Pre/Game: Waco La Vega vs. Canyon Lake

Canyon Lake High School Running Back Micah St. John (#2) powers through the Pleasanton High School defensive line for positive yardage.      (mjrphotog.com)

          Pre/Game:      Waco La Vega    vs.   Canyon Lake       Friday 7:30pm at Reeves Stadium
                         Pirates (12-0)        Hawks (10-2)                       Round Rock

                         Canyon Lake and La Vega are tied in their series, 1-1.
                         2014  Hawks  49   Pirates   26
                         2015  Hawks  10   Pirates   42

                         This Year’s Results:
                         Hawks  38  Blanco      00    Pirates  46   Fairfield        07
                         Hawks  48  Aus Reagan  06    Pirates  34   Lorena           00
                         Hawks  23  Giddings    28    Pirates  42   FW Young Men’s   12
                         Hawks  13  Wimberley   20    Pirates  53   Mexia            07
                         Hawks  35  Lampasas    21    Pirates  42   Waco Connally    02
                         Hawks  56  Aus Akins   28    Pirates  33   Liberty Hill     18
                         Hawks  56  Memorial    00    Pirates  20   China Spring     10
                         Hawks  31  Boerne      21    Pirates  62   Lampasas         07
                         Hawks  53  Billies     35    Pirates  49   Gatesville       07
                         Hawks  28  Taylor      14    Pirates  63   Burnet           03
                         Hawks  31  Gatesville  21    Pirates  47   Fredericksburg   23
                         Hawks  28  Pleasanton  10    Pirates  54   Kingsville King  07

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                  Go Hawks!!

Canyon Lake played 3 undefeated teams this season. Of course, Blanco is one of those 3 schools but the other two were higher up on the food chain, in Wimberley and Boerne.

The Hawks broke even with those two contests and now will square off with a team that has been ranked in the top 3 during this season in a undefeated La Vega. Looking at their scores above, you might notice this team is the real deal and would be a major conquest for this year’s upstart Hawk Team.

CL had some learning curves as a result of the Texan’s game while this game can be a reason why the Hawks were able to take care of the Greyhounds a few weeks later. Wimberley was the first good passing team The Lake had played and the defense played a good game, as the Hawk D was able to hold the Texans, 28 points below their average up to that point of the season.

Boerne is the only school to put a blemish on Wimberley’s record and that will help give an idea of how much CL improved as the season matured.

Now the next hurdle will be a bit higher and CL will need to adjust their steps in order to finish this race on the winning side.

There were 3 teams that both schools played:

Go  Hawks!

Lampasas and Gatesville games will go on the Pirates side of the ledger and you could call the Fredericksburg battle a draw.

LV has a plethora of skilled players with QB Jamal Williams heading the list and he is the son of their head coach. The Pirates can hurt you by the pass and run, but they will have more rushing plays and are able to get quick strikes using that part of their game. Passing will be used as another way to keep a defense guessing and scoring in bunches.

The running backs that you will hear a lot from the PA Announcer or Cori Martelli on the Live Stream will be, Cameron Henry, Kemochel Hobbs and John Richards. All three have led the team in rushing in games this season, so keying on one will not be a good answer on how to stop this part of their game.

The Pirates passing game is loaded too, Malachi Wright, Johnathan Brown, and Taequan Taylor has had all 3 leading the team in contests, in yardage during this season too.

Bottom line, CL will have their work cut out for them as this team is quick and very skilled.

                   Let’s Go Hawks!!

Defense for La Vega might be better than their offense and as you can read above, that is a mouthful. The Pirates D has not only stopped opposing teams offense but this group of players can score with interceptions and fumble returns. Go ask Liberty Hill on how that can change a game.

Canyon Lake is at full strength again and having all hands on deck will be mandatory for this opponent as the Hawks will need to protect their ship from these Pirates. The Hawks will have to be on their game from the kick-off till the final horn to end the contest. Last week, Canyon Lake, was able to win with a sub-par first half and that would not be a good way of approaching this week’s battle.

Of course, no turnovers will be a huge way of keeping your chances for a good game and will be next up on the Hawk’s to do list.

                       Go Hawks!!

Fredericksburg was able to score 23 points and that was a good sign but those numbers will not translate, as some of those scores, was after that game had already been decided.

Great time of the year when you can still play football when the month of December comes calling. Now Canyon Lake will need to see if they can raid the Christmas Tree for a chance of getting some early presents.

Go Hawks!!!