By Gene Schallenberg
It was another banner season for the New Waverly Bulldogs. In a repeat performance from 2008, the Bulldogs swept through District 21-2A en route to second straight outright district championship.
New Waverly, which fell in the Division II bi-district round to Woodville 21-14 on Nov. 13, breezed through district play, winning by an average of 21 points.
The Bulldogs claimed their second consecutive title thanks to some dominating performances.
New Waverly senior running back Tyren Watts did his part to help lead the Bulldogs’ volatile offense. Watts ran for 1,578 yards and scored 25 touchdowns, including 21 rushing scores. Watts also caught 11 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown.
During district play, the speedy senior gained 885 yards on the ground off 82 carries for 12 rushing touchdowns. Watts also returned a kickoff 77 yards for a score.
For his efforts, Watts was named the District 21-2A Most Valuable Player for the second straight year by a unanimous vote.
“We knew every week that everybody was going to know where number 20 was going to be on every play,” New Waverly head coach Ken Craig said. “It speaks a lot for him and for the ability that God has given him to play this game and also for those guys that blocked for him. It’s been a luxury to have a guy like that.”
Bulldogs’ versatile senior quarterback X’Zavious Harrison, who made plays on the ground and through the air, was honored with Corrigan-Camden’s Rodolpho Nava as one of the district’s Co-Offensive MVPs.
Harrison threw for nearly 1,000 yards and ran for 533 during the season. Harrison was also responsible for 16 of New Waverly’s touchdowns.
“What X’Zavious could do is one of the reasons Tyren had the kind of success he had,” Craig said. “Defenses couldn’t commit 100 percent to one guy.
“X’Zavious had an exceptional year. He was an explosive threat at quarterback. He had explosive plays against just about everybody in the district. He had some success throwing the ball, but I think he was more feared for what would happen if he didn’t throw it.”
But it wasn’t just the offense getting all the attention. Six starters on defense were named to the first team, including junior Micah Bohannon at cornerback, senior Kody Coleman at safety and junior linebackers Tate Maddox and Kevin Major.
Seniors Eli Amador and Justin Ward were first-team selections for both offense and defense.
“To be honored on both sides of the ball is just a testament to the dedication and the commitment and the heart those guys have,” Craig said. “We don’t have the luxury of being able to two-platoon, so a lot is asked of these guys.
“With guys like Justin and Eli, you never worry. Those are the guys that you knew you could count on. They were going to give you everything they had on every snap. They’re guys who have a lot of heart and whose motor runs wide open when they’re playing. They’re very dedicated and very trustworthy with every assignment they were given.”
Earning second-team recognition were junior fullback K.D. Scott, sophomore offensive and defensive lineman Tucker Saxton, senior center Jesse Elias, junior wide receiver Dillian Scott, senior wide receiver Kyren Watts, sophomore Cole Bohannon, Micah Bohannon, Coleman, senior linebacker Colton Wyatt and freshman linebacker Glenn Hogle.
Craig was also honored as the district’s Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
“That’s an award that doesn’t just go to the head coach,” Craig said. “If the team isn’t successful, you never get considered. I had coaches who worked hard through the last snap of the last ball game from the beginning of August in the heat. They deserve recognition for that award.
“They did an exceptional job this year with new coaches Garey Peveto, Kevin Ward and Brad Bohannon. It was nice to see the hard work they put in with coach (Tommy) Bohannon and coach (Bill) Goffney. It was a group effort.”
