SPRING BRANCH, Texas – After waiting for 33 years, what's another 38 minutes?
Following a nearly 40-minute lightning delay, head coach Larry Hill and the Smithson Valley Rangers finally opened a regular season as a defending state champion with a resounding 62-6 victory over San Antonio Roosevelt at Ranger Stadium on Friday night.
In 2024, Smithson Valley claimed the UIL Class 5A Division I state title in Hill’s 32nd season at the helm after finishing as state runner-up four previous times (2001, 2002, 2004, 2023).
“[Defending state champions] has a great sound to it,” Hill said. “Our approach to the game and how we try to play and present ourselves is no different, but it does have a good feel.”
The Rangers (1-0) wasted no time picking up where they left off a year ago after stunning Highland Park, 32-20, in the state championship game last December.
Smithson Valley’s defense got a fumble recovery and an interception on Roosevelt’s first two possessions, turning them into a 14-0 lead on a pair of rushing touchdowns by junior Caleb Peagler.
“We got a couple of big turnovers in the first two series on defense,” Hill said. “That set some short fields up. We really didn’t have the ball a whole lot in the first half, even though we had a lot of scores. We had some explosive plays.”
The Rangers built a 42-0 halftime lead as Peagler added two more second-quarter touchdown runs. He finished the game with five scores to lead the Smithson Valley offense.
Roosevelt, which won a football state championship in 1995, got its only points of the game on a 67-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Morris Dukes. The Rough Riders lost to Smithson Valley, 45-0, in last season’s opener and finished 2-8.
New starting quarterback Ty Knutson looked sharp for Smithson Valley after getting extensive playing time in 2024. He had a touchdown run and a touchdown pass for an offense that returns just two starters after a 14-2 campaign a year ago.
“The players were sure ready to get back at it,” Hill said. “They’ve got a lot of good mojo going right now. That will only last you so long. We’ve got a big one in six days against a team [San Antonio Brennan] that put it on us last year.
“There’s a big struggle ahead. We’ve got a lot to work on, but this as good as you can do after one week.”
Chuck Cox
MORE HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS NEWS:
Grant Union cruises past Central East: Score, results from California high school football game
How to watch Odessa Permian (TX) vs. Plano (TX): Live stream, kickoff time for Jerry Jones Classic
FINAL: De La Salle [CA] Spartans rally late to beat the visiting Lakeland [FL] Dreadnaughts, 10-6
FINAL: No. 3 St. John Bosco [CA] blows out Eastwood [TX], 66-7
FINAL: No. 10 St. Thomas Aquinas runs Boyd Anderson off the field, 72-6, after long weather delay