The Herald-Zeitung

SAN ANTONIO — There is no need to remind Larry Hill that it has been a chaotic year in District 26-5A.

“There are so many teams playing at a high level,” said Hill, whose Smithson Valley Rangers will wrap up the regular season against Roosevelt tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Comalander Stadium. “Week to week, you just never know how it's going to turn out. These teams are all playing so well, I'm not sure any game can be labeled as an upset.”

Just how crazy has it been?

It's the last week of the regular season, and the district standings are just beginning to sort out. Reagan, whose only district loss came to Smithson Valley earlier this fall, holds a tenuous grasp on first place.

Smithson Valley (6-3, 5-2) and Madison, both with two losses, are nipping at the Rattlers' heels. There are two more teams with three losses that could figure into the mix.

The Rangers can gain a share of the district lead if they win and Madison defeats Reagan tonight, but if that happens, the Mavericks will win the district title by tiebreaker, thanks to their win over Smithson Valley earlier this season.

Starting to get confusing?

For Hill and the Rangers, it's simple. All they need to do is win.

Smithson Valley controls its own destiny. If the Rangers win tonight against Roosevelt (6-3, 4-3), they're soundly in the playoffs.

All they need to do is defeat a Roosevelt team experiencing a late-season renaissance.

Once a favorite to win the division, Roosevelt (6-3, 4-3) stumbled mightily against New Braunfels and San Antonio Johnson in district play.

The Rough Riders seem to have rebounded lately, soundly defeating MacArthur and Madison over the past two weeks.

Powering the rebirth has been quarterback Devin Haywood. A leader all season, the senior has thrown for eight touchdowns, ran for seven and is on pace to eclipse the 1,000-yard marks in both rushing and passing tonight.

“He's very talented,” Hill said. “He has a great running and passing ability, but he is also a very heady player. He has a great feel for the game.”

He is joined on offense by running back Brandon Armstrong, who has run for 11 touchdowns this season and is also on pace to surpass 1,000 yards rushing tonight.

Going by Smithson Valley's defensive stats from last week’s 58-28 thrashing of Lee, the Rangers seem to be up to the challenge of containing Roosevelt's explosive offense.

Smithson Valley gave up 409 yards to the Volunteers, but — characteristic of the Rangers — gave up just a handful of touchdowns.

The Rangers also found new and creative ways to score. They recorded a safety, and Matt Bienek ran in a 92-yard interception return to account for one of Smithson Valley's eight touchdowns.

As usual, Smithson Valley was also stellar on special teams. The Rangers' Parker Taylor and Matt Hilston each scored on kickoff returns.

“Any time you score in all three phases of the game, you're probably going to win,” Hill said. “We had some rough moments, but the other areas seemed to pick up the slack. It was also good to get everyone in the game. That doesn't get to happen every week.”