HUTTO — For the first time in almost a whole month, the Hutto High School varsity football team will return to Hutto Memorial Stadium at 7:30 p.m. this Friday as the Hippos are set to take on Midway High School (Waco) for their annual Homecoming game. Following a very tough non-district schedule with the last three games on the road, Hutto (1-3 overall record) will open 6A-District 12 play against the winless Midway Panthers with a golden opportunity to halt a three-game losing streak.
The Hippos are coming off a close 29-19 loss last Thursday at Converse Judson High School in a game that was hindered by missed opportunities. Hutto was able to drive the ball on multiple occasions but was stopped by the Judson defense.
Expect senior standout quarterback Will Hammond to continue his stellar play this season. In four games, Hammond has thrown for a whopping 1,534 yards with 13 touchdown passes, only three interceptions, 361 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. Hammond’s favorite target in the vaunted Hippos’ passing attack is senior wide receiver Alex Green, who has exploded for 31 catches and 686 yards with five touchdown receptions, while sophomore running back Keilan Chavies has burst onto the varsity scene and has rushed for 294 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Chavies is also a major threat in the passing game as he currently has 15 receptions for 294 yards and three touchdown catches.
Heading into the Judson game, the Hippos’ glaring weakness was its defense as Hutto was giving up over 57 points per game through three games. However, against the Rockets, the defense played quite well and kept Hutto in the game throughout the night. Hippos senior linebacker Israel Medrano was all over the field on defense against Judson as he had a game-high 14 tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble.
Although Midway is winless, they also have played some very tough non-district opponents as the Panthers have lost to Mansfield High School, Permian High School, Austin Vandegrift High School and most recently to Rockwall-Heath High School.
