Medina mauls Prairie Lea, but Indians’ future bright

LPR staff

SAN MARCOS – Prairie Lea’s first venture into the Texas state playoffs in a record 80 years didn’t end as Head Coach Steven Brown would have hoped, but he believes his Indians will have more opportunities to work on the playoff side of things in the near future.

Medina handled Prairie Lea, 48-0, in a first-round 6-man playoff game Friday night at San Marcos Academy’s Neeley Stadium.

“I told the guys that this didn’t go the way we planned, but a lot of guys don’t get this far and any guys that do get here are elite,” Brown said. “We will be back next year. This is not a one-year thing.”

The Indians finished 8-3 overall, having gone unbeaten in its new District 16, sweeping the top honors from the district.

The PLHS Coaching Staff of Brown and assistants Sawyer Burditt and Jess Stephens were named District 16’s Staff of the Year.

The District 16 Player of the Year was Joe Zapata.

Zapata plays what Brown called a “rover” on defense, akin to a defensive end in 11-man football.

The Offensive Most Valuable Player was Jimmy Soberanes and the Defensive MVP was Edwin Canepa. Soberanes had 1,530 yards rushing won 113 attempts and 34 touchdowns. Canepa had 60 tackles and two fumble returns for touchdowns.

Other Indians making the All-District Team included First Team running back Lane Fiscus, offensive lineman Augustin Reyes on offense, and on defense, safety Gabriel Garcia, and linebacker Jesus Perez. 

Second Team All-District honors for Prairie Lea included Lane Harkey at center, and Braylen Fiscus at cornerback. Honorable Mention recognition went to Jordan Ramirez on the offensive line. 

Medina jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes, 16-0 just over four minutes into the game, and rolled from there.

The Bobcats led 22-0 after the first quarter of play, and 34-0 by halftime. They scored on their first two positions of the third quarter to end the game due to the 45-point rule, 6-man football’s mercy rule.

“We had three running backs run the ball fairly well at times, but it was just hard going,” Brown said.

Defensively, Canepa had 6 tackles for the Indians. Braylen Fiscus also had an interception.

The Indians turned in their equipment on Monday and immediately began focusing on the basketball season.

Brown said Medina had not looked that aggressive during the season. He realized his Indians would need to be much more aggressive in the future if they ever wanted to get further into the playoffs.

“Medina has always had talent, but we didn’t expect that aggressiveness from them,” Brown said. “I told Jess (Athletic Director Jess Stephens) that we just weren’t ready.”

The Prairie Lea freshman class is especially strong, and Brown noted the Indians’ junior high also won its district.

Brown is also the middle school basketball coach for the Prairie Lea boys.

“We went 8-3, better than any team has ever done here,” Brown said. “I also want to congratulate our fan base. I’ve been here five years and have never seen support like we had this season.”