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.

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.

The National Federation of State High School Associations, a leadership organization for high school sports and fine arts activities, announced that the Bears would receive their National High School Spirit of Sport Award for Section 6, an award created by the federation to recognize individuals “who exemplify the ideals of the spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics,” according to the organization’s release.

“We are very honored to receive the National High School Spirit of Sports Award,” said BHS head football coach Gerald Perry. “Although it is honoring the football team, this is really a community-wide award.”

The NFHS cited the impact the fires had on the team, with four coaches and eleven players losing their homes in the massive blazes that destroyed approximately 1,600 homes and 35,000 acres. The organization celebrated the efforts of members of the team who volunteered in shelters moving donated goods or helping families during the initial week when school was cancelled.

“In times of need, we all help our neighbors. That to me is what this Spirit of Sports award represents,” Perry said.

The organization also highlighted the important role the team’s first game back – Sept. 15 against San Marcos – played in the community, where the team emerged from a banner that read “Out of the Ashes We Rise” before the game and the school district and community honored firefighters and emergency responders during halftime.

“There were many groups and organization at Bastrop ISD schools that played a vital role in helping those in need and rebuilding the hope and pride in this community,” said Perry.

The NFHS national winner will be recognized on July 8 at the federation’s summer meeting in Nashville, Tenn. Section winners – Bastrop’s Section 6 includes Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma – will receive their awards before the end of the school year.

Smithville was placed in District 26-3A with familiar foes Giddings and La Grange along with newcomers Cuero, Gonzales and Yoakum.

The Tigers will also move to the San Antonio region (Region IV), which is a welcome move after spending the last two years in the Houston region Region III).

“I like being in Region IV,” said head coach Justin Wiley. “I feel like we have kids that can compete with the other kids in that region.”

Smithville’s new district is a little tougher than the one they came from, but not by much.

State football powerhouse Navasota is no longer a part of Smithville’s district. Neither are Caldwell or Rockdale, which moved into District 18-3A with Taylor, Madisonville and the new College Station high school, which will not play varsity football in 2012.

However, the trade-off for the Tigers is perennial Class 3A powerhouse Cuero and Gonzales, which was 10-0 last year during the regular season.

“It’s a little tougher,” Wiley said. “We will have a few ranked teams like we have in the last couple of years. It’s going to be a battle every week.”

The move to Region IV was a bit of a shock for Wiley, as the six-year Smithville head coach said no one anticipated that move.

Smithville’s bi-district (District 25-3A), the one that will provide first round playoff matches, includes Bellville, Columbus, El Campo – which moved down from Class 4A – Needville, Brookshire Royal, Sealy and Wharton.

Wiley said his schedule was still incomplete, but nothing will be official until Feb. 21 when coaches can officially sign two-year contracts.

The Tigers have not been in Region IV since 2008-2009 when they competed with Bellville, Columbus, La Grange and Giddings.

Bastrop, Cedar Creek and Elgin joined Georgetown – which dropped from Class 5A –former District 16-4A opponents Hutto, Connally and Manor and new school Georgetown Eastview to make up District 17-4A.

Just as predicted.

While the district alignment was what most coaches were expecting, the move to Region III (Houston) was kind of surprising.

“I wasn’t expecting Region III,” said Bastrop head coach Gerald Perry. “We are up against a good Brenham district for our bi-district and we have never seen those teams before. It’s what makes the day exciting.”

Elgin head coach Wade Griffin said he thought there was a possibility of a couple of changes, but figured it was going to be just how it turned out.

“It’s about what we expected,” he said. “Moving to Region III was a bit of a shock, but if you look at it, we could have gone to any of the three regions (Dallas, Houston or San Antonio.”

Georgetown and Eastview replace Hendrickson, which jumped to Class 5A, and Bryan-Rudder, which was aligned with Brenham, Conroe Caney Creek, Huntsville, Magnolia, Magnolia West, Montgomery, Waller and Willis in District 18-4A.

The move to Region III will make most regional competitions much closer in Huntsville while when Elgin and Bastrop were part of Region II, the schools traveled over 200 miles.
The new alignment also brings a much greater challenge, according to Perry.

With the addition of Georgetown, which is a state powerhouse in baseball and girls basketball, 17-4A will be much more competitive.

“Georgetown is good in a lot of sports,” Perry said. “This is going to be a good competitive district.”

Griffin welcomed the addition of Georgetown, where he served as defensive coordinator prior to being hired by Elgin in the summer of 2011.

“I’m pretty excited about getting to play Georgetown,” he said. “Competitive wise, this district is going to be tough, which is a good thing.”

Another interesting side note, both Perry and Griffin were candidates for the head coaching job at Georgetown East View in February 2011 when the district was looking to hire East View’s first football coach.

Thursday was an exciting time for Cedar Creek’s coaches as they took part in its first district realignment in the school’s short two-year history.

The Eagles will play their first football varsity schedule in the fall, while the other sports will play in their second varsity season.

Cedar Creek head coach Dan Hernandez said it was a good day for Eagle football.

“I’m pretty excited and look at this as a challenge,” Hernandez said. “Our kids were excited (Wednesday) at our banquet and they were already talking about what they needed to do. Now that we know where we are going, we have something to work with to get ready for next year.”

District 17-4A coaches met Thursday after realignment was set and finalized their schedules.

Schedules will not be official until Feb. 21 when coaches can officially sign two-year contracts, but all three area schools in District 17-4A tentatively set their schedules.

Bastrop’s non-district schedule will be Vista Ridge, Gonzales and Akins (Sept. 13).

Elgin’s non-district schedule will be Rudder, Lehman and Vista Ridge.

Cedar Creek’s non-district schedule will be Travis, Lanier and Lockhart.

Notable district games are Bastrop at Cedar Creek (Oct. 12); Bastrop at Elgin (Nov. 2) and Elgin at Cedar Creek (Nov. 8).

Bastrop and Cedar Creek will share BISD Memorial Stadium for all varsity football games.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULES
BASTROP
Aug. 31    Vista Ridge    A    7:30 p.m.
Septl. 7    Gonzales    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 13     Akins    H    7 p.m.
Sept. 21    Manor*    A    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28    Eastview*    H    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5    Open
Oct. 12    Cedar Creek*    A    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19    Hutto*    H    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 26    Connally*    A    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 2    Elgin*    A    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 9    Georgetown*    H    7:30 p.m.

CEDAR CREEK
Aug. 31    Travis    A    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 7    Lanier    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14    Lockhart    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 21    Hutto*    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28    Connally*    A    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5    Open
Oct. 12    Bastrop*    H    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19    Georgetown*    A    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 26    Manor*    H    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 2    Eastview*    A    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 8    Elgin*    H    7 p.m.

ELGIN
Aug. 31    Bryan-Rudder    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 7    Lehman    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14    Vista Ridge    A    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 21    Georgetown*    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28    Hutto*    A    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5    Open
Oct. 12    Manor*    A    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19    Connally*    H    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 26    Eastview*    A    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 2    Bastrop*    H    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 8    Cedar Creek*    A    7 p.m.

If Carl Padilla’s predictions hold true, Bastrop will say goodbye to Bryan-Rudder and Hendrickson, which is expected to move up to Class 5A.
In Rudder and Hendrickson’s place, current District 16-4A opponents will possibly add Georgetown, which is expected to drop to Class 4A, and new schools Georgetown Eastview and Cedar Creek to their schedules.

That’s the realistic look at it.

However, there are always a few surprises.

In 2010, Bastrop and Elgin were placed in the Dallas region (Region II) in District 16-4A which was a surprise to many at the time, including Bastrop head coach Gerald Perry and former Elgin head coach Danny Lauve.

Carl Padilla has Bastrop, Elgin and Cedar Creek making the move to the Houston region (Region III) in District 17-4A for the 2012 redistricting.

While nothing is ever scientific when it comes to predicting redistricting, there is a better chance of figuring out Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, there are some conclusions that can be drawn from current enrollment numbers and past trends that might make Padilla’s predictions come true.

In 2010, however, Padilla’s predictions were way off as he had Bastrop in a district with Hays, Dripping Springs, Lehman, Lake Travis and Lockhart.

The thing that could hold true with his 2012 predictions are the geographical handcuffs for the two Georgetown schools.

Hendrickson is expected to jump to Class 5A after turning in an enrollment of 2,276. Cedar Ridge, which competes in District 16-4A this year in every sport but football, is also expected to move to Class 5A with the rest of Round Rock ISD schools. It turned in an enrollment of 3,065.

That pretty much leaves Georgetown ISD nowhere else to go, especially with Killeen also being expected to move up to Class 5A.

Lake Travis is moving up to Class 5A as well, leaving a hole in District 25-4A (Cedar Park, Vista Ridge, Rouse, Vandegrift, Dripping Springs and Marble Falls).

However, with Leander expected to drop from Class 5A with an enrollment of 1,970, the Lions are going to be the perfect replacement.

Don’t expect a reunion with Hays, Lehman and Lockhart for Bastrop and Elgin.

New Braunfels Canyon (27-4A) is expected to jump to Class 5A, but that could be remedied easily with Seguin’s expected return to Class 4A.

The Austin ISD district – 26-4A – is pretty much locked up with seven schools and while Elgin and Manor could move over to that district geographically, there is little speculation that the UIL will put together a nine-team district.

That pretty much leaves the only option to have the two Georgetown schools replace Rudder and Hendrickson and place them with Bastrop, Cedar Creek, Elgin, Manor, Hutto and Connally.

Of course, nothing is certain until Feb. 2 when the UIL releases the new districts for 2012-14.

Stay tuned.

BY THE NUMBERS
Here is enrollment numbers turned in to the UIL on snapshot day in Dec. 2011. The three Class 5A schools are projected to drop down to Class 4A when realignment is announced on Thursday.

Class 5A
Leander    1,970
Georgetown    1,990
Seguin    2,044

Class 4A
Bastrop    1,513
Cedar Creek    1,260
Cedar Park    1,796
Cedar Ridge*    3,065    Connally     2,004
Dripping Springs     1,307
Georgetown Eastview    1,418
Elgin    1,200
Killeen*    2,192.5
Lake Travis*    2,218
Lehman    2,064
Lockhart    1,325
Manor    1,642
Marble Falls    1,112
NB Canyon*    2,101
Rouse     1,863
Vandegrift    1,458
Vista Ridge    1,779
Hays    2,015
Hutto    1,325
Hendrickson*    2,276
Crockett    1,566
Eastside Memorial**    771
Lanier    1,659
LBJ    1,869.5
McCallum    1,763.5
Reagan    1,051.5
Travis    1,483
* Projected to move to 5A
**Opting to move up to 4A

2010 Classification numbers
Class 5A: 2,065 and above
Class 4A: 990-2,064
Class 3A: 430-969
Class 2A: 200-429
Class A: 199-below

PADILLA REALGINMENT PROJECTIONS
District 17
Bastrop
Cedar Creek
Elgin
Georgetown
Georgetown Eastview
Hutto
Manor
Connally

District 28
Alamo Heights
Boerne Champion
Hays
Lehman
Kerrville Tivy
Lockhart
Schertz Clements
Seguin

District 25
Vandegrift
Cedar Park
Vista Ridge
Leander
Rouse
Dripping Springs
Marble Falls