The season concludes for the St. Paul Cardinals as they play in their fourth straight TAPPS IV state championship game Friday evening ( December 3, 2021 ) at Waco ISD Stadium. The Shiner Comanches meet Refugio in the playoffs for the third year in a row and in the regional final/state quarterfinal round for the second straight year; they will play today ( Thursday, December 2, 2021 )at 7 p.m. in Victoria's Memorial Stadium.


SHINER COMANCHES VS. REFUGIO BOBCATS

The Comanches will play their toughest opponent, hands down, to date as they will rematch the Refugio Bobcats at 7 p.m. today at Victoria Memorial Stadium.

This is the fourth straight year the teams will have played each other with Refugio winning in 2018 and 2019 before Shiner took a 24-13 win last year on the way to the 2ADI state title.

"Offensively, they are very explosive with a fast-tempo, no-huddle system," Comanches head coach Daniel Boedeker said.

The 'Cats' top weapons are receivers Jordan Kelley and Antwaan Gross; Caleb Hesseltine and Kelan Brown have both taken snaps at quarterback.

Hesseltine was the starter earlier in the season and missed some games due to injury, giving Brown the opportunity to take the snaps.

"We could see both of them play," Boedeker said. "Our defense will have to lineup correctly and make sure we tackle well in space."

Leading Refugio's defense is Ty LaFrance, returning starter at end and Hayden LaFrance, returning starter at tackle.

Other defensive weapons are linebackers JR Moore and Dezmon Brown. Kelley and Gross anchor the secondary.

"For our offense to be successful, we will have to control the line of scrimmage, get positive plays, make sure we do not miss blocks and have no penalties. We have to score every time we have the opportunity," Boedeker said.

The winner of the match will play either Timpson or Centerville next week in the state semifinals for a chance to play at the 2A-Division 1 state title game in Arlington on Wednesday, December 15th.