CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On Friday night, Miller fans were close to having a heart attack watching our KRIS 6 Game Night South Texas matchup between the Buccaneers and Calhoun. It was a battle for at least second place in UIL 4A-DI District 15. Some of the young Miller guys stepped up in big ways to earn the 28-23 win in week 10. That's why quarterback Jayden Herrera is our Game Changer of the Week.
"Another opportunity to see like, all right, let's see what we're made of," said Miller football head coach David McHugh. "I think you know Friday night was a prime example of that."
Miller was down by 3 points with under 2 minutes left in the game. They closed the gap to 1 on a miraculous 2-point conversion. Then with a 1:04 left to play Herrera dropped bread in the basket, Izaiah Gidrey shook off the defender for the 61 yard touchdown. That's where Miller stole the lead.
"Perfect. If it's not a touchdown, it's going to be a big gain. Then we play for the next play," Herrera said. "Then I just saw him get wide open and I just throw it to him and let him make a play."
The sophomore quarterback was clutch in crunch time, completing 12 of 18 passes for 202 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Plus, he rushed for a touchdown.
"You know, just taking it all in and what we need to do. It doesn't matter if it's rushing, throwing, if we get 4 or 5 rushing touchowns," Herrera said. "As long as we have more points than the other team, that's all that matters, you know."
"He's a tough kid, you know," McHugh said. "One of the toughest kids we have. Every day he's ready to compete at a high level, so there's not a lot of people who can tell him that are better than him, you know. Even though they may be taller he gets after it."
The game was not over just yet. The defense had to hold off Calhoun and it was freshman Jacory Green who snagged the interception.
"He threw it to the middle of the field. The guy was open, and I got up on top of him," said Miller freshman free safety and tight end Jacory Green. "And then he threw it short and I caught it and then I uh I tried to go down because I didn't want to fumble."
"I just see him like mossing for the interception. It was pretty good," Herrera said. "You don't really see freshmen doing stuff like that, but he's a playmaker and that's what he does in practice too."
This will be a game that Miller will never forget, but they've had to move on quick. Up next is the district championship against Calallen. Kick off is set for Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Phil Danaher Stadium.
Thank you to Thomas J. Henry for supporting Coastal Bend athletes.
