Steele High School football coach Mike Jinks was only half kidding Sunday night when he said he felt queasy after spending a good part of the day watching video of dynamic Kerrville Tivy senior quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Sitting in a darkened room and trying to come up with a scheme to slow down a playmaker with Manziel’s bountiful skills would make any coach lightheaded.
“I feel sick,” Jinks said. “I just want to go lie down and go to sleep.”
Tivy coach Mark Smith wasn’t exactly feeling chipper after spending most of his day watching video of highly heralded Steele senior running back Malcolm Brown, who committed to Texas recently.
“It’s tough when you sit there and see all the things Malcolm does for Steele,” Smith said. “I don’t feel too well myself.”
A week after withstanding a 217-yard game by Madison running back Aaron Green in a wild 39-34 victory over the Mavericks, the Antlers will have the unenviable task of slowing down the freight train wearing a No. 28 Steele jersey.
“Malcolm is a lot like Aaron, except he’s bigger and stronger,” Smith said. “Our defense will have the same chore it had last week, trying to slow down a great player.”
Tivy (2-0) hosts Steele (1-1) Friday night in one of the state’s marquee matchups. Although it’s a nondistrict game, the clash will serve as a barometer for both teams. The Knights moved up to Class 5A this year after playing in the same 4A district with the Antlers last season.
Manziel committed to Oregon in June, but visited Texas A&M this weekend after the Aggies offered him a scholarship last Monday. He did not return messages left on his cell phone Sunday.
With A&M quarterbacks coach Tom Rossley watching from the sideline, Manziel completed 41 of 75 passes for 503 yards and four touchdowns in Tivy’s victory against Madison on Friday night.
The Steele-Tivy game will be the third matchup in as many weeks between schools featuring the San Antonio area’s three biggest offensive stars – Brown, Green and Manziel.
If Friday night’s game is anything like last year’s clash, fans are in for a thrilling night.
Tivy beat the Knights 38-34 in 27-4A play, rallying for two touchdowns after falling behind 34-24 when Brown scored from the 1 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Manziel finished with 424 yards in total offense, passing for 319 yards and two touchdowns and running for 105 yards and three TDs. He completed 29 of 40 passes, with no interceptions, and averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
“Johnny is such a special player,” Jinks said. “He’s like a John Elway, Brett Favre and Joe Montana. The game slows down for him like it’s in slow motion, and he always seems to be ahead of the defense. That’s an intangible you can’t coach.
“I’m amazed at how tough and calm he is in the pocket amid all that chaos. You don’t see a lot of kids in high school with that kind of poise.”
Brown was spectacular in last year’s loss to Tivy, rambling for 329 yards on 34 carries for a 9.7 per-carry average and four TDs. His first three scoring runs covered 2, 50 and 69 yards.
The Antlers advanced to the Class 4A Division II state semifinals, and Steele came within a few plays of beating eventual 4A Division I state champion Lake Travis in the second round.
“We need to win a game like this on the road to get to the next level,” Jinks said.
Madison beat Steele 28-23 in their highly anticipated, nationally televised season opener Aug. 28, but couldn’t seal the deal against
Tivy after having a first-and-goal at the Antlers’ 4 with under a minute left.
The Mavs also had no answer for Manziel, who piled up 581 of Tivy’s 582 yards in total offense and had a hand in all five of Tivy’s TDs. He also threw for a two-point conversion and rushed for 78 yards and one TD.
“That game looked like ours against Tivy last year,” Jinks said.
Steele evened its record with a 24-14 victory against Round Rock, getting 193 yards and two TDs from Brown.
“The thing about Johnny, Malcolm and Aaron is that they have so much innate ability,” Smith said. “I notice it more when I watch the video. That’s what separates them from so many others.”
And makes opposing coaches nauseous when the DVD player comes on.
