesman honored a plethora of Austin-area football players on Dec. 28 with the publication of our All-Central Texas football team. Seventy-five players made the cut, but we still had to stiff-arm some talented athletes.
For today’s list, let’s take a look at some players who were left off the All-Central Texas team. Let’s call this the all-snub team.
Quarterback: Marble Falls quarterback Brennen Wooten, Westwood senior Bear Fenimore and Regents senior Grant Brown each threw for over 3,000 yards this season. But my vote goes to Elgin senior Te’Rel Simmons. Simmons threw for 1,460 yards, accounted for 33 touchdowns and rushed for over 1,000 yards for the third straight season.
Running back: We just established that Marble Falls could throw the football this season, but the team’s running game wasn’t bad as senior Keith Jerome piled up 1,135 yards and 19 touchdowns. Hendrickson junior Tazh Maloy didn’t hit the 1,000-yard mark this fall, but the 932-yard rusher scored 19 times and he had two touchdown runs of over 95 yards.
Wide receiver: Cedar Park senior Bill Estevenott turned 44 receptions into 741 yards and eight scores this season, and he also rushed for 627 yards and eight touchdowns. Georgetown junior Camden Lepley (74 catches, 778 yards, 6 TDs) and Travis senior Johnny Williams (51 catches, 936 yards, 10 TDs) fill the other two wide receiver slots on the all-snub team.
Offensive line: You could live with an offensive line that consisted of Rouse junior Will Noble, Liberty Hill junior Jake Sanders, Westlake senior Will Copa, San Marcos senior Isaiah Bozquez and Marble Falls Faith senior Mitch Earwood.
Kicker: Burnet senior Austin Huff was the first-team All-Central Texas punter this year. He also hit six field goals for the Bulldogs.
Defensive line: Hendrickson senior Anson Friday scored two touchdowns and Liberty Hill senior John Spurgeron recorded 25 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Vandegrift senior Gunner Linhart also had a solid season that consisted of 72 tackles and seven sacks.
Linebacker: Vandegrift senior Elliott Byrd (118 tackles), Lake Travis senior Hagen Patterson (103 tackles) and Elgin senior James Biddy (97 tackles) all get the nod here. The last spot goes to a player who didn’t compile great stats but easily passed the eye test every time that I saw him play: Lake Travis junior James Bailey (70 tackles, 7 pass deflections).
Defensive back: Cedar Park senior Blake Bouffard intercepted five passes and deflected nine passes, Lago Vista senior Eriq Mitchell compiled 111 tackles and Rouse junior Brandon Wells had 75 tackles, four interceptions and three forced fumbles. Regents senior McCade Rice earned All-Central Texas honors as a wide receiver this season, but he easily could have been honored as a defensive back too since he intercepted nine pass attempts.
Punter: Wimberley junior Jake O’Connor recorded 38 punts and he averaged 39.9 yards per punt.
Utility: Rouse junior Billy Ray McCrary was the utility player on our All-Central Texas preseason team and you could argue that he deserved a spot on the postseason team as well. McCrary lined up as a running back and quarterback this season, and he led Rouse to the playoff’s fourth round with 1,394 rushing yards and 33 total touchdowns.
Onwukaife, a Cedar Park product, had been on the sidelines for Florida State’s 34-31 win over Auburn. But Onwukaife had to catch an early flight out of California in order to make an 8 a.m. real estate class in Tallahassee. Not that he minded.
“First of all, I want to give all the credit to my teammates and (Florida State head coach) Jimbo Fisher,” Onwukaife said on Tuesday. “Just to experience it and be part of something new… it was really special.”
A three-year letterman at Cedar Park, Onwukaife was a three-star prospect when he signed with Florida State in 2010. The six-foot-two-inch, 245-pound linebacker was also a member of Fisher’s first signing class with the Seminoles.
But Onwukaife redshirted in 2010 and four shoulder surgeries kept him off the field. He was medically disqualified before the 2012 season.
“You think about (playing football) and miss it every day,” said Onwukaife, who will graduate with an economic degree in the summer. “But I had to take a look at the long run.”
Onwukaife was kept on scholarship, and he mentored freshmen teammates during the summers. Onwukaife is roommates with linebacker Christian Jones and wide receiver Christian Green, and he also attended the Seminoles’ home games.
On Tuesday, Onwukaife downplayed his role on the team – “I don’t want to take the credit from the guys who have been grinding and putting the work in,” he said. But he still expressed pride in what the Seminoles had accomplished.
“I don’t think it will fully hit anyone until we’re fully Florida State alumni,” Onwukaife said. “We’ve all faced adversity and my adversity might have been different than another person, but I’m just grateful that even though I’m not able to continue playing the game the love, I’m able to be a part of the program.”
UNDER THE RADAR
Each week, we’ll introduce you to a player who is making big plays despite not having a big name. This week, we’re taking a look at Rouse seniors Mariah Merriweather and Baylee Peck.
Merriweather (13.6 ppg) and Peck (9.7 ppg) entered the week as Rouse’s top and third-leading scorers, and both players contributed 18 points in a 63-50 win over Cedar Park on Tuesday. Rouse improved to 19-6 with the victory, and the Raiders are 6-0 in district play.
Peck, a Utah State-bound guard, and Merriweather, a forward, were both freshmen on a Rouse team that won nine games during its inaugural varsity season. Rouse made its first postseason appearance in 2013, and the Raiders are currently the only District 25-4A team with an unblemished district record.
THE LIST
The American-Statesman honored a plethora of Austin-area football players on Dec. 28 with the publication of our All-Central Texas football team. Seventy-five players made the cut, but we still had to stiff-arm some talented athletes.
For today’s list, let’s take a look at some players who were left off the All-Central Texas team. Let’s call this the all-snub team.
Quarterback: Marble Falls quarterback Brennen Wooten, Westwood senior Bear Fenimore and Regents senior Grant Brown each threw for over 3,000 yards this season. But my vote goes to Elgin senior Te’Rel Simmons. Simmons threw for 1,460 yards, accounted for 33 touchdowns and rushed for over 1,000 yards for the third straight season.
Running back: We just established that Marble Falls could throw the football this season, but the team’s running game wasn’t bad as senior Keith Jerome piled up 1,135 yards and 19 touchdowns. Hendrickson junior Tazh Maloy didn’t hit the 1,000-yard mark this fall, but the 932-yard rusher scored 19 times and he had two touchdown runs of over 95 yards.
Wide receiver: Cedar Park senior Bill Estevenott turned 44 receptions into 741 yards and eight scores this season, and he also rushed for 627 yards and eight touchdowns. Georgetown junior Camden Lepley (74 catches, 778 yards, 6 TDs) and Travis senior Johnny Williams (51 catches, 936 yards, 10 TDs) fill the other two wide receiver slots on the all-snub team.
Offensive line: You could live with an offensive line that consisted of Rouse junior Will Noble, Liberty Hill junior Jake Sanders, Westlake senior Will Copa, San Marcos senior Isaiah Bozquez and Marble Falls Faith senior Mitch Earwood.
Kicker: Burnet senior Austin Huff was the first-team All-Central Texas punter this year. He also hit six field goals for the Bulldogs.
Defensive line: Hendrickson senior Anson Friday scored two touchdowns and Liberty Hill senior John Spurgeron recorded 25 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Vandegrift senior Gunner Linhart also had a solid season that consisted of 72 tackles and seven sacks.
Linebacker: Vandegrift senior Elliott Byrd (118 tackles), Lake Travis senior Hagen Patterson (103 tackles) and Elgin senior James Biddy (97 tackles) all get the nod here. The last spot goes to a player who didn’t compile great stats but easily passed the eye test every time that I saw him play: Lake Travis junior James Bailey (70 tackles, 7 pass deflections).
Defensive back: Cedar Park senior Blake Bouffard intercepted five passes and deflected nine passes, Lago Vista senior Eriq Mitchell compiled 111 tackles and Rouse junior Brandon Wells had 75 tackles, four interceptions and three forced fumbles. Regents senior McCade Rice earned All-Central Texas honors as a wide receiver this season, but he easily could have been honored as a defensive back too since he intercepted nine pass attempts.
Punter: Wimberley junior Jake O’Connor recorded 38 punts and he averaged 39.9 yards per punt.
Utility: Rouse junior Billy Ray McCrary was the utility player on our All-Central Texas preseason team and you could argue that he deserved a spot on the postseason team as well. McCrary lined up as a running back and quarterback this season, and he led Rouse to the playoff’s fourth round with 1,394 rushing yards and 33 total touchdowns.
