Kerrville Tivy head football coach Mark Smith doesn’t get much chance to see his outstanding quarterback during games because he’s too busy huddling with the defense on the sideline when the Antlers have the ball.
It’s not until Saturday mornings, when Smith watches film of the previous night’s game, that he fully grasps the impact junior Johnny Manziel has on a game with his running and passing.
“I’ll sit there and say, ‘Wow,’” said Smith, who doubles as Tivy’s defensive coordinator. “Johnny has a great feel for the game and he does things you don’t teach.”
Unlike Smith, Medina Valley senior quarterback Troy Stein figures to see plenty of Manziel when the Panthers (11-1) play the Antlers (7-4) in the Class 4A Division II regional semifinals at 3 p.m. Friday at Heroes Stadium.
But Stein, who is as valuable to Medina Valley as Manziel is to Tivy, won’t be observing from the sideline. He’ll be personally involved in trying to slow down Manziel as a starting safety on a defense facing its toughest challenge of the season.
“Johnny is a special athlete, a special player,” Stein said Thursday before having Thanksgiving dinner with his family. “He has the ability to run and throw. It doesn’t make any difference what he does. He just gets it done.”
Pflugerville Hendrickson learned that the hard way in a wild 63-56 loss to Tivy last week in the second round of the playoffs.
The Hawks jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the onslaught delivered by Manziel, who finished with 488 yards of total offense and had a hand in all nine of the Antlers’ TDs.
He even caught a 39-yard TD pass from Mikhail Ironside on an option reverse to break a 56-56 tie with 3:54 left.
Manziel completed 17 of 28 passes for 246 yards and four TDs, three to Ironside, and rushed for 203 yards and four TDs.
“He is absolutely scary,” Medina Valley head coach Brian Emerson said. “That’s about the only word you can use to describe him – scary – unless you’re on the Kerrville Tivy coaching staff. He does so many things well.”
For the season, Manziel has thrown for 2,088 yards and 14 TDs and run for 1,250 yards and 28 TDs.
“Whether he plays wide receiver or scout-team quarterback, Johnny is going to do the best he can,” Smith said. “He doesn’t back away from anything. He just loves to compete.”
Smith said Manziel told him early in the week that he didn’t want to speak to the media before Friday’s game. That’s why you won’t read any comments from him here.
To be clear: Manziel, who is 5-foot-11 and weighs 160 pounds, will be up against a rugged outfit when he looks across the line of scrimmage Friday. Medina Valley has a quick, swarming defense that is allowing only 11 points and 198 yards a game.
The Panthers are also playing with a lot of confidence after holding traditional 4A power Corpus Christi Calallen to 168 yards in a 14-0 victory last week.
“Our defense has been fabulous and has contributed very well this season,” Emerson said. “We pursue to the ball very well and have been very disciplined, but we’ll find out a lot this week. This is the best quarterback we’ve gone up against so far.”
Two other Medina Valley players start both ways, wingback/cornerback Weston Heiligman and end Brett Bippert.
The key man for the Panthers’ undoubtedly is Stein, a throwback type who enjoys playing defense as much as he does running the offense. Fact is, Stein does about everything for Medina Valley but drive the team bus. The only time he comes off the field is for extra-point kicks and punt returns.
“I love to be on the field,” Stein said. “I don’t like standing on the sideline.”
That intensity, Emerson said, carries over to the rest of the team.
“Troy is like a coach on the field, not only with the X’s and O’s, but with his attitude,” Emerson said. “He’s a student of the game.”
Emerson visited the University of Florida’s spring workouts this year because he wanted to get an up-close look at Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow.
“I followed him everywhere during practice,” Emerson said. “He has so much energy and is such a leader. I know this might come across as a stretch, but I told Troy the other day that he’s become more Tim Tebow-like this season. He just plays so hard. He wants to get every ounce of effort from his body as he can.”
While Stein doesn’t have Manziel-like passing stats, he carries the Panthers with his running and is a better passer than some might think.
Stein, 6 feet and 200 pounds, has rushed for 1,407 yards on 181 carries, a 7.7 average, and scored 19 TDs. He has completed 35 of 78 passes, with four interceptions, for 617 yards and eight TDs.
“He would have a lot better passing stats if he played on another team,” Emerson said. “We just don’t throw the ball very much.”
Emerson will get no complaints from Stein. Besides, Stein has other things to think about, like helping slow down Manziel.
“It’s going to take a lot of discipline to do that,” Stein said. “Really, you can’t ever stop somebody like Manziel. You just try to slow him down. He throws so well on the run. He can scramble back there for a long time, but you’ve got to stick to your receivers.”
It should be a humdinger of a game. I’ll see you there.
