Vandegrift vs Cibolo Steele

Area Round Playoff

Canyon High School, New Braunfels

Friday, Nov. 24, 2 p.m.

Xavier Martin completed 15 of 19 pass attempts, Brenden Brady ran for 160 yards on 21 carries and the Cibolo Steele Knights beat Vandegrift 17-0 in the second round of the playoffs.

That was last year.

This year, Vandegrift will look to flip the script, as the same teams meet in second-round playoff action on Friday afternoon in New Braunfels.

This year, Martin is at Texas Tech and the Knights have used two quarterbacks looking for a spark behind center. Brady, now a senior, leads Steele with 161.2 rushing yards per game and has 20 touchdowns on the season.

Neither of Steele’s quarterbacks — senior Onyx Smith or freshman Wyatt Begeal — is as mobile as Martin was last year, and the offensive scoring average is lower than last year’s state finalist team. The defense has also taken a step back, allowing more than 20 points a game this year.

Vandegrift has proven to be resilient, coming back from first-half deficits on multiple occasions this season, the most recent being last week’s bi-district win over San Antonio Johnson.

Justin Moore has developed into a mature, efficient quarterback this season, with 24 touchdown passes to just four interceptions. Isaiah Smallwood crossed the 1,000-yard mark last week in the game against Johnson and now has 1,087 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.

Vandegrift’s offense will need to be on display Friday, but the defense will need to hold a still-potent Steele offense in check and help control field position to give the Vipers a chance to reach the third round for the third time in five seasons.

“We know that we must play really well and to ‘Viper level’ to beat this team,” said Vandegrift head coach Drew Sanders. “But if we do that, improve during the week of practice, and give our best effort, we will be just fine against Steele.”

Vandegrift Vipers senior quarterback Justin Moore (12) hands the ball off to junior running back Isaiah Smallwood (15) during a high school football game between the Leander Lions and the Vandegrift Vipers at Bible Stadium in Leander, Texas, on October 13, 2017.