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H.S. FOOTBALL: Will Reagan spoil Judson-O'Connor second-round matchup?

Judson, O'Connor will meet next week if they both win Friday.

Shaken by the summer transfers of seven players, including their leading rusher, the Reagan Rattlers didn’t have time to feel sorry for themselves when they started preseason workouts in August.

Taking second-year head coach Lyndon Hamilton’s lead, the Rattlers closed ranks and went to work.

“We just had to move forward,” said senior wide receiver Konner Fox, who has committed to Kansas State. “There’s nothing we can do about it. We’ve just got to play with the guys that we have. The guys that had to step up, they have been stepping up. They’ve done a great job throughout the season so far.”

Reagan fell short of winning the district title that was almost their exclusive property until last year, but they made the playoffs for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons. The Rattlers have reached the postseason eight consecutive years since missing the cut in 2010. They have won six outright district championships and shared another since starting their run of playoff appearances in 2006.

Reagan (8-2) plays O’Connor (10-0) in a Class 6A Division I playoff opener at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Farris Stadium. O’Connor, which won its second straight District 28-6A title, finished the regular season No. 2 in the KENS5.com 6A area rankings.

An O’Connor victory over Reagan, combined with a win by undefeated Judson on Friday night, would set up a highly anticipated showdown between the Panthers and Rockets next week. But can O’Connor, which is led by head coach David Malesky, get past the Rattlers?

Reagan, runner-up to resurgent Madison in the 27-6A race, was No. 4 in the final KENS5.com rankings.

The Rattlers were dealt a tough blow when the seven players, including four starters, transferred to Cornerstone Christian School. Cornerstone wound up withdrawing from TAPPS – the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools – after allegations surfaced that Cornerstone had violated TAPPS transfer rules.

Hamilton, a square-jawed, no-nonsense kind of guy who could pass for a drill instructor, has declined to comment on the players he lost to Cornerstone.

“I only talk about the players who are here,” he said. “That’s our team.”

Hamilton was defensive coordinator at Reagan for four seasons before he was promoted to head coach in 2017, when David Wetzel resigned to become an assistant coach at Baylor. The Rattlers won four consecutive district titles while Hamilton was defensive coordinator.

Reagan went 9-3 in its first season under Hamilton, edging Buda Hays 26-25 in its playoff opener before getting trounced by O’Connor 45-21 in the second round.

The Rattlers own a 3-1 edge against the Panthers in the playoffs, winning in 2006 (49-47), 2007 (35-28) and 2011 (51-14) before O’Connor’s victory last year.

The Panthers, who reached the state semifinals last year, have won 23 of their last 24 games. Last year’s team went 13-1, setting a school record for most wins in a season. This year’s O’Connor team went 9-0 in district, but its road to the title was hardly a coronation. The Panthers were challenged by Warren (14-7), Brandeis (30-28) and Brennan (30-23).

Still, O’Connor is generally considered the team with the best chance of knocking off 26-6A champ Judson, which finished the regular season No. 1 in the KENS5.com area rankings and No. 3 in the Associated Press 6A state poll.

“They’re very balanced on the offensive side of things,” Hamilton said of the Panthers. “They’re really big up front so on the ground game, they’re going to hit you with a little bit of perimeter-run game. They’ve got a real good scheme up front with working the inside run game. They’ve got some really good backs. The quarterback (David Dodd) does a fine job of also working the RPO (run-pass option) game.

“They’ve got some receivers that can flat get it done in the air. We’ve got to work it out for us. The main thing is that they’re extremely balanced. You look at your tendencies and you’re trying to find some stuff. They do a great job of balancing their attack, so we’ve got to be able to stop the run and defend the pass, which is always tough. They do a great job on the ground and in the air.”

Hamilton also had good things to say about the Panthers’ defense.

“Me being on the defensive side of things over here, I don’t get to watch too much of the defense, but I have watched quite a bit of overall games, and they fly around. Coach Malesky does a great job on the defensive side of things for them. They’re going to show you different looks, and they do like to play a little bit of man (coverage), so our receivers have to have the ability to get off the coverage.”

Junior Travis Sthele has proven to be an efficient quarterback for Reagan, completing 118 of 202 passes, with five interceptions, for 1,775 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also has rushed for 333 yards and seven TDs.

Junior Austin Miller is the Rattlers’ leading rusher with 575 yards and eight TDs, and senior Konner Fox is the top receiver with 41 receptions for 694 yards and nine scores.

“We think we’ve got a lot of good football ahead of us,” Fox said. “We had two tough losses, one to Steele (35-0) and one to Madison (42-28). But one thing during the season that doesn’t show is our toughness.”

Credit: Photo by Antonio Morano bit.ly/XR79FT / Special to KENS5.com
Reagan junior quarterback Travis Sthele, who already has committed to play baseball at Texas, has completed 118 of 202 passes for 1,775 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. Photo by Antonio Morano (bit.ly/XR79FT) / Special to KENS5.com

Asked how the transfers of his seven former teammates affected the team, Fox said: “There was a little frustration. It was a little confusing. But we didn’t let that affect us. We have a great tradition of winning here, so we just come out here and we do what we know how to. We get the wins.”

Senior inside linebacker Ben Culhane and senior lineman Preston Yates anchor the Reagan defense, ranking No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in tackles.

Hamilton said O’Connor’s success the past two years has given the Panthers a confidence that’s palpable.

“Momentum, once you get it, you keep it, it’s something that can be definitely advantageous for you,” he said. “Our kids have got to make sure we don’t have any high highs, and no low, low lows in this next game.

“It’s a make-or-break game. Winner goes and the loser goes home. It’s a big game for our kids. They’re super excited.”

Reagan edged Brennan 24-22 in its season opener, but lost to Steele the next week. The Rattlers got back on track with a 26-21 victory against Clemens, winning three in a row before falling to Madison on Oct. 12. Reagan bounced back with a 23-22 win over Roosevelt, and ended the regular season with four straight victories.

“The last couple of weeks, you want to grow and play your best football late in the season, as you go into the playoffs,” Hamilton said. “We felt like we started pretty fast, and we had a little bit of a lull midseason.

“We made some changes as a staff. We came in here, in this office, and we sat down and rehashed a few things. Made some tweaks. Made sure that the kids stay fresh, and we feel like they’re extremely fresh and ready to go for this new season.”

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