The Yorktown Wildcats will play the Granger Lions in the area championship playoff game on Friday, Nov. 19 at Davenport High School. The Lions were the district 13-2A Division II champions. Their district consists of Burton, Snook, Somerville, Iola, Milano and Barlett. They are returning eight offensive and seven defensive starters off of last year’s squad that went 8-3 and were area finalists. Players to watch include quarterback Johnny Ryder, RB/LB Donnie Cantwell, LB/RB DJ McClelland, OL/DL Luis Reyna, Jordan Rhoades, Daryl Stefek, and William Falk. Ryder contributed 25 touchdowns and 1,437 yards last season.
In their first playoff game, Granger defeated Miles, 41-10. In preseason, the Lions defeated Axtell (46-21), Frost (54-12), Frost (54-12), and Rosebud-Lott (31-24). Granger is averaging 29.9 points per game. Their strong defense is only allowing 13.2 points per game.
The Wildcats rely on a competitive senior class. Drew Alexander and Kalen Barefield will be major contributors as they lead the area in passing yards and receiving yards. Alexander totals 26 passing touchdowns through 11 games and 2,536 passing yards. Barefield has 1,197 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns. DeQuan Clay has 625 receiving yards. Ethan Pompa and Kyron Lemke are both major impacts on the offensive and defensive line. Linebacker, Dylan Respondek is the leading tackler for the Wildcats while Jacob Guerrero contributes as an outside linebacker. The Wildcats are 8-3 for the season. Their first playoff game was a smashing of Sabinal with a score of 62-20.
Yorktown will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 19. They will play at Davenport ISD with kickoff set at 7 p.m.
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