Texas high school football has hit the midway point of the regular season, and the Week 5 road trip will start in Kerrville, where the Tivy Antlers will host the win-less Kennedy Rockets in district action.
Led by quarterback/athlete Karson Valverde, the Antlers offense is averaging 41.5 points per game.
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“We have a bunch of athletes on that side of the ball,” Valverde said. “One thing that our offense does is tempo. Our tempo is just insane, so I think that's what helps us score a lot of points this year.”
Offensive coordinator Jeff Kubacak, now in his sixth season of play-calling duties for Tivy, credits his three-headed quarterback rotation for keeping the scorekeeper busy.
“We have a three quarterback system,” Kubacak said. “We rotate three quarterbacks through there, and I think they all have different strengths that people have to prepare for. I think that kind of gives us an advantage as far as who's in at the time and what they have to look for, and their defense has to be ready for all of those components.”
Tivy’s defense is giving up 32.5 points per game this season, so having a high-octane offense helps keep the defense relaxed.
“It takes a lot of pressure off us when you know an offense can go down and score,” junior linebacker Cole Mixon said.
The Kennedy Rockets are win-less this season. They’ve had a couple of close calls, but came up short. First year head coach Benjamin Benavides III is keeping his team upbeat through this trying time.
“It's the thing we talk about constantly, about being positive, about doing things right,” Benavides said. “We are trying to change the culture here. I'm from the community. I graduated from this high school in 1989, and I know the streets they walked on. I know what they're seeing with their two eyes. To keep things positive, trying to get them to understand that there is life after high school and football, let’s try to keep it going together as a group as a family.”
Game 1: Kennedy Rockets (0-4, 0-1 District 14-5A II) vs. Kerrville Tivy Antlers (3-1, 1-0 District 14-5A II) at Antler Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Game 2: La Pryor Bulldogs (3-1) vs. Center Point Pirates (2-2) at Pirate Stadium will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and is a non-district contest.
Game 3: Fredericksburg Billies (3-1) vs. Boerne Greyhounds (3-1) at Boerne ISD Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, and is a non-district contest.
You can catch the highlights Friday on the Nightbeat and at BigGameCoverage.com. For score updates throughout the night, follow us on Twitter @KSATbgc.