THREE RIVERS, Texas — In week 8 of the Texas high school football season, Bulldogs junior quarterback Paxton Soliz helped Three Rivers find the endzone 7 times shutting out Pettus 64-0. Soliz threw 5 touchdown pass and ran for 2 rushing touchdowns. That's why he's been named our Game Changer of the Week.
"I'm very fast and quick, and I can make a lot of people miss in the open field. If you give me a lot of space then I'll make sure to capitalize on that."
Soliz' track speed shows on the turf. On Friday he carried the ball 7 times for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns. He gives a lot of credit to the offensive line.
"I have a lot of time in the pocket. I can sit there. Sometimes I'm there for 5 seconds just waiting for somebody to get open. If I escape the pocket then they go with me."
"Paxton is the type of kid if he gets in trouble, he can take off with his feet and make people hurt that way too," said Three Rivers football head coach Jesse Garcia. "So overall they do a great job as a team and Paxton kind of finishes the product, taking over with his arm and his legs."
He also completed 17 of 21 passes for 284 yards and 5 touchdowns. He's had a lot of opportunities thanks to Three Rivers' defense.
"We've really been able to be on the field a lot more for offense and score a lot more points because defense is really holding their own," Soliz said. "We have 3 shutouts this year and the games that we did not shut out, they barely let up any points."
The (6-1) Bulldogs have locked in each week in all three phases of the game, but one of their goals is to make it past the first round of playoffs. That's where they've fallen the last three seasons.
"Go far in the playoffs. We hope to be playing on Thanksgiving and in December football," Soliz said.
Three Rivers is on the road to Louise this Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Bulldogs are tied for the lead in UIL 2A-DII District 15 with Falls City. Both teams are 2-0 in district.
Thank you to Thomas J. Henry for supporting Coastal Bend athletes.
