Schulenburg Wins Playoff Opener Over Freer

Schulenburg defeated Freer 56-35 last Thursday to advance to the second round of the football playoffs. The Shorthorns will face Mason this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at John Gupton Stadium in Cedar Park.

Schulenburg got off to a dominant start against Freer on Thursday at Jack Lane Field in Poth. Schulenburg normally receives the ball on the opening kickoff if they win the toss. But this time, with a strong wind to their backs, the Horns elected to defer until the second half.

“We said, ‘Let’s go get a stop and get a score,’” said Schulenburg Head Coach Clay Ferguson. “We got them behind the chains.”

Schulenburg forced Freer to punt on their first set of downs. Shorthorn defensive back Jakele Houston got his first of several big plays that night with a blocked punt. Colton Matura recovered the ball and the Horns started from the Free 23 yard line. Two plays later quarterback Owen Brenek scored the first touchdown of the night. Preston Kahn’s extra point was good and the Horns led 7-0 Schulenburg’s defense forced another punt on Freer’s next possession. On the first play after getting the ball on the 34, Brenek connected with DaTerrion Houston for a touchdown pass. The extra point was good. The first three plays of offense resulted in 14 points for the Shorthorns.

DaTerrion Houston would run in another touchdown later in the first quarter. The ensuing extra point brought the score to 21-0 with a little over two minutes left in the first quarter.

Freer running back Brody Ramirez found a rhythm on the next series. He got the Bucaroos across midfield for the first time that night before quarterback Ayden Ramirez struck paydirt on a keeper. Jakele Houston blocked the extra point and the Bucs trailed 21-6 at the start of the second quarter.

The kickoff that followed was a touchback. On first down from their own 25, Brenek tossed a dart to Denver Carr, who ran it in for a touchdown. The extra point was good and the Horns led 28-6.

Shorthorn defensive back Caden Herzik snagged an interception on Freer’s very next play from scrimmage. DaTerrion Houston ran in another touchdown on first down from the Freer 38. The extra point was good. At the 11:14 mark in the second quarter, Schulenburg led 35-6.

Freer would get on the board once more before halftime, on a halfback pass from Tristan Lerma to Joseph Serna at the one yard line. The extra point was good. Freer trailed 35-13 as time expired in the first half.

Both teams scored on their next two possessions after halftime. Brenek tossed two more touchdowns, both to Jayse Janda. And Freer’s quarterback, Ayden Ramirez, ran in a pair of touchdowns. The Bucs went for two on the second one and got it with a toss to Oscra Luan, narrowing Schulenburg’s lead to 49-28 with 9:30 left in the game.

In the next series, on second and nine from their own 41, Landon Conner found the endzone after a pass from Brenek. The extra point was good and the Horns went up 56-28.

During that series, Houston got twisted up in a scrum that took an excruciating long time before officials whistled the play dead. He came limping off the field and would not return the rest of the night.

Fellow senior Jakele Houston took his place at running back on the next series. He ran for 15 yards on two carries, and that came on top of a stellar night on defense and special teams.

“Honestly I didn’t know I could pop off like that,” Houston said after the game. “Something told me, this ain’t gonna be the end of my game.”

Schulenburg kept the ball on the ground to run out the clock. Tim Lara, who had been on the Shorthorn JV team prior to the playoffs, got some snaps at running back. And then the entire JV offense joined him on the field for a few plays. The Shorthorns turned it over on downs with just over 2 minutes left on the clock. The Bucs scored one more time with 24 seconds left in the game, on a pass from Ayden Ramirez to Noah Flores. The extra point was good and Freer trailed 5635. Schulenburg kelt after the kickoff to run off the clock.

Schulenburg defensive end Jayvan Luhrs has been another big part of the Horns’ success this year. The announcers didn’t call his name much on Thursday, but that’s because Freer dared not move the ball anywhere in his direction. Luhrs came off the field after tweaking a hamstring late in the game. He did not return but said after the game he expects to be 100 percent this week.

This Friday the Shorthorns will play a Mason team that has gone 8-3 overall and 5-0 in district. The Punchers beat Marlin 61-15 last Thursday. Marlin had knocked Schulenburg out of the playoffs in the second round last year, but they have struggled this season, barely making the playoffs with a 2-8 record. Mason had lost to Marlin last year in the third round.