Teams to watch: San Angelo Central could shake up the 6A playoffs

[caption id="attachment_26493" align="alignright" width="350"]SAC QB Cal Vincent (Photo by Russell Peables) SAC QB Cal Vincent (Photo by Russell Peables)[/caption] Examine the DNA of West Texas and you'll find football. Our state’s reputation as the prep football mecca is built largely behind the lore of full stands in oil towns booming with cattle. The talent moved to the big cities but the pageantry and passion remained. The communities still care. The stands are still full. All that is missing is the championship glory behind which West Texas built its reputation. The best bet for a large classification trophy is San Angelo Central. The Bobcats are undefeated and will contend for a Region I title. Head coach Brent Davis is plenty concerned with his team’s success. Yet, he doesn’t mind the pressure of being West Texas’ great hope. “We take great pride in being from West Texas and carrying that torch,” Davis said. “The talent might be better in the Metroplex, but no one cares more about football than West Texas. We had 20 thousand in our stadium for a district game. That doesn’t happen in Dallas until late in the playoffs. It is a lot fun to coach out here. Football is a way of life. The loyalties aren’t stretched because we’re all San Angelo Central Bobcats here. There aren’t multiple schools within our school district. That’s rare for 6A programs. The whole community is a part of what we’re doing on the football field.” And what the Bobcats are doing is winning. San Angelo Central is 7-0 entering Friday’s game against Odessa Permian, one of the pillar programs in Texas. The Bobcats enter as the heavy favorite, something Davis addresses with the team on a regular basis. “We talk about getting complacent and bored. We can’t afford to do that and the great thing is we have fantastic senior leadership. We returned seven starters on both sides of the ball from a good football team last year. We knew we’d be good with that many coming back on defense and a good group of skill guys returning,” Davis said. “We felt good about our quarterback situation. Our offensive line returned three starters, but we still didn’t know about the other two positions into fall camp. We’ve had guys step in there and help us out.” Central went 11-2 last year, losing to Abilene in district and Denton Guyer by eight points in the third round of the Class 6A Division II playoffs. Realignment moved Central away from Abilene, but the Bobcats exacted revenge with a Week 1 victory. Balance describes Central’s attack. Quarterback Cal Vincent moved to wide receiver as a junior because of his athleticism, but is back at his natural position for his senior year. He’s already passed for 1,661 yards and rushed for 500. Daven Manning should reach 1,000 yards rushing this week and six wide receivers have at least two touchdown catches. “Cal (Vincent) played quarterback in middle school and as a freshman and sophomore here. TCU commit Brennen Wooten moved in last year so we moved Cal to wide receiver to get our best 11 on the field. He’s back at quarterback and we knew he’d produce. He’s probably doing better than we even imagined and has a chance to be even better than Brennen because of his dual-threat ability,” Davis said. “You want all your guys to be like Cal. He didn’t bat an eye when we moved him to wide receiver. He went out and had an all-district year. We’re successful here because of the selflessness of the kids in this program.” Having an elite defense doesn’t hurt. Davis described it as the best defense he’s had in eight years at San Angelo Central and it is easy to see why. His defense is allowing fewer than 13 points per game. In seven games, the group has recorded 22.5 sacks, eight interceptions and seven fumble recoveries. Middle linebacker and four-year starter Gehrig Scott anchors the defense, along with safety Brock Martin, a three-year starter. “We returned three starters on the defensive line and have multiple-year starters at middle linebacker and safety. That experienced core on this defense set the tone. Scott and Martin have a ton of experience. Those guys help us get lined up and have seen a lot of varsity football,” Davis said. “We have a strong nucleus to build around on both sides of the football.” San Angelo Central still faces Midland and Tascosa before the regular season concludes. Both programs are expected to reach the playoffs and Midland enters this week tied with San Angelo Central atop District 2-6A at 3-0. Look farther down the road, though, and with the resumé the Angry Orange has put together, this looks like a navigable path to a title game with a little luck. A doomsday clash with DeSoto looms if current results hold, and Cedar Hill, Denton Guyer or Southlake Carroll are all tried and tested programs in the field. But there's no denying this may be the best shot a large West Texas team has at a title since 2009 5A DII champion Abilene. That's how good the Bobcats have been.

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