Hill Country Elite wins second winter tourney

The Hill Country Elite captured the Holiday Bowl Dec. 16-17 for its second consecutive tournament win in December.

The Elite is comprised of players in the fifth and sixth grades representing Burnet, Llano, Liberty Hill, Marble Falls and Fredericksburg.

“We continue to get better at each event,” head coach Ray Gurley said. “In the first tournament (the River City Bowl Dec. 2-3), we surprised people. (At the Holiday Bowl), everyone had film on us. They were prepared. We had a target on our backs and had to execute a lot better.”

The Elite beat Sharks AP2 16-0, the Texas Titans 26-0, the San Marcos Sharks 18-8, and the San Marcos Sharks again in the championship 16-8

In the first game against the Sharks, Gurley noted the Elite faced an 8-0 half-time deficit.

“They chewed the clock and kept us off the field,” he said. “It took an adjustment.”

The adjustments called for quick screens and bubbles.

“It opened up the slants in the second half,” Gurley said.

That’s how the Elite got the separation on the scoreboard. Receiver Ruger Tekulve of Fredericksburg caught eight passes for 126 yards and two scores including a one-handed touchdown catch.

In the championship, the Elite offense did much of the same. Quarterback Gabe Gurley called for a slant. The Sharks jumped the route but were too late. That allowed receiver Haiden Allen to run to paydirt from 62 yards. He finished with 12 receptions for 159 yards and three touchdowns to help capture the title.

“I was impressed,” the coach said of the call by the quarterback. “I’m perfectly comfortable with it.”

The other critical factor came down to depth, which proved to be invaluable.

“We don’t play both ways and they do,” Gurley said. “In the fourth quarter, we still have energy.”

Gurley also noted his team won the third phase — special teams. In three games, his players successfully recovered three onside kicks.

“We were able to pin the other team deep several times and flip the field position when we needed to,” he said. “Those things can get overlooked a lot of times in a football game.”

The Elite and the Sharks are establishing a friendly rivalry. At one time, the Sharks had the upperhand. But the Elite have won the last three head-to-head meetings. Gurley believes one reason his team is playing so well is because the units are playing complementary football.

He credited Sharks AP2 for forcing the Elite to play well.

“They played us tough,” he said. “We didn’t give up anything.”

The Texas Titans “were very athletic.”

“In our second game, we were a lot more focused,” the coach said. “When a team gets down, they can’t recover.”

The coach noted his offense had 39 running plays and 42 passing plays. Quarterback Gurley of Llano completed 31 of 42 passes for 402 yards and five touchdowns and had a three-yard rushing touchdown. Running back Ethan Sanchez of Burnet had 30 rushes for 255 yards and two scores. Running back Christian Bermudez of Fredericksburg had four carries for 16 yards and two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions.

“(Defenses) shadowed (receiver) Jordan Depaz with their best defensive back in man to man to prevent the big passing plays that we connected on in the River City Bowl,” Gurley said. “Something we talk about as a coaching staff is take what the defense is giving us. So it was the quick passing game and running game that we were able to execute well on offense. Our quarterback play was solid. We put a lot on the quarterback with the checks, reads and protections, and that position did a good job for us.”

He also commended the defense.

“Defensively, we did a great job of keeping containment and forcing things back inside,” he said. “We got some turnovers and we got stops when we needed them. Our defense got tested a little more as teams made some adjustments and I love how they responded and handled it.” 

The Elite will play in the New Year’s Bash in Belton Jan. 6-7 in the 14- and 15-year-old division. Currently the Elite play in the 12 and 13-year-old division.

“It’ll be a good test for our team,” Gurley said.

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