A look at the barbecue served at Butler's BBQ in
Killeen and a recap of the fourth round play-off game between Liberty Hill and
La Vega. Here's my video of this adventure:
I went to Buckley Stadium in Killeen, Texas to see a
fourth round play-off game between the Liberty Hill Panthers and the La VegaPirates. Winter is officially two weeks
away, but a cold front moved through Texas earlier in the week, bringing rain
and dropping temperatures. It was 47
degrees at kick-off, but with no clouds in the sky, it was going to get colder
as the game went on.
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Liberty Hill is coached by Jeff Walker and enters this
game with a 10-2 record. Walker is in
his first season as the Panthers coach.
He replaced the legendary Jerry Vance who coached the Panthers to state
titles in 2006 and 2007. Walker was the
offensive coordinator for those teams and was the head coach at Rogers before
returning to Liberty Hill.
It seems Willie Williams has been associated with the
La Vega program since the Millard Filmore administration. He is a graduate of La Vega and has been
their coach since 1990. His 2015 team
claimed the state championship. The 2017
team is perfect on the season at 13-0.
These teams know each other well, being from the same
district. They met in week 5 with La
Vega winning 33-18. Can the Pirates do
it again and keep their drive for state on track? Will the Panthers atone for that midseason
loss and keep their dreams of a state championship alive? Panthers and Pirates. . . it should be a good one.
But before we get into football, let me show you the
barbecue I enjoyed earlier in the day. . .
The
Barbecue
Football in Killeen, huh. . . I’ve never been to or through Killeen before,
so I turned to my friend the Google and found recommendations for Butler’sBBQ. Sounds good to me, I’ll give them a
try. After a nice drive in the country,
I made it to Killeen and wound my way around town to 3006 Lake Road. The burglar bars on the store front were a
little intimidating, but I wasn’t going to let that slow me down. I needed some barbecue.
Butler’s has a really neat mural on the walls, a nice
size indoor dining area with several picnic tables, and a couch and love seat
to relax on. I was greeted at the
counter by Angie, a wonderful young lady with a big smile. She probably called me “darling” more times
while I was there than I’ve heard in ten years.
They don’t sell meat by the pound, so I go their brisket plate and some
pork ribs. Rather than serve me sides,
they just threw on more brisket. It came
with pickles and onions, a big piece of cornbread, and sauce on the side. I got myself a glass of “brown lemonade” –
tea mixed with enough lemonade to make anybody pucker.
While my order was being prepared, I got a chance to
talk with a gentleman named Clarence Jones.
He’s a local who assured me I had picked a good barbecue joint. As we talked about different barbecue we’d
eaten across Texas, a nice lady put two big plates in front of me. One with brisket stacked high, the other with
ribs. Time for me to go to work.
The brisket was excellent. Smoked over mesquite, it did not have much of
an outer bark. But it was very tender
with a deep smoky flavor. The ribs were
also delicious. Cooked over oak, they
were meaty, juicy with a bit of sweetness, and so tender the meat easily bit
from the bone. The barbecue was served
with a typical tomato based sauce, not too spicy and not too sweet. The cornbread was wonderful. I did my best to eat as much as I could, but
had to take the rest home. My wife and I
both liked munching on it the next day.
To top it all off, my whole meal came to under $15. Such a deal. . .
Butler’s BBQ is what Texas barbecue is all about:
great food prepared by super people who take pride in what they serve and love
doing it. Guess I now have an excuse to
go back to Killeen sometime.
I rate this barbecue two Hook ‘Ems!
The
Game
Despite the
falling temperatures, it was a great night for football at Buckley Stadium. . .
On their second drive of the night, La Vega picked up
a big first down on a pass from quarterback Jamal Williams to Johnathan
Brown. A run by Kemoche Hobbs to the 2
gave the Pirates first and goal. Hobbs
scored from there and the extra point put the Pirates ahead early 7-0.
In the second quarter, La Vega was on the move
again. Williams threw to Taequan Tyler
for a big gain. Hobbs made some great
cuts to score on a 21 yard run. The
extra point extended the lead to 14-0.
Komache Hobbs runs 21 yards to extend the Pirates lead to 14-0
Late in the second quarter, the Liberty Hill offense
started to get untracked. Running back
Kyle Harrison picked up big yardage on the ground. But the drive stalled and the Panthers
settled for a 35 yard field goal. The
teams went to half time with the Pirates leading 14-3.
The teams traded possessions to begin the second
half. La Vega running back Cameron Henry
fumbled and the Panthers recovered.
Harrison burst through a hole in the Pirate defense and scored on a 38
yard run. Elijah Davis scored on a sweep
for a two point conversion to make it 14-11 midway through the third
quarter. Now we’ve got a game. . .
Kyle Harrison runs up the middle for 38 yard touchdown
While Liberty Hill needed a stop, La Vega turned to
their punishing ground game to move the chains and eat up clock. John Richards ground out the last 21 yards
for a touchdown. The extra point widened
the Pirate lead to 21-11 with 1:32 left
in the third quarter.
John Richards steps off for 21 yards and a touchdown for La Vega
As the game moved into the fourth quarter, the
temperatures had dropped into the upper 30s and the curtain was about to drop
on the Panthers. Neither team could
sustain a drive and both turned the ball over on downs. La Vega took possession on their 41. John Richards swept to the right, found a
hole, raced past the defenders, and high stepped it into the end zone for a 59
yard touchdown. The extra point pushed
the Pirates’ lead to 28-11 with less than six minutes to play.
John Richards ices the game for La Vega with this 59 yard scoring romp
The Panther offense is not designed to score a whole lot
of points in just a little time. They lose
precious time in the huddle and have difficulty throwing the ball
downfield. They used over four and a
half minutes to score on a 1 yard plunge by Trenton Seward. Liberty Hill tried an onside kick, but the
ball was recovered by La Vega. The
Pirates killed the clock and claimed the victory, 28-18.
Congratulations to Liberty Hill for their fine season
under first year coach Jeff Walker. Best
of luck to Willie Williams and the Pirates as they get ready to face defending
state champion Carthage for a spot at Jerry’s World.
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