The Raiders dominated this game from start to finish as they scored on almost every single offensive possession they had Thursday night.

It started with quarterback Kor’Dae Johnson opening the scoring on the Raiders’ opening drive with a rushing touchdown. Ta’Rell Tarver then added two rushing touchdowns of his own to extend the Raiders’ lead.

Then Johnson and Gabe Barrios each scored one more touchdown on the ground before the first half ended as they carried a 35-14 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Raiders continued to put points on the board as Johnson found Duran “DJ” Amos on a short pass that he carried into the endzone. Then Chase Diggs, Miguel Marquez and Kyle Sims all scored rushing touchdowns to end the game with a score of 6327.

While the Raiders had a dominate victory, their head coach Brad Dumont said that he is pleased with his team and where they are in the season. He also said that they have a tough opponent waiting for them next week.

“Coming into the season, we are at where I thought we’d be right now. Real football starts next Friday night when Edna comes to town. They are a class organization and then we have an open week, then we get ready for district,” Dumont said. “I am real excited about where we are at though. We are moving the football, and we are moving some people around trying to find the right combo on defense, so I am pleased where we are at.”

While the offense had a big game Dumont made sure to credit the defense for their effort on Thursday night.

“Defense overall came through for us tonight. We are kind of a bend don’t break type group,” Dumont said. “Defense is a young group, and they are growing and gelling and they are going to keep getting better and come around.”

As for his offense though, Dumont was extremely pleased with how his offense performed Thursday night. He said they ran the ball well Thursday night and credited his offensive line for shouldering the load during Thursday’s win.

“We felt like we could move the ball by running the football tonight,” Dumont said. “We have been preaching since day one last spring that our offensive line has got to carry the football team. We have got to be able to run the football if we are going to be a good football team and we are slowly getting there. Like I said, next week will be a big test.”

The Raiders will return to their home field to host the Edna Cowboys for their homecoming game on Friday, Sept. 18, at Rice Consolidated High School.

During the Texas Tour coaches evaluate quarterbacks on more than their physical abi l ity. They are evaluated on their accuracy, arm strength, football IQ, leadership, competitiveness, decision- making, mechanics, consistency, communication, and coachability.

Sims distinguished himself throughout the process and shows his dedication, work ethic, preparation, leadership and commitment to developing his skills as a quarterback.

The Lady Raiders fell to the Lady Horns in three sets for their 17th loss of the season and their first district loss of the season.

The Lady Raiders fell in the first set with a final score of 2519 to start the match. In the second set the Lady Raiders scored 11 points in a 25-11 final score.

Then in the third set, the Lady Raiders scored eight points to end the match with a score of 25-8. After the loss Lady Raiders head volleyball coach Morgan Hunter said district play is meant to be tough.

“In district play, we are in super competitive volleyball. We know that every team we play is going to be talented, and everyone is trying to get into a playoff spot,” Hunter said. “We have to show up and play volleyball and compete, and I thought we did that for the first half of the game and then we fell apart at the end.”

Going from scoring 19 points to scoring eight points in the third set was a tough reality for the Lady Raiders to face. Hunter said her team needs to just keep believing in themselves because the second doubt creeps into the mind of an athlete it makes the season harder.

“I think the girls doubt themselves sometimes and don’t see the potential that they have,” Hunter said. “We just have to keep showing that we can play volleyball and keep that consistency throughout an entire match.”

Despite the loss to Schulenburg, Hunter said there were plenty of positives to take away from this match. One of those positives was how well the defense played throughout the match.

“We started the match off, defensively, very well. We have been working on blocking, timing and eye sequencing,” Hunter said. “We were able to slow down especially the outside hitters a little bit and that alone opens things up and changes things. When we were doing that it was giving us the opportunity to score points. We just did not do that the whole match.”

The Lady Raiders now look ahead to their next match against Smithville on Friday, Sept. 18, at Rice Consolidated High School.

This is the Wildcats’ second win in a row, and it came with strong performances on both offense and defense.

The Wildcats opened the scoring in the first quarter thanks to a 46yard run by Treycen Espitia. The Wildcats held onto that 7-0 lead until the second quarter and then Ace Mesa found the endzone on a 9-yard run to make the score 14-0.

They carried that 14-0 lead into halftime and to start the third quarter they extended their lead with one more score. Carson Klam scored on a six-yard run to bring the score to 21-0 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter Espitia scored on a 27yard run and then Josiah Okeke scored on a fiveyard run to make the score 35-0. Luling then scored their first touchdown of the game, and the point after the touchdown was no good to arrive at the final score of 35-6.

The Wildcats offense was led by Mesa, who carried the ball 12 times for 144 yards and a touchdown. Espitia also had a big night carrying the ball six times for 88 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Mesa and Espit ia showed just how talented they are, and they were named the Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week respectively for the Wildcats.

On defense, the Wildcats were led by Juan Rosales who racked up 10 and half total tackles as well as a tackle for loss in the win over Luling. He was named Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.

Inaki Alvarez and Ty Chmelik both had bog defensive games, combining for nine and a half total tackles and three tackles for loss.

The Wildcats will return home for their week four matchup against Schulenburg on Friday, Sept. 18, at Weimar High School.

The Ladycats defeated Shiner and then came back home to defeat Ganado for their first two district wins of the season.

@ Shiner, W, 3-2, (25-20, 20-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-11) 

In their first match against Shiner, the Ladycats needed all five sets to come away with the victory. They started the match out strong and picked up a 2520 set win to take a 1-0 set lead into the second set.

In the second set, the Shiner came back and responded with a 25-20 set win of their own to even the match up at one set a piece. Then the Ladycats came back and following the pattern in this match so far, they came away with a 25-20 set win.

Then in the fourth set the Ladycats were handed their second set loss of the match with a score of 25-18. With the match tied at two sets a piece the Ladycats were in a race to 15 points in the fifth set.

The Ladycats won that race and came away with a 15-11 set win to win the match in five sets over Shiner. After this win the Ladycats came back home to face Ganado for their second district game of the year.

Vs. Ganado, W, 3-0, (25-13, 25-11, 25-6) 

In their second match the Ladycats took on Ganado and won the match in three straight sets. The Ladycats dominated this game from start to finish, and it started with a strong performance in the second set.

They picked up a win in the first set with a score of 25-13 to set the tone for the rest of the match. Then in the second set the Ladycats continued their strong play, and they picked up a 25-11 win.

Then in the third and final set, the Ladycats defense played a great game and held Ganado to only six points. The Ladycats offense continued to score points at an efficient pace and closed out the match with a 25-6 win in the third set.

The Ladycats now sit with a 2-0 record in district and will now look ahead to their next game on their home court on Friday, Sept. 18, where they will face Flatonia.

This was also the Lady Cards’ first district game of the season and started their district schedule off with a win in just four sets.

The first set saw the Lady Cards come out strong as they picked up a 25-14 win over Hallettsville to start the match. In the second set, the Lady Cards continued to control the game with a 25-19 set win to go up 2-0 over Hallettsville.

Needing only one more set victory to win the match, the Lady Cards once again played a strong game trying to close the match out. But Hallettsville played their best set of the match on the third set to make things interesting.

The third set needed overtime to decide a winner, and the Lady Cards scored 26 points but ultimately fell in the third set. Hallettsville won the third set with a score of 28-26 to get themselves back into the match, but all it did was light a fire underneath the Lady Cards.

The Lady Cards defense came back in the fourth set and limited Hallettsville to only 15 points. Meanwhile, the offense kept the rhythm they had all game long and cruised to a 25-15 set win to win the match and their first district game of the year.

The Lady Cards were led by Harper Gerik who recorded 16 kills in the match against Hallettsville. She was followed by Lucy Schobel who recorded 12 kills in the win and Bella Lowe finished the match with nine kills.

Riley Kainer led the Lady Cards with 26 assists in the match against Hallettsville and Schobel again was not too far behind. Schobel finished the match with 16 assists to go along with her 12 kills which put a bow on a stellar performance.

Gerik also led the team with 12 digs followed by Mary Fitzgerlad, who had 11 digs during Tuesday night’s win.

The Lady Cards now look ahead to their next game on Friday, Sept. 18, where they will face Schulenburg at 6:30 p.m. at Columbus High School.

The Cards came away with a 48-21 victory and improved their record to 3-0 to start the 2026 season.

The Cards started the game by jumping out to a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter as the road team. Needville quickly responded with a touchdown of their own to tie the game up at 7-7 and carried that score into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Cards gave up on a touchdown on defense while their offense scored three touchdowns to carry a 28-14 lead into halftime. Coming out of halftime, the Cards scored one more touchdown in the third quarter to carry a 35-14 lead into the fourth quarter.

Then finally in the fourth, the Cards defense gave up one more touchdown while the Cards offense scored two more touchdowns.

While the defense gave up three touchdowns’ Cardinals head coach Matt Schobel was very pleased with his defense. They limited Needville’s high-flying offense to only 21 points and held them in check for the entire game.

“Their quarterback is a threeyear starter; their running back is a three-year starter, and they have been scoring a lot of points,” Schobel said. “Our defense made it hard for them though and I know our coaches would like to give up less points but that just because they are competitive, but our defense did a good job of making things hard for them.”

Offensively, the Cards were led by running back Doc Cantu, who carried the ball 26 times for 273 yards and scored all seven touchdowns for the Columbus Cardinals. Schobel said Cantu made some big-time runs for the Cards and credited his offensive line and tight ends for doing an excellent job blocking in the run game Friday night.

“First and foremost, our offensive line and our tight ends did a great job in the run game,” Schobel said. “Doc made a lot of big runs for us and made some tough runs where we did not have it blocked right. He ran really hard for us tonight, so I am proud of him, proud of our offense and proud of our whole team.”

Looking ahead to next week, Schobel said there is one thing that they will prioritize in practice moving forward, and it will not matter who the opponent is.

“Preparation, we are playing Bellville next week who is a tough opponent, but it is going to be about our preparation, does not matter who we are playing,” Schobel said. “Trying to get to a level of play that we need to get to.”

The Cards will return to the nest on Friday, Sept. 18, where they will face the Bellville Brahmas at Memorial Stadium in Columbus with kickoff set of 7 p.m.

The Lady Raiders faced Gonzales and Wharton in their last two games, which were both tournament games.

In their first game against Gonzales, the Lady Raiders were handed their first loss in these two games. Since this was a tournament game, the winning team needed to only win two sets.

Gonzales picked up the victory in the first set after a great effort by the Lady Raiders who scored 18 points. Gonzales closed out the set with a final score of 25-18.

In the second set, Gonzales’ defense played a strong game and held the Lady Raiders to 14 points. Gonzales won the set and the match with a score of 25-14.

The Lady Raiders took the loss and learned quickly from it and came back strong against Wharton to pick up a win in two sets. The first set was highly competitive, and Wharton scored 20 points.

That did not phase the Lady Raiders though as they stuck to their game plan and closed out the set with a 25-20 win. This gave the Lady Raiders a big confidence boost, and they came back even stronger in the second set.

The second set saw the Lady Raiders defense limit Wharton to only 18 points as they cruised to a 25-18 set win to close out the match. This win was the third win for the Lady Raiders this season.

They now set their sights on district play which is set to start next week, and they can begin their push for a playoff spot.

They will open up district play on Thursday, Sept. 10, when they hit the road to take on Schulenburg at 4:30 p.m. At Schulenburg High School.

The Raiders played a great game in all three phases to capture the win and improved their record to 2-0 to start the 2026 season.

The Raiders opened the scoring with Ta’Rell Tarver returning a punt 30-yards for a touchdown. Kor’Dae Johnson then found Duran Amos on the two-point conversion to pu the Raiders up 8-0.

Shortly after Tarver found the end zone again and put the Raiders up 150. Then Chace Diggs ripped off a 42-yard run to put the Raiders up 21-0.

The Raiders jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and after a field goal from Hempstead, the Raiders quickly extended their lead to 283. The Raiders then added one more touchdown to bring the score to 35-3, and they carried that lead halftime.

In the second half, the Raiders continued to score as Ta’Rell Tarver found the endzone to make the score 42-3. Gabe Barrios punched in the final Raider touchdown to extend the lead to 48-3.

Hempstead scored a touchdown in the final moments of the game to arrive at the final score of 48-9.

The Raiders’ passing attack was led by quarterback Kor’Dae Johnson, who finished the night completing eight of his 12 pass attempts for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Kyle Sims and Duran Amos each caught a touchdown pass from Johnson during Friday’s victory.

On the ground, the Raiders were led by Tarver who racked up 72 yards on six carries and found the end zone twice. Chace Diggs and Gabe Barrios also contributed to the strong rushing game as they both scored one touchdown each.

On the defensive side of the ball, Barrios led the Raiders with 11 tackles and five tackles for loss. Also leading the Raiders with 11 tackles was Kedarian Pratt to help lift the Raiders to a win Friday night.

Then Nelson Bernal forced and recovered a fumble during Friday’s win over Hempstead.

The Raiders now look ahead to their week three game which will be on the road against Schulenburg on Thursday, Sept. 10, at Schulenburg High School.

The Cardinals came away with the 10-point victory, but it was a hard-fought win for the Cards.

The Cardinals came out of the gate hot and jumped out to a 13-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. La Grange then started to find a rhythm on offense and found the endzone to cut the Cards lead to 13-7.

La Grange’s defense then forced a fumble that led to a field goal to make the score 1310. Then after a muffed punt by the Cards, La Grange’s offense took over inside Columbus’ five-yard line and punched in a score to carry a 17-13 lead into halftime.

Fumbles and turnovers were a problem for the Cardinals throughout the game as they finished Friday night with six fumbles and three of them were recovered by La Grange. Two of their turnovers led to points for La Grange, and Cardinals Head Coach Matt Schobel said they have to clean those up moving forward. “We definitely need to play cleaner and take care of the ball better,” Schobel said. “I am disappointed in that, but I am proud that our kids kept fighting and kept playing and we were able to turn it around in the second half and take care of business. We have a lot to work on, and our kids will be ready to do it.”

The Cards did in fact turn things around in the second half in a major way as their rushing attack came to life to start the third quarter. With their first possession of the third quarter the Cardinals marched down the field and capped things off with a 10-yard rushing touchdown from quarterback David James to give the Cards a 19-17 lead.

They followed that up by handing the ball to Brennan Hicks, and he found an opening to torch La Grange’s defense for a 63-yard rushing touchdown. James then scored on the twopoint conversion to make the score 27-17 heading into the fourth quarter.

La Grange then responded with an 80-yard touchdown to cut the Cards’ lead to 27-24, but the Cards were ready with a response. The Cards offense came back on their next possession with a 72-yard rushing touchdown from Mikael Shifatu to extend their lead to 34-24 and swung the momentum back in their favor.

Then on defense Hicks recorded an interception to give the Cards the ball and when the Cards were back on offense, the first play went to Hicks, and he finished the play with a 40-yard touchdown to bring the score to 41-24.

La Grange came back and scored a 97-yard kick return to make the score 41-31. La Grange then forced another fumble, and the Cards’ defense had to come up with another big play.

Gregory Fitzgerald recorded an interception to seal away the victory for the Cards and Schobel said the defense played a tremendous game, but there is still work to be done.

“The defense played really hard for us tonight, especially in the second half,” Schobel said. “We just have a lot that we have to get cleaned up.”

The Cardinals will be hard at work this week in practice to get those turnovers cleaned up and will hit the road for their game on Friday, Sept. 11, where they will face Needville.

Columbus captured the opening set 25-15, battled through a much tighter second set for a 27-25 victory, and closed the night with another 25-15 win in the third set.

Coming into Tuesday’s match with a 23-2 record, the Lady Cardinals showed both their ability to take control and their composure when challenged.

Columbus head coach Kayley Johns was pleased with the way her entire team contributed throughout the night.

“We just came off of a big tournament and just playing at a high level,” Johns said. “Tonight, I felt like everybody contributed. We’re passing pretty well, we’re in system a lot, and we’re able to finish big plays.”

Columbus established itself early with the 25-15 opening-set victory, but Sealy responded in the second and pushed the Lady Cardinals throughout the frame.

The Lady Cardinals were forced to battle beyond the normal 25-point mark before eventually pulling out the 27-25 win, giving Columbus a 2-0 advantage in the match.

For Johns, maintaining consistency and responding quickly to mistakes were important parts of the performance.

“We talked about being consistent, making sure that we have a lot of energy all the time and that we’re finishing the plays, playing together,” Johns said. “Not allowing one mistake to affect us for a long time, getting over it fast, and I think they did a really good job with that.”

After surviving Sealy’s challenge in the second, Columbus regained control in the third. The Lady Cardinals finished the match with a 25-15 victory to secure the straight-set sweep.

Columbus also welcomed Harper Gerik (No. 5) back to the court after she missed the previous week with an injury. Johns believes getting Gerik back into the lineup is another step toward getting the Lady Cardinals where they want to be.

“We still have work to do,” Johns said. “We’re playing at a really high level. We’re playing as a team, but No. 5 didn’t play this whole past week. She’s been out injured, and so she’s back on the court. We want to keep playing at a high level and playing consistent together.”

Despite the Lady Cardinals’ early-season success, Johns made it clear the program has much bigger aspirations.

“Our goal is to win state,” Johns said. “We’re going to dream big. We’re going to have big goals, and that’s what we’re trying for this year.”

Tuesday’s sweep showed several sides of Columbus — the ability to control a set, withstand a challenge in a tight one and then respond by finishing the match strong.

For a Lady Cardinals team already playing at a high level, the goal now is to keep building toward what it hopes will be a deep postseason run.

The Lady Cards will face Giddings on Friday, Sept. 4, on their home court in Columbus at 4:30 p.m. Then they will stay on their home court to take on Hallettsville for their first district game of the year to begin their playoff push at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

It was a dominate performance from the Ladycats that saw them give up less than 12 points in all three sets.

The match started, and the Ladycats defense came to play and held Sacred Heart to only 11 points. The Ladycats offense found a rhythm early on, and they scored early and often in the first set.

That high powered offense was able to score 25 points and close out the set with a final score of 25-11. With one set win under their belt, the Ladycats came into the second set with a ton of confidence, and their defense showed up once again.

They limited Sacred Heart to 12 points in the second set, which was the most points the Ladycats allowed in a set during this match. Their offense again followed the defense’s lead and closed out the set with a 25-12 victory.

Then finally in the third set, the Ladycats played another complete game with the defense and offense working in tandem. The defense held Sacred Heart to only 10 points in the third set, which again boosted the offense’s confidence to finish the match off.

With a final score of 2510 the Ladycats closed out the match in three straight sets to secure their ninth win of the year. The Ladycats now look ahead to their district opener on the road against Shiner.

The Ladycats will be on the road to take on Shiner for their first district game of the year on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at Shiner High School at 7 p.m. Then they will return home to have their first district home game on Thursday, Sept. 10, where they will face Ganado at Weimar High School at 4 p.m.

The Wildcats defeated Stockdale with a final score of 44-8 in a dominate blowout victory in front of their home crowd.

The Wildcats opened the scoring in the first quarter after a two-yard run to give them a 7-0 lead. The Wildcats followed that up with a score in the second quarter from Ty Chmelik, who torched Stockdale’s defense for 94 yards to the end zone.

The Wildcats then converted on the two-point attempt to give themselves a 15-0 lead. Stockdale came back with a touchdown and two-point conversion of their own to cut the Wildcats lead down to 15-8, but that would be the only time Stockdale would score in this game.

Collin Morrison found Cayden Conway shortly after the Stockdale score for a 59-yard passing touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, the Wildcats lead 23-8.

After the passing touchdown, the Wildcats forced, recovered and returned a fumble to extend their lead to 30-8. They carried that score into halftime and then came back in the second half to score two more touchdowns, Ace Mesa and Lucas Moreno each scored one touchdown in the second half of the game to arrive at the final score of 44-8.

Morrison had a great night under center for the Wildcats, completing seven of his 14 pass attempts for 126 yards and one touchdown. Chmelik led the rushing attack with seven carries for 114 yards and a touchdown while Mesa and Moreno combined for 61 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, the Wildcats recovered three fumbles in the win over Stockdale and Mesa led the team with seven and a half tackles and five tackles for loss. Joshua Wright also had a big game for the Wildcats defense racking up six and half tackles.

The Wildcats will now hit the road for their week three match up against Luling on Thursday, Sept. 10, at Luling High School looking for their second win of the year.

The game was scoreless for the first quarter of the game, and then Boilg scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to carry a 14-0 lead into halftime.

The Wildcats responded by scoring their lone touchdown of the game after a scoop and scoring on fumble recovery. The point after the touchdown was no good to arrive at the final score of 14-6.

Offensively, the Wildcats quarterback, Collin Morrison, completed six of his 13 pass attempts with two interceptions. His top target was Ace Mesa, who caught one pass for 11 yards.

On the ground, Mesa was the leader for the Wildcats carrying the ball 13 times for 45 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball Ty Chmelik and Morrison each recorded 12 tackles. The Wildcats finished the game with 10 tackles for loss and two sacks, and Chmelik accounted for three tackles for loss and half of a sack.

The Wildcats recovered four fumbles in Friday’s loss with Morrison recovering two of them. As for the defensive touchdown, it was Cayden Conway who picked up the fumble and carried it all the way into the endzone to get the Wildcats on the board.

The Wildcats will learn from this loss and quickly set their sights on returning to their home field on Friday, Sept. 4, where they will host Stockdale and look to jump back into the win column in week two.

The Cards left Bay City with a 34-19 win thanks to a stellar performance on both sides of the ball.

The game was scoreless in the first quarter but in the second quarter both teams were able to get points on the board. The Cards scored twice while Bay City scored once to carry a 14-6 lead into halftime.

Both teams scored once more in the third quarter, and the Cards held onto a 20-13 lead going into the fourth. The Cards extended their lead by scoring two touchdowns, and they gave up one more score to Bay City to arrive at the final score of 34-19.

Defensively, the Cards had two takeaways in the form of interceptions from Jayden Spaulding and Kiyan Johnson. They also limited Bya City’s offense to only 19 points and helped lift the Cards to their first win of the season.

Offensively, the Cards’ new quarterback David James had a great game on the ground. He carried the ball 14 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

He was not the only Cardinal to have a great game on the ground as Doc Cantu also rushed for over 100 yards. He carried the ball 20 times for 145 yards and found the endzone twice as well. One of the newest Cardinals Mikael Shifatu also scored a rushing touchdown in is Cardinal debut to help the Cards start the season 1-0.

Through the air the Cards tested James’ arm, and he completed three of his seven passes for 40 yards. All three of those passes were caught by Jack Schobel, while Irving Giles went 2/3 on extra points and Enoch Loafman went 2/2 on extra points to cap off the week one victory.

The Cards will now return to their nest for their week two matchup against La Grange on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m.

The Lady Raiders took on Bloomington, Gonzales, Katy Harmony and Ganado during their last four games, picking up their first two wins of the year. in their first match the Lady Raiders faced Bloomington and won the match in four sets. The first set went in favor of the Lady Raiders with a final score of 2514.

In the second set, Bloomington came back and picked up a close victory with a final score of 2523. The third set was just as competitive and required overtime to find a winner.

The Lady Raiders never quit in this set and ended up coming away with a 27-26 win in the third set. This win gave them to finish off Bloomington in the fourth set with a score of 25-18 to win the match in four sets.

Their next game against Gonzales saw the Lady Raiders back in tournament play, and they were handed a loss in two sets. The first set ended with a final score of 25-12 and then the second set ended with a score of 2510.

This did not phase the Lady Raiders too much because in their third match in this stretch the Lady Raiders jumped back into the win column.

In their third match, the Lady Raiders faced Katy Harmony School of Innovation, and they won the game with back-to-back set victories. The Lady Raiders dominated both the first set and came away with a 25-8 victory. in the second set Katy Harmony School of Innovation came back and scored 21 points to push the Lady Raiders to their limit. The Lady Raiders kept competing and closed out the set with a final score of 25-21 to capture their second win of the season. in their fourth match the Lady Raiders faced Ganado, and they needed all five sets to declare a winner. The first set went in favor of Ganado with a final score of 25-15. in the second set the Lady Raiders came storming back and won the set 25-16 but Ganado quickly answered with a 25-21 set win in the third set. With their backs against the wall, the Lady Raiders gritted their teeth and willed themselves to a 25-23 set win in the fourth set to set up the fifth and final set.

In a race to 15 points, the Lady Raiders scored 11 points to end the match with a 15-11 final score in favor of Ganado to end the match.

The Lady Raiders will not let these losses deter them from their main goal of pushing for a playoff spot as they are set to open their district schedule on Friday, Sept. 4, against Hempstead on their home court at Rice Consolidated High School.

During this three-game stretch, the Ladycats faced Cyress Ridge, Richards and Columbus losing a total of three sets. in game one of three the Ladycats faced Cypress Ridge and won the match thanks to back-to-back set wins. They won the first set with a final score of 27-25 in a closely contested set.

The second set was just as competitive, but the Ladycats still found a way to emerge victorious with a 25-20 final score.

In the second game of three, the Ladycats faced Richards and again only needed two sets to claim the victory. The Ladycats won the first set with a score of 25-19 and then followed that up by winning the second set 25-14 for their second win in this three-game stretch.

Then they traveled to Columbus High School to take on the Columbus Lady Cardinals in a Colorado County Showdown. The Lady Cards came out of the gate hot and won the first set with a score of 25-18.

In the second set, the Ladycats came back and held the Lady Cards to 17 points as they picked up a 25-17 victory. The Ladycats then pushed the third set into overtime.

The third set was highly competitive as both teams got points on the board, but it was the Lady Cards who came out on top with a 28-26 set win. In the fourth set the Ladycats again had a strong showing as they scored 21 points, but the Lady Cards were once again able to pick up the win with a score of 25-21.

The Ladycats now look ahead to their next match, which will be on Friday, Sept. 4, where they will enjoy home court advantage as they take on Ganado at 5:30 p.m.

After defeating Marion, the Lady Cards went on to defeat Edna, Shiner, Brazos, Schulenburg and Flatonia to win the gold bracket championship.

The Lady Cards opened things up by facing Edna and needed only two sets to emerge victoriously. The Lady Cards won the first set with a score of 2517 and then came back to win the second set 25-16.

In their second match they faced Shiner and lost their first set of the tournament. in the first set against Shiner the set went into overtime and the Lady Cards lost with a score of 26-24.

The next two sets of the match though, the Lady Cards returned to their winning ways. The won the second set 25-13 and then won the third set 2512 to win their fifth match of the tournament.

Their next match was against Brazos, and the Lady Cards defeated them in two sets. The first set ended with a score of 2517, and the second set ended with a score of 2520 against a scrappy and determined Brazos Cougarette team.

Then the Lady Cards ran into the host , Schulenburg, in the semi-finals of the tournament. The first set of this match went overtime, and the Lady Cards emerged with a win posting a score of 26-24.

In the second set, the Lady Cards dominated Schulenburg and cruised to a 25-10 win to earn a spot in the championship match.

In the Championship, the Lady Cards faced Flatonia and again only needed two sets to be crowned the champion of the gold bracket. The first set once again went into overtime, and the Lady Cards came away with a 26-24 win.

During the second set, the Lady Cards held Flatonia to 18 points as they picked up a 25-18 set win to win the championship.

The Lady Cards went 8-0 in this tournament to win the championship and even had a few players named to the All-Tournament team. Harper Gerik was named MVP of the tournament with her teammates, Logan Glueck, Mary Fitzgerald and Riley Kainer all earning All-Tournament team honors.

The Lady Cards will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 4, on their home court where they will face Giddings at 4:30 p.m.

Rice Consolidated Independent School District elementary students are invited to run through the tunnel leading the Varsity Raiders football team onto the field. Interested students should wear blue and be at the gate by the tunnel at 7:05 p.m. each Friday home game. Game admission fees still apply.

RICE HIGH SCHOOL WELCOMES NEW COACH 

Rice High School has welcomed Troy Lumpkin as a new U.S. history teacher and a coach for football and basketball. Lumpkin received education from George Mason State University and previously lived in North Pole, Alaska.

After a lightning delay pushed back the start of the game, the Raiders battled through a defensive contest that stretched well into the night.

Rice trailed 18-6 with seven minutes remaining in regulation before rallying to force overtime. After the Raiders tied the game in the fifth overtime period, Glenn Mills intercepted a Wheatley pass and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory.

RICE, 6 The game began as a defensive battle, with the score tied 6-6 entering the third quarter. Rice’s offense found its rhythm in the second half and began finding the end zone.

Quarterback Kor’Dae Johnson led the Raiders through the air, completing 15 of 23 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Ta’Rell Tarver was Johnson’s top target, catching six passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Johnson also led the Raiders’ rushing attack with 68 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Tarver added 65 yards on 15 carries.

Defensively, Rice limited Wheatley’s opportunities and came up with several key plays to keep the Raiders within striking distance. The defense forced and recovered a fumble before Mills delivered the decisive interception return in the fifth overtime.

The Raiders will remain at home in Week 2 when they host Hempstead and look to improve to 2-0.

The Lady Cards picked up their 12th win against Marion during the Schulenburg Varsity Volleyball Tournament Thursday, Aug. 20, sweeping the match 25-13, 25-7.

The dominant second-set victory came with a roller coaster of emotions — and nearly a cookie cake.

Columbus thought it had closed out the set 25-5, setting off a celebration before officials ruled the Lady Cards had tipped the ball and awarded the point to Marion. The call meant Columbus had to keep playing and, perhaps more importantly to the players, put a team reward in jeopardy.

“We have a challenge for our girls that if they hold a team under five points, they get a cookie cake,” Lady Cards Head Coach Kayley Johns said with a laugh. “So, when they thought we had won, they were super excited for cookie cake, but the point was called back, and we had to keep playing.”

The Lady Cards quickly refocused and closed out the set 25-7. Cookie cake or not, Johns said she was proud of how her team responded.

“That’s something we have emphasized throughout the offseason and early on in the season is to move on from points quickly,” Johns said. “If they score or we score, it does not matter. We move on to the next point and keep playing.”

That mentality has helped Columbus compile a 12-1 record through its first 13 matches. Johns said the early success has not surprised her, as players have bought into the team’s approach and continued improving in their individual roles.

She has also seen the team’s chemistry grow both on and off the court.

“I told them our goal today was to build team chemistry on the court and to grow in every single game, and I definitely think we did that,” Johns said. “We had hitters step up in big moments, our passers did a really great job today and our blockers have progressively been getting better each game. It’s really exciting to have a great group of girls that want the best for each other.”

The Lady Cards will return to action Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Needville Varsity Volleyball Tournament.

“The first expectation for this year’s team is to understand that the standards are being raised from last year. We are preaching being a team first and to learn to push through frustrations and adversity when things get hard. After all, that is the biggest translation from volleyball to real life,” Hunter said. “The girl’s attitudes have been great so far and we will be expecting that out of them through the entire season.”

Hunter put an emphasis on mental toughness throughout practices and scrimmages early this season. She wants her team to process mistakes quickly and move onto the next point.

That ties into the Lady Raiders’ philosophy this season; block out the noise.

“The message that we have started preaching to the team tune out the noise. The ‘noise’ looks different from player to player (nerves, lack of self-confidence, hardships at home, friend struggles, etc.)” Hunter said. “The goal is for these ladies to individually recognize what their ‘noise’ is and learn to tune it out when they step onto the volleyball court. I want the game of volleyball to be a safe and fun space for these athletes and to be something they look forward to and enjoy, no matter what else is going on off the court.”

Hunter also shared what she expects from her returning players.

“We have nine returning varsity players from last year,” Hunter said. “Their roles this year might look different, and may change from game to game, but I am looking for each of these athletes to show growth in the game mentally and physically.”

The Lady Raiders opened their season on Tuesday, Aug. 11, when they hosted Sacred Heart in a four-set loss. The Lady Raiders will learn from that loss and quickly shift their focus back to improving and getting back into the win column.

“We’re proud of our kids and excited about this group. We have a lot of experience back, and we’re looking forward to the journey and improving as the season goes on,” Schobel said.

The Columbus Cardinals received a lot of high praise from Dave Campbell’s Texas High School Football as they are predicted to win the state championship this year.

A Cardinal was named the “cover boy” for class 3A: Keyon Hemphill-Woods, a 6’4 290-pound offensive and defensive lineman who has committed to playing at the University of Texas in Austin.

Big things are expected out of Hemphill-Woods this season, and he is ready to leave a lasting impact on Cardinal football in his senior year.

Schobel was named the preseason Coach of the Year by Dave Campbell. Schobel helped lead the Cardinals to an 11-3 record last season, going 4-0 in district to win the district championship.

Schobel and the Cards had a deep playoff run that saw them reach the regional finals. In the regional finals, the Cardinals were eliminated by the eventual state champions Yoakum Bulldogs with a score of 20-14.

Despite being in a new district this season, Dave Campbell thinks the Cardinals still have the tools to make a state title run. Schobel also said he thinks they have the tools to make a deep run this year.

“We have a lot of experienced players back on both sides of the ball, plus some new guys who can help us. We feel like we have more depth this year,” Schobel said.

In practices leading up to the season and throughout the season, Schobel said he just wants his team to show up with energy, be consistent and execute. He wants his team to play fast, tough and keep getting better week over week.

“We have talent, but we have to play together, be tough and stack good days,” Schobel said.

As far as Dave Campbell’s prediction for the Cardinals, Schobel said his team is not too worried about living up to those expectations and will approach the season with a “one game at a time” mentality.

The Cardinals are set to kick off their season on Friday, Aug. 28, on the road against Bay City.

Both teams bat t led throughout the night, with the scrimmage ending in a 7-7 tie.

Columbus running back Doc Cantu provided an early highlight, finding space and breaking free for a 70-yard touchdown. Sealy’s defense tightened up afterward, while the Tigers’ offense found its rhythm and responded with a touchdown to tie the score.

Cardinals Head Coach Matt Schobel said Sealy continues to provide Columbus with a strong preseason test. The larger- school Tigers bring physical ity and speed along with the familiarity of a longtime rivalry.

“I think it is the eighth year in a row that we scrimmaged them,” Schobel said. “They’re physical, they’re fast, and they are going to play hard and compete, and that’s exactly what we are looking for.”

Following the scrimmage, Schobel reminded his players not to judge their performance solely by how they felt walking off the field. Film from the Cardinals’ first scrimmage revealed mistakes despite the team’s positive initial assessment, and he expects film from the Sealy scrimmage to reveal positives along with areas needing improvement.

“I just told the kids last week after the scrimmage we were feel ing really good about it, but we watched the film and there were mistakes that will cost you in a game,” Schobel said. “I’m sure this week we are feeling like we did not do anything, but we will watch the film this week and see that we did a lot of good things but have to definitely clean up the mistakes. We can’t give the team the ball in a good field position.”

With both scrimmages behind them, the Cardinals now turn their attention to the regular season. Columbus will open on the road against Bay City Friday, Aug. 28, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.