2A Division I Texas (UIL) high school football state championship preview: Hawley vs. Shiner

ARLINGTON, Texas - The 2021 Texas (UIL) high school football state championships kick off Wednesday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington and SBLive will be there to bring you inside all of the action. Here's a preview of the Class 2A Division I matchup between Hawley and Shiner:

Class 2A Division I Texas (UIL) State Championship Preview

Hawley Bearcats (15-0) vs. Shiner Comanches (15-0)

7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington

Overview:

Shiner will be one of two teams looking to defend their state titles during the UIL’s football state championship weekend. The Comanches enter this matchup riding a 29-game winning streak, the second longest active streak in Texas high school football, as the reigning 2A DI state champions after beating Post 42-20 in last year’s title game. This year Shiner might be even better, though. The Comanches went unbeaten during a six-game, non-district slate against opponents that were all from higher classification levels to start the season. The Comanches claimed non-district wins against a trio of 3A DI teams (Blanco, Hallettsville, Wall) and one 3A DII squad (Poth), all of whom clinched playoff berths, and outscored those foes by a combined 186-37. Shiner has been outscoring its opponents by 38.7 points per game this season, up slightly from the team’s undefeated run to the program’s third state championship victory in 2020. It all starts for Shiner with brothers Doug and Dalton Brooks, two of the state’s most elite two-way playmakers, both offensively and defensively. Doug Brooks, a senior defensive tackle and running back with several DI offers, might be the most unstoppable power back in Texas high school football and he routinely runs over would-be tacklers, making it difficult to keep the Comanches’ offense out of the end zone and off the field. Brooks also anchors an incredibly physical front seven defensively, and will be a major factor in leading Shiner’s pass rush and stymieing Hawley’s ground game. Dalton Brooks, a junior running back and defensive back with dozens of DI offers, has been the lightning to Doug Brooks’ thunder in the backfield. He has topped the 100-yard rushing mark in each of the Comanches’ last four playoff games and also hauled in a late fourth-quarter interception to seal Shiner’s 35-28 state semifinal win over Timpson. The Brooks Brothers have tallied a combined 123 carries for 1,676 yards and 24 rushing TDs to power their team on the ground in five games this postseason. Hawley, meanwhile, owns one of the top defenses throughout the state in Class 2A this season. The Bearcats have yielded just 7.1 points per game defensively this year and shut out seven of the 10 teams they faced during the regular season. Hawley boasts a strong secondary anchored by junior safety Kason O’Shields, who should also be an x-factor as a receiver and punt return, and senior defensive back Aeneas Segura, who played a critical role in helping the Bearcats seize a 19-12 victory over Marlin, to punch their ticket to the state title game. Hawley, however, will need to be able to control the battle in the trenches with a game-breaking presence like Brooks looming on each side of the ball. Expect senior Kyle Nicholas (102 tackles, 29 TFLs) and junior Cade Murrile, both key contributors on interior of the Bearcats’ O-Line and D-Line, as well as sophomore defensive end/wide receiver Diontay Ramon, who has racked up 19 TFLs and eight sacks as an integral part of the squad’s pass rush. Hawley will lean on Segura offensively after he accounted for all three of the team’s touchdowns in a narrow state semifinals win. The Bearcats are one of the most battle-tested teams still in contention for a state championship after securing two consecutive one-score playoff wins against Cisco (17-14) and Marlin (19-12) in their last two games.

How They Got Here:

Hawley — W 68-18 vs. San Saba (Bi-District); W 40-22 vs. Sundown (Area); W 21-7 vs. Coleman (Regional Semifinals); W 17-14 vs. Cisco (Region I Championship); W 19-12 vs. Marlin (State Semifinals)
Shiner — W 76-6 vs. Harper (Bi-District); W 64-7 vs. Three Rivers (Area); W 67-21 vs. Schulenburg (Regional Semifinals); W 55-14 vs. Refugio (Region IV Championship); W 35-28 vs. Timpson (State Semifinals)

Head Coach:

Hawley — Mitch Ables (80-22 record in 8th season)
Shiner — Daniel Boedeker (41-1 record in 3rd season)

Players to Watch:

Hawley — Junior QB/CB Rodey Hooper, Sophomore WR/DE Diontay Ramon, Senior WR/CB Aeneas Segura, Junior WR/FS Kason O’Shields, Junior OL/DL Kenny Moore, Senior DL/OL Logan Overton, Junior DT/C Caleb Sutton, Junior MLB/RB Austin Cumpton, Senior CB/WR Martin Hernandez
Shiner — Junior QB Drew Wenske, Senior DT/RB Doug Brooks, Junior RB/DB Dalton Brooks, Senior TE/DE Tyler Bishop, Senior OL/DL Kyle Nicholas, Junior OL/DL Cade Murrile, Junior DE/OT Jacob Werner, Senior LB/RB Eli Fric, Junior LB/RB Bech Bishop, Senior LB/C AJ Patek

State Championship Appearances (Wins):

Hawley — 1st (0)
Shiner — 6th (3)

Distance to AT&T Stadium:

Hawley — 175 miles
Shiner — 267 miles

Keys to Victory:

Hawley — Control line of scrimmage and avoid broken tackles defensively
Shiner — Limit turnovers and force quick throws defensively

Our Pick:

Shiner