CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Phil Danaher Stadium. The location for our week 6 Game Night South Texas live TV matchup between the King Mustangs and Calallen Wildcats. It's a UIL 4A-DI District 15 duel. King is looking for their first district win of the season, while the Wildcats are looking to stay undefeated in district play.
"It's our time to show that we're really physical. That we can really stuff them," said King senior linebacker Josiah Garza. "We can compete really with anyone in this district no matter who it is. I mean these past games don't really define a team."
King has started the season with a (1-4) record, but only one loss in district. The defense is led by Garza who leads Texas high school football with 87 tackles according to MaxPreps.
"Josiah Garza is a freaking monster if I'm honest with you," said King football head coach Austin Menner. "He's probably one of the best linebackers that I've been able to coach myself. He does a great job communicating with the defense."
The offense found rhythm in the second half of their district opener last week, just a little too late. They've got some playmakers at receiver for quarterback Tatum Emerson like CJ Regino and Damon Smith.
"We were all a new team last year, so it was really hard. So we've been developing with each other trying to get better. You know just pushing everybody harder and trying to get on the same page."
The Mustangs will face one of their toughest challenges yet against a very big and physical Calallen defensive front.
"I believe our d-line this year has really stepped up compared to the past couple of years I've been here. Everybody is doing their job every time, getting good pressure on the quarterback and holding their gaps really well. It's just been really good all year."
The Wildcats offense has battled through injuries. The ground game features a committee led by Jimmy Tipton, and it's ran by third string quarterback Ryder Reeve. He's a defensive guy committed to play college football at Army.
"We've had some guys come up and they've been able to make some plays," said Calallen senior safety and quarterback for week 6 Ryder Reeve. "Whenever you have depth like that you have a lot of trust in your guys and you know whomever is in is going to make a play."
"We've got a lot of young talent," said Calallen football head coach Charlie Reeve. "I think a lot of people are starting to see that. A lot of those guys are getting opportunities maybe sooner that what we had normally planned, but you know it's next man up mentality."
Our Game Night South Texas live TV matchup between the King Mustangs and Calallen Wildcats kicks off on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at Phil Danaher Stadium. Make sure to check out the game live on our sister station KDF and on our website kristv.com. We'll have your sideline coverage and more as long as the incoming storms are not a factor.
