I went to Hutto Memorial Stadium where the Hippos hosted their district rival Rouse. Steven Van
Meter has been the head coach of the Hippos for five seasons. They have a perfect 7-0 record this
year. They have been averaging over 50
points a game while allowing less than 17.
I saw the Hippos in action against Georgetown when they won on a last
second field goal. Joshua Mann has been
the head coach at Rouse since the school first opened in 2008. Prior to that, he had been an assistant coach
at Cedar Park.
A cold front pushed its way through
central Texas earlier in the week. The temperature was around 53 degrees
at kick-off, but fell after the sun went down. No rain in the forecast,
but a strong breeze out of the north could have an impact on the game.
This could be a trap game for Hutto. They could be looking ahead to next week’s
road game against Cedar Park that could decide the district champion. Rouse is currently in fourth place in the
district. They need wins to keep their
play-off hopes alive. It should be a
good one. . .
On a night with a beautiful Texas sunset, let me show you the barbecue I enjoyed prior to the game. . .
The
Barbecue
In an open lot next to some small shops in the Hutto “downtown”
area, you’ll find Heart of Texas Barbecue at 206-A Farley Street, a block north
of highway US 79. Parking in that area
was at a premium on a Friday evening. I
was lucky to find an empty slot just a few spots away, so I parked the van and
walked inside. They had a big lot with
several covered tables and shady trees.
I ordered my usual half pound of moist brisket and
their “rib basket”. While a nice lady
prepared my order, I scooped up some pickles and onions from a side
cooler. They had three different kinds
of sauce, so I grabbed a squeeze bottle of each and set things down on a
covered table. The brisket was very
good. It had a good outer bark and a smoky
flavor. It was tender and just a wee bit
dry, but it was also late in the day. I
enjoyed it. I got four baby back pork
ribs in my rib basket. They were tender
with a rich smoky taste. They meat had
to be chewed off the bone, but it went down good. The three different sauces weren’t all that
much different. Each was a typical red,
tomato based sauce: one ever so slightly sweeter, another maybe spicier.
It was a windy evening with the temperatures starting
to drop when I ate at Heart of Texas, so I ate and cleaned up quickly. But I imagine this would be a nice place to
spend a lazy summer afternoon, enjoying the shade and a gentle breeze while
eating some good barbecue.
Heart of Texas Barbecue in Hutto – good food at very
reasonable prices. I give this barbecue a single Hook ‘Em!
The
Game
The Hippos drove 70 yards on their second possession. Quarterback Chase Griffin connected with DJ
Baptist for an 11 yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0.
Chase Griffin (#11) throws a touchdown to DJ Baptist (#7)
A Rouse punt hit one of the Hutto blockers. Chux Nwabuko smartly scooped up the ball and
made a good return. Griffin found
Baptist again which set up a short scoring run by Nwabuko to push the lead to
14-0.
Chux Nwabuko (#1) returns a punt for big yardage
The Raiders had a decent drive going in the second
quarter, but a high snap slipped through quarterback Ethan Moore’s hands for a
big loss. Griffin tossed to Baptist for
a 6 yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0.
The Hippos connected on a 30 yard field goal as time expired to end the
half. They went into the locker room up
24-0.
Rouse got the ball to start the third quarter. Trying to get back into the game, the Raiders
failed to convert on fourth down and gave up the ball in their own
territory. Griffin threw to Nwabuko for
a big gain to the Raiders 11. He found
Baptist open in the end zone once again for an 11 yard touchdown pass that made
the score 31-0.
The Griffin to Baptist connection works again for a score
The route was on, so I started packing my stuff up. In the mean time, Rouse had to punt again and
the Hippos went on another drive. Griffin
threw to Caden Beran whose dive into the end zone made it 38-0.
As I walked to my van in the parking lot, the stadium
announcer called out big plays for Hutto and the home crowd cheered madly. I glanced at the scoreboard as I drove away and saw that the Hippos had scored again to make it 45-0. Somewhere in the fourth quarter as I drove
back to Austin, Ethan Moore threw a 35 yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Poston to
make the final score 45-7.
I was wrong about a couple of things around this
game. I thought Hutto might be looking
ahead and could be upset. They weren’t. I also thought Rouse was a better team than
their record showed. They weren’t. Oh well. . .
No comments:
Post a Comment