Sports Editor

It will be a season of firsts for Cedar Creek High School.

They will kick off their first varsity season in 2012, and players will fill the blank slate of the school’s football history with the first pass attempt, first interception and first touchdown. The question is, will 2012 include a first victory for the fledgling football program.

“We are spending this spring teaching our kids how to prepare to the best of their ability,” Hernandez said. “If we do our best, that will be good enough. We are telling them that if they do all of that, winning would take care of itself.”

The Eagles bring back their entire team, which played a JV schedule last season. In year two of the Hernandez era, the playbook will be more about quality than quantity.

When you are a young program like we are, you really have to pick an identity and stick with it,” he said. “We can’t be all things to all people and we don’t want to be. In football there aren’t a lot of new things. In the end it’s still all about blocking and tackling. So we want to do those things better than anybody.”

With his first full offseason at Cedar Creek, the Eagles have concentrated heavily on strength and conditioning, and after five months in the weight room and on the track, Hernandez is noticing a difference.

“These kids have matured physically and emotionally in this last year,” he said. “It’s great to see them develop as football players.”

The Eagles will hold their first-ever spring game this coming week on May 25. Hernandez is treating the event as more of a practice with a two-quarter live scrimmage at the end.

“We don’t have the numbers to play a full game, so we won’t be out there a long time,” he said.

A draft between the coaches was held this week and rosters for the spring game will be announced Monday.

“It’s going to be fun for both the players and the coaches to get to compete against each other for bragging rights,” he said.

The spring game will take place at the BISD Stadium. Start time is set for 7 p.m.

Sports Editor

Spring football is all about the future. Players practice against their own teammates, building the foundation for bigger and better things come fall. Depth charts are set, and even the most elaborate offensive and defensive schemes are reduced to their vanilla counterparts in hopes that repetition will lead to recognition once the players lace up the cleats to embark on their seasons in the fall.

However, in Bastrop, the culmination of spring ball includes a retrospective look at the past. Since 2008 the Bears have used their spring game as a chance to induct two players into their hall of fame.

“When I got here, I wanted to make sure all of the players knew about the history of Bastrop,” head coach Gerald Perry said. “I wanted them to see all of the success that has come before them and see the tradition that this school has.”

This year the Bears honor former Mary A. Brown High School and Bastrop Middle School football, basketball and baseball coach Jimmie Lee Emanuel and 1964 Bastrop High School alumni David Perkins.

Jimmy Lee Emanuel

Emanuel was a pioneer who spent 36 years as an educator beginning back in 1949, when he organized the first African American football team at Crispus Attucks High School. He also led his team to the state championship in the Prairie View Interscholastic League Class A State Basketball Tournament three times in nine years.

In 1958 he left Granger and moved to Bastrop County where he taught at the segregated Mary A. Brown High School in Smithville. He led his team to a 1963 football state championship. He would also lead Mary A. Brown to the PIV State Basketball Tournament three straight years.

In 1965 Emanuel left Mary A. Brown to take an administrator job at the Gary Job Corps Center in San Marcos. He returned to public education in 1972 to take a job at the now-integrated Bastrop Middle School where he led a middle school athletic program that piled up multiple district titles.

“During that time Bastrop Middle School athletics was dominant,” Perry said.

In 1985 Emanuel hung up his whistle for good, but has continued to serve the community as a deacon at the Hopewell Primitive Baptist Church in Cedar Creek. He lives on a Bastrop County ranch and is married to Lue Ruth (Sally) Emanuel. The couple raised three children. They now have 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. His son Roderick also went into education, where he spent 22 years as a teacher, principal and eventual superintendent.

David Perkins

David Perkins filled the title student-athlete to the best of his ability during his time at Bastrop High School.  Perkins earned 16 varsity letters in six different sports in four years, and was the starting quarterback, safety, punter and place kicker for the Bears from 1962-63. He led Bastrop to a 20-2 record as a starter and was a member of the regional finals his senior year. He considers the 22-20 victory over arch-rival Smithville for the District 24-1A Championship to be his favorite football moment.

“It’s a wonderful memory for me,” Perkins said. “This was back in the day when you had to win district to qualify for the playoffs, so it wasn’t just a rivalry game or a district championship. The game meant everything for our season.”

The previous year the Bears had carried an undefeated record into their matchup with Smithville, only to fall to the Tigers and watch their rivals advance to the third round of the playoffs. In 1963, down 12-0 it seemed Smithville would once again steal the Bears’ thunder.

“That’s when our team decided they had had enough,” Perkins said. “They bowed their necks and got down to business.”

The Bears scored the next 22 points and held off a late Tiger rally to take home the district title.

Perkins and a teammate carried coach fellow Bastrop Bears Hall of Fame coach Larry Turner off the field, that being the first district title for the coach in what would become a legendary career.

The team would go on to win two playoff games over Round Rock (7-6) and Rosebud (21-6) before falling to Hallsville in the third round. It was Bastrop’s first playoff appearance in six years and his two seasons at the helm of the Bears’ offense helped springboard the Bears to success for the rest of the decade.

In 1970, Bastrop was named one of the top 10 football programs of the 1960s by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

The gridiron success was just the beginning for Perkins and his senior class. They would go on to win the district basketball championship and the state golf title that year.

“Our group just caught lightning in a bottle,” Perkins said. “Winning the football and basketball district championships as well as the golf state title was very special to me.”

Perkins would go on to play football at Lamar Tech (Now Lamar University), and start at defensive back and punter from 1966-67. He passed up his final year of college football eligibility to graduate early and enroll in the University of Texas Law School. After that, he became a lawyer and judge in the city of New Braunfels, and later a full professor teaching criminal law and procedure at the Department of Criminal Justice at Texas State University. He gives athletics credit for the success he has had throughout his life.

“This may sound a little old fashioned, but I believe athletics gets you ready to best play the rest of your life,” he said. “You learn traditional values, old fashioned work ethic and most of all bonding with a team. Looking back, I am most proud of the way our team came together to accomplish something we could remember for the rest of our lives.”

Both Perkins and Emanuel will be inducted at halftime of the 2012 Bastrop Bears Spring Showcase, which will be held May 24 at Batrop ISD Stadium. JV begins at 6 p.m. and varsity is set to start at 7:30 p.m.

Sports Editor

Cornerback Aneas Henricks became the third current Bastrop player to have a collegiate offer this past week. Both Texas Tech and Wake Forest have extended offers to the 6’0, 168-pound athlete. Williams is a move-in from Del Valle who played quarterback and corner for the Cardinals last year.

He joins fellow defensive back Antwuan Davis and linebacker Paul Whittmill, both of whom have garnered offers from around the country.

Coach Gerald Perry believes these will be the first of many offers for Henricks, who will likely line up across from Davis at cornerback in 2012. Texas Tech was also one of the first schools to offer Davis a scholarship, which preceded a flood of extensions from programs all over the country.

“After Texas Tech offered, it seemed like everyone was calling,” Davis said.

Receiver and linebacker Daniel Hill could be next on the list with several scouts coming out to see him play this week.

“We could have four Division I players on this team next year,” Perry said. “There is a lot of talent here. It’s an exciting time for Bastrop football.”

The Bears have one more week of spring practice before wrapping up with the Bastrop 2012 Spring Showcase at the BISD Stadium on May 24. The showcase will include performances by the middle school and high school cheerleaders, band, BHS Honeybears Dancing Team and recognition of 2012 athletic scholarship signees.

“It’s a good chance to give everyone involved a dress rehearsal for fall next year,” Perry said.

Tickets at the gate will be $3 for adults and $2 for students, with all proceeds going to the Bastrop Touchdown Club. Merchandise and season tickets will also be available.  The game includes a JV scrimmage at 6 p.m., a middle school 7-on-7 contest at 6:54 p.m. and a varsity scrimmage at 7:30 p.m.

“I felt like I got a good start, I leaned into the finish, he just leaned a little bit harder,” Davis said.

Davis came in seeded No. 1 based on his time in the regional meet, where he ran a 10.48.

In the shadow of Darryl K. Royal Memorial Stadium, where Davis committed to play his college ball last week, a relieved Davis looked forward to donning the pads next week with his teammates.

“I had to watch them out there while I was running my track workouts, my dad was like, ‘don’t even look over there,” he said. “I just want to get better and stay healthy.”

For more on this story, see Thursday’s edition of The Bastrop Advertiser.

Sports Editor

It’s been a busy week for Antwuan Davis.

The high school junior ran a 10.48 at the Region II Track and Field Championships last Saturday, earning the No. 1 seed in all of Class 4A, and then capped it off Friday by committing to The University of Texas to play defensive back. While events seem to be transpiring in the same blur the Bastrop standout becomes on the track, he has taken some time to reflect on it.

“This has been one of the greatest and most amazing weeks in my life,” Davis said. “Everything that has happened to me has been a real blessing.”

The Bastrop cornerback, who came back to BISD after five years in the Del Valle School District last season, has garnered offers from 33 schools over the past two years. Thursday night, after talking with his parents and coach Gerald Perry, Davis finally came to a decision.

““Last night I went to sleep on it,” Davis said Friday morning. “Usually when I tell people when I am sleeping on it, I don’t really think about it, but it kept running through my mind. Finally I said, ‘yeah, this is the place for me. I can see myself playing there for the next four years.’”

Friday morning Davis, his mother La Sean and his father Anthony carpooled to the University of Texas to make the commitment in person. The decision made Davis the first Bastrop player to sign at UT during the Mack Brown era, and allowed Davis to take one major concern off his list.

“It is a relief to know what school I’m going to,” Davis said. “Now I can focus on winning state in track and getting ready for a successful and fun senior season of football.”

It was the next step in a journey that has been years in the making. Davis’s special talents first materialized at age five, when he went for a run with his father.

“Not once during that run did I pass him, and every time I got close to him, he would speed up so I couldn’t catch him,” the elder Davis said. “I was just thinking, ‘this little dude just beat me in a mile.’”

Antwuan’s track career began at age five, competing with kids three years older, he cleared 10 feet in the long jump before his sixth birthday. Next came success on the soccer field, where Davis had to be taken out of games for scoring too many goals.

“People would get mad,” Anthony Davis recalled. “He was scoring 10 goals a game. He would just kick the ball out ahead of everyone and run to get it.”

Davis played pee wee football in Bastrop, then transferred to Del Valle in fifth grade. While he found some success playing sports there, it never quite felt like home.

“I went to Del Valle for five years, and something was missing,” Davis said. “That something that was missing was Bastrop. This is an all-football town. That’s not the way it is over there (in Del Valle).”

Upon enrolling at Bastrop, Davis found Perry to be a major asset in getting collegiate recognition.

“You can see all of the physical tools Antwuan has on paper,” coach Gerald Perry said. “His 40 time, the fact that he benches almost 350 pounds, but the thing you can’t see is what a good person he is and what a leader he is for his teammates.”

Perry would often stay late nights at the Bastrop sports complex or in his office, talking to college coaches about his star cornerback.

“He would tease me and say, ‘my wife is so mad at me and you right now,’” Davis said.

While he had already raised the eyebrows of several college scouts as a sophomore, it wasn’t until his first offer came from Texas Tech that things really started to pick up.

“Coach Perry told me that once I got the first one, they would start really coming in,” Davis said. “Sure enough, there were coaches talking to me from all over after that.”

Schools like Oklahoma, TCU, Florida State, Notre Dame, Florida, LSU, Alabama and Oregon all contacted Antwuan, and while he was mulling over his choices, one person in the Davis house knew from day one where he would end up.

“His little brother Adonis has been like his manager,” Davis’ mother said. “He said all along that he was going to end up at Texas. He was sure of it.”

Aside from his little brother’s campaigning, Davis found a bit more subtle council from his mother and father during the recruiting process.

“It (the decision) was about 80-20,” Anthony Davis said. “He has to be able to fit into that program and know that’s where he wants to be, and be happy. It was mostly on him to make that choice.”

Added his mom, “I knew that with his major (engineering) this was a good place for him. That as well as him staying close to us. He’s a small-town kid and this lets him stay around here. We are both interested in his academics, but me more so. I wanted to make sure he went somewhere that would give him a chance to get a good education.”

With his college choice shored up, Davis takes aim at a state championship in the 100 meter dash. The multi-sport athlete is aiming for a 10.3 or under in the UIL State Track and Field Championships.

“I love the competition in track,” Davis said. “I have always run my best in the big meets because when you look over at the guy on your right and left, you don’t want to get beat by them.”

The track state championships are slated for May 11-12 in Austin on the UT Campus.

Sports Editor

CONROE — Elgin put up runs in bunches to vanquish Nacogdoches 10-2 on Thursday and 15-7 on Friday and move on to the 4A Region III Quarterfinals.

The Lady Cats committed five errors in game two, but what they lacked in efficiency in the field they made up for with it on the basepath, turning 15 hits into 15 runs on the back of two RBI from both Bailey Alanis and Chelsea Everage.

Elgin trailed 5-3 heading into the bottom of the third inning before the Lady Cat bats exploded in a barrage of runs.

Everage trimmed the lead to 5-4 with an RBI single to left field in the third. Shelbi Swenson walked to start the next inning. She, along with Alyssa Wilkins would cross home plate to give the Lady Cats a 6-5 lead.

After the Lady Dragons tied it back up in the top of the fourth, Elgin went up for good when Abby Prinz doubled to score Kaci Olson. Adriana Hernandez, Prinz, Alanis and Schultz would all make it around the base path give Elgin an 11-6 lead.

With a five run cushion, Wing began to settle into a rhythm. The Elgin pitcher retired six of the final eight batters she faced, and allowed just one more run the rest of the way to pick up the win.

The Lady Cat victory, combined with Forney’s 2-1 victory over Hallsville, sets up a showdown in the regional quarterfinal.

The first game between the two will take place Friday at 7 p.m. at the Waco ISD Softball Complex. Game two will be Saturday at 2 p.m. and game three (if necessary) will immediately follow.

The sweep was set up by a domant effort on Thursday from the Lady Cats.

Chelsea Everage led off the second inning with a bloop single to left field, then Kaci Olson followed it up with a single of her own. Bailey Alanis scored Everage with another hit to make it 1-0. One play later, Olson took advantage of a Lady Dragon error and came across home to make it 2-0.

“I was happy we started hitting the ball,” coach Amanda Wolf said. “I think getting some hits gave them some confidence.”

The two-run inning put the Lady Cats up for good, but they were far from done crossing home plate. They would rack up four runs in both the fourth and fifth innings as as well.

Schultz led off with a double, then Wilkins bunted her way on base. Sewalson scored Schultz and Wilkins on a double straight up the middle. Next came freshman Victoria Gonzales, who traded places with Sewalson with a double of her own.

“That was really good to see,” Wolf said. “She (Gonzales) may be a freshman, but she is proving to everyone that she can really play.”

Gonzales would conclude the rally by scoring on a fielder’s choice, making the score 6-0 Lady Cats, but the Lady Dragons got more of the same in the fifth frame. Elgin used aggressive base running to pile on two more unearned runs and two earned scores in the inning. They would score on a wild pitch, an RBI single by Wilkins, an error, and an RBI single by Everage.

The midset was to get as many runs across the plate as possible for starting pitcher Jenna Wing.

“The whole team has bought into the idea of getting her as much run support as possible,” Wolf said. That’s why we were being aggressive. “When you are playing playoff softball, you have to go out and take what is there. When the other team hands you a chance, you have to take advantage of it.”

Wing meanwhile adjusted to the Lady Dragon lineup and picked up the win, going the complete game and allowing two earned runs on seven hits.

Wing wasn’t overpowering, but was able to keep the Lady Dragons at bay with her off speed pitches, ball movement and by throwing strikes and leaning on her defense.

“I told her she has one of the best defenses in the state of Texas,” Wolf said. “The last couple of innings, I felt like she did that. Usually the sixth and seventh innings are what they are most scared of.”

Sports Editor

Antwuan Davis seems to save his best times for the biggest stages.

A few weeks ago the junior ran a new personal record time of 10.53 at the Texas Relays. This past weekend, he shattered that time and blistered the Region III field on his way to a Regional Championship in the 100-meter dash and a spot in the UIL State Track and Field Championships May 11-12 in Austin.

Davis set the record in the prelims, qualifying first with a time of 10.40, .13 seconds behind his previous best time posted at the Texas Relays.

He would also run on the fourth place 400 meter relay team, along with Trae Bunton, Jarred Wellington and Raylon Hickey. The team qualified for the finals with a time of 41.97 on Friday and ran a 42.28 on Saturday.

Meanwhile Haley Mendel of Bastrop earned sixth place in the 800 with a time of 2:22.29. Emily Boujeman was 12^th in the 3200 with a time of 12:34.93 and John Thorne was 10^th in the high jump at 5-11.5”.

The Elgin 400 meter relay team of Marcel Smith Aundoy Thomas, JW Smith and Johnny Hunt qualified for finals in eighth place with a time of 42.73.
Also for the Wildcats, Dayne Nolan was 13th in the 100 meter dash at 12.47. Tierra Wright was 13^th in the 300 meter hurdles at 48.85, Adrain Lopez was ninth in the 3200 with a time of 10:19.86. JW Smith was 14^th in the triple jump at 41-9”.

The Elgin 800 meter relay team of Jasmine Reed, Nolan, Becky Hyatt and Marlana Collins finished 17^th overall at 50.33.

Sports Editor

Josh Castor drove in a run on a fielder’s choice in the first inning, and the Cedar Creek baseball team held off Hutto as long as they could, but the powerful Hippos added six runs in the final four innings to earn a 6-1 victory Friday night.

Starting pitcher Michael Meuth quelled the Hippos for the first three innings, and finished the game with three strikeouts in nearly six innings of work.

Meanwhile, the Eagles posted eight hits and put 10 runners on base, but stranded nine in the defeat.

Marcus Perez led off the game with a double to left field, then moved to third on a bunt by Josh Melendez. One play later, Castor hit into a double play, but not before Perez made it home to score.

The game brought an end to the Eagles’ season. Cedar Creek finished the year with a 2-14 district record in its first season of varsity competition.

Moore held his team to a high standard in its expansion year, but saw plenty of building blocks for success.

“Our lack of experience got the best of us this year,” coach John Moore said. “We would have liked to have finished a little better, but our younger players had to get accustomed to varsity competition.”

The Eagles have the benefit of returning their entire team next season, a squad Moore feels gelled defensively as the year progressed.

“We pride ourselves on fielding the ball well,” he said. “We had a lot of guys moved around out there who had never played in their positions, but they got better, especially in the second half of district.”

Moore also pointed to a deep pitching staff, with four different hurlers (Meuth, Chance Schilhab, Castor and Dylan Murley) getting quality time on the bump this season.

“All of those kids were sophomores this year,” Moore said. “They all came along this season and will just keep getting better.”

Cedar Creek will field its first team to include upper classmen next year, and will move from 16-4A to 17-4A, which means they say goodbye to the likes of Bryan Rudder and Hendrickson, but that won’t make life any easier for Moore and his team.

“We are getting rid of a couple of good teams, but with Georgetown coming in  we know this will still be a tough district,” Moore said.

One benefit the Eagles will have is a returning roster and a pre-established chemistry for the next two seasons.

“We will only be adding to our roster and getting stronger next year,” Moore said.

Cedar Creek finishes the year with a 2-14 district record.

The former Bear and current Texas Longhorn was credited for the win in the final UT-A&M conference baseball game Sunday. Knebel went the final five frames, striking out five batters. He spread five hits and one earned run over his time on the bump and won his third game of the season.

The UT sophomore entered with the Longhorns trailing 1-0, but a walk-off hit in the ninth inning propelled the Horns and Knebel to the win.

Knebel was pelted with a line drive in the fifth inning that stopped the game, but continued on through the pain.

UT manager Augie Garrido planned on handing the ball to Knebel in the fifth inning all along, pulling starter Dillon Peters after four excellent innings.

The baseball game, which was witnessed by 7,741 fans at UFCU Disch Faulk Field, was the last scheduled men’s sporting event between the two schools as the Aggies depart for the Southeastern Conference.

The two teams have engaged in conference games for the past 118 years. At the end of the game Knebel and teammates rushed the field in the type of celebration usually reserved for conference championships and postseason wins.