Jim Ned Vs Halletsville
The 3A D-I Match Up Sheet is Here.
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Abilene Reporter News Photo Credit
Halletsville Brahmas – Halletsville, Tx
Head Coach
Players To Watch
Jim Ned Indians – Tuscola, Tx
Head Coach
Players to Watch
It’s not very often that we see a rematch in a state championship game from the regular season, but Class 3A Division I will see that for the second time in three years on Thursday night.
Jim Ned and Hallettsville will square off at 7 p.m. at AT&T Stadium with each squad trying to become the first team in school history to win a football state championship.
The Indians have made one previous trip to the title game in school history, back in 2003 with a gunslinger named Colt McCoy leading the offense. The Brahmas, meanwhile, are in their first ever state championship game.
McCoy went on to a record-setting career at the University of Texas which is where Hallettsville running back Jonathon Brooks is signing his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday.
The two squads met on October 2nd in Llano in a hastily arranged game that was brought about by COVID-19 cancellations. It wasn’t an easy game for the Brahmas to find according to coach Thomas Psencik.
“Jim Ned is a top-notch football program and have been for quite a while,” said Psencik. “God had a plan and it came up that way. I called many schools looking for a game and it didn’t work out and finding a game at that point is what we were looking for.”
Jim Ned came out on top in the first matchup 24-21 and Indians coach Matt Fanning expects that the rematch could be equally thrilling.
“They are a really good football team with a really sound defense,” he said. “We have a lot of weapons with different ways to hurt people and guys that just step up making big plays.”
The Brahmas strength lies in their offense which is averaging 44.9 points per game this year, which ranks fifth in Class 3A Division I. They actually had their worst offensive scoring night of the year in the first matchup.
In addition to Brooks’ special talents, the Brahmas offense has quarterback Trace Patek and wide receiver/defensive back Damani Hartwell who are playmakers.
Fanning knows that his defense is going to have to be up to the task to slow Hallettsville down for the second time this year.
“Brooks is something else but we were able to get him on the ground a few times the last time we played,” said Fanning. “They do what they do really efficiently. Coach Psencik does a great job and they are very well coached.”
No. 6-ranked Jim Ned’s defense enters the game on a hot streak. The Indians have the fifth-best scoring defense in Class 3A Division I this season at 15.3 points per game. In the postseason, Jim Ned has held four of its five opponents to three scores or less.
The defense is also peaking at the right time having forced a pair of Mount Vernon turnovers inside the red zone late in the fourth quarter of their 24-17 state semifinal win.
On the other side of the ball, both squads are ranked 25th in scoring with the Indians putting up 36.1 points per game while Hallettsville has allowed 20.3 points per game.
Psencik doesn’t think that either squad will have changed up their game plan much from the first meeting in the state championship game as they both have stayed true to their bread-and-butter.
“They have a very, very good offense,” said Psencik. “We are not planning on changing anything that we do. We just do what we do and everything we did in that (first) game are things that we will do in this game.”
The Indians offense goes through 2,000-yard rusher Xavier Wishert, but you can’t discount what quarterback Tate Yardley brings to the table either.
Yardley isn’t afraid to spread the ball around, but he’s a whiz at not turning it over and finding the open receiver. His top targets this year have been Zach Henderson and Braden Lewis.
With as explosive as Brooks is for Hallettsville, the question is going to be if this game turns into a track meet or is it a boxing match full of body blows? If it goes high octane, the advantage tilts in favor of the Brahmas.
If possessions are limited, the Indians defense should be able to come up with the necessary key stops.
Brandon McAuliffe’s pick: Jim Ned 27, Hallettsville 21