Are the Brennan Bears and the Steele Knights the best football teams in greater San Antonio this year?
The case can be made.
The better of the two teams – at least for August – will be determined Saturday, August 27th at the Alamodome when the teams face each other in the KSAT Pigskin Classic. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30.
Steele (2010, 2011, 2016) and Brennan (2013) are the most recent San Antonio area teams to make it to the state championship game. Each missed the playoffs in their inaugural season (2006 for Steele, 2010 for Brennan), and has made it every year since.
Steele (11-1, 7-0 in 27-6A) returns terrific talent from a team that enjoyed an undefeated regular season in 2021. Their defense will be led by Tulane commit Makai Williams and fourth-year varsity player Dante Payton. Jacob King, a junior linebacker, earned all-district honors along with Williams and Payton. The offense returns quarterback Connor Vincent and running backs Jaydon Bailey and Edmarrion Contreras, along with all-district offensive linemen Alex Garza, Marshall Johnson, and Seth Richardson.
Brennan (13-1, 8-0 in 29-6A) also went undefeated in the regular season in 2021. The Bears are led by senior quarterback Ashton Dubose. Dubose, who shared time at quarterback as a freshman, enjoyed a spectacular junior year, passing for 3623 yards, 53 touchdowns, and only 2 interceptions. The 53 TDs passes in a season is a San Antonio record; a similar season would place in the top 20 for career touchdown passes in the history of the state. Furthermore, Dubose rushed for 960 yards and 15 touchdowns. Brennan also brings back all-district players wide receiver Avron Carter, tight end Nathan Reyes, and lineman Joseph Montez, Alexander Ostegion, Gabriel Owens, and Ashton Williams.
Dubose’s top returning receiver? His brother Aaron (45 catches, 884 yards, 16 touchdowns.)
Brennan’s defense returns Oregon-bound defensive back Tyler Turner, along with All-District players Malik Tolbert, Oliver Arredondo, Wakil Mateen, and Michael Flores.
These teams also met in the Alamodome in the second round of the 2014 playoffs. During the game, power was lost in the Alamodome press box. This forced the officials to keep the time on the field and announce the time left in each quarter during stoppages of play. Meanwhile, media covering the game was scrambling for battery operated equipment to continue their coverage.
By the way, Steele won the game 24-12.
Hopefully, the excitement will be confined to the playing field for this meeting.
Mark Kusenberger
August 17, 2022
Read more from Mark on his blog at https://mkusenberger.wixsite.com/website/blog