No. 1 Shiner to take on No. 2 Brackett
by Julius Ermis, Del Rio News-Herald
November 29, 2004
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It will be a battle of the state's two top-ranked Class A teams.
Both are unbeaten, and the winner will advance to the semifinal round of the state football playoffs.
The No. 2 ranked Brackett Tigers (12-0) tackle the No. 1 ranked Shiner Comanches (13-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday at San Antonio's Alamo Stadium in the Region IV finals.
Brackett shut down the Axtell Longhorns 28-6 Friday afternoon in Wimberley in the Region IV semifinals to advance, while Shiner defeated Chilton 24-7 Saturday night in Round Rock.
Information about purchasing tickets to the game was not available Monday morning.
The Tigers relied on its aggressive defense and determined offense to take a 14-0 halfime lead over Axtell, extending it to 28-0 midway in the fourth quarter.
Axtell's lone touchdown was set up by a Brackett fumble late in the fourth quarter as Brackett's defense contained Axtell quarterback Kevin Neal from the game's outset to the finish.
During one stretch in the fourth quarter, Neal completed only two of 10 pass attempts.
Neal was limited to 13 yards rushing on 18 carries. The Tigers also nailed him for 42 yards in losses, including 28 yards on three consecutive plays early in the third quarter.
The 11-2 Longhorns were held to six first downs and 37 yards rushing.
With the state's top two Class A teams colliding, Brackett head coach David Yeager said Monday morning, "There's no doubt about it. This is a huge game. Shiner has an outstanding ballclub.
"They went to the state finals last year before losing. They have been this far in the playoffs before. They are used to playing in December."
Yeager, who has taken Tiger football teams to the playoffs in six of his seven years at the school, said, "It's a big game for our program and our community. Our kids will be excited to play against a good Shiner team."
The Tigers will face a Shiner team that is "very fast defensively. They have big guys on the offensive line and defensive line.
"They execute very well on offense. They are not fancy, but they are very good at what they do - similar to us. We're not fancy. They do a great job of executing the fundamentals."
In Brackett's Friday afternoon win, Yeager said, "Our defense played outstanding. They did a great job on being disciplined. They made sure assignments were carried out defensively.
"We did a great job executing on offense. Our offensive line played well and our running backs ran hard. I thought we played well in all three phases of the game - offense, defense and our kicking game."
Eight Tiger running backs rushed for 367 yards against Axtell. The Tigers collected 21 first downs.
Senior Noe Talamantes paced the Tigers ground attack, gaining 137 yards on 19 carries, including a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave Brackett a 21-0 lead.
Junior Miles Braesicke rushed for 79 yards on 15 carries, including a 33-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter when he broke several tackles.
He also scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kody Yeager with 38 seconds left in the first half, giving the Tigers a 14-0 lead.
Junior Brand Wylie picked up 21 of his 28 yards on a touchdown run early in the second quarter to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead they would never relinquish.
Senior Mark Kesteloot kicked four extra points.
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