There must be long shadows cast all across San Angelo:
>> Four straight district championships, and five of the last six.
>> Four consecutive 10-win seasons.
>> Seven straight trips to the playoffs.
The Bobcats have a lot to live up to.
Expectations tower over San Angelo Central, as the 2017 Bobcats start their climb, opening their District 2-6A schedule tonight at Odessa High.
The thing is, these Bobcats are loaded up and ready to blast their way to their own great heights.
San Angelo Central is undefeated going into league action, 4-0 after nondistrict and last week’s bye, now poised to pounce on the district with another explosive offense and another winning defense, both a lot like what foes have come to expect from the powerhouse in orange.
Central’s offense is averaging 502 yards a game and 46.8 points, while the defense has picked up 10 takeaways on the other side — and now, after sitting out last week as the rest of the seven-team district got league play started, the Bobcats are set to bring their fight to District 2-6A, starting with Odessa High at 7:30 tonight at Ratliff Stadium.
“We’re excited,” Central head coach Brent Davis said over the phone this week.
“Our whole team is excited about defending our district championships”.
Central lost plenty of talent from last year’s 12-1 team, which powered its way through an undefeated regular season, losing only to Allen in the Class 6A Division I state quarterfinals.
But the Bobcats have reloaded — interestingly, spurred on by a quarterback working to climb out of another one of those shadows, looming over the name on the back of his jersey, instead of the front.
Last time out, when Central faced its toughest test so far this season, Davis said Maverick McIvor was the difference.
“He had a fantastic game against (Killeen) Shoemaker,” Davis said, thinking back to a 52-42 shootout win on Sept. 21. “He kind of willed us to the win.
“He was a part of seven touchdowns in that game, so he’s playing awesome.”
Tonight marks the first district start at quarterback for McIvor — the son of Rick McIvor, an All-American at Fort Stockton, the Longhorns quarterback at Texas and a two-year NFL veteran with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Maverick McIvor grew up in Fort Davis, and played six-man for the Indians as a freshman before the family moved to San Angelo, where he was an all-district receiver for the Bobcats last season as a sophomore.
Now, he’s behind center as a junior — and so far, he’s been playing like a destiny fulfilled.
The do-it-all signal caller has thrown for 1,245 yards this season and leads the Bobcats with 452 rushing yards, accounting for 20 total touchdowns this season in four games.
In that close win over Shoemaker, McIvor threw for 228 yards and five touchdowns on 21-of-27 passing, while rushing for 201 more yards and another score, and catching another touchdown — as his performance keyed Central to finish nondistrict perfect.
“You look at that, and that’s a lot of their offense going through him,” Odessa High head coach Danny Servance said this week, looking ahead to McIvor and the Bobcats.
“He is good,” Servance added. “He’s got great touch, throwing the long ball — and pinpoint accuracy on crossing patterns and things like that.
“There’s not a lot of flaw in what he does.”
It’s only been four games — but Davis hasn’t seen much flaw in his quarterback either.
“He’s a leader,” Davis said. “He’s everything you want your quarterback to be. He’s also humble. He’s just a great all-around young man, and we’re lucky to have him.”
All that — and the genes to match.
“He’s got one of those arms that you just don’t see very often in high school,” Davis said.
McIvor is a huge threat for Central, and the Bronchos expect to have their hands full trying to slow down the orange No. 7 flashing its way around Ratliff Stadium tonight, but Servance and the Bronchos also know Central’s ability doesn’t stop there.
“It starts with him, but they’ve got other kids that can make plays,” Servance said. “They’re a well-balanced football team, is what I see offensively.
“Defensively, they’re no slouches either. They do a great job of running to the football, and they’re physical on defense, and they don’t make a lot of mistakes.
“That’s the biggest thing. Good teams don’t make a lot of mistakes, so you don’t have opportunities to steal the momentum from them.”
Of course, Davis said he saw a lot of the same out of Odessa High leading up to tonight. Davis doesn’t think tonight’s game will be anything like Central’s 55-0 romp over Odessa High last season.
“They’re a lot better,” he said. “I think Coach Servance just being there longer, having an offseason with them — you can tell that their kids are playing really well.
“I’m impressed with them. They play hard. Their defense is fast to the ball, and offensively, I think their quarterback is really good. I think their scheme can give you trouble — especially an undersized defense like we are. We’re going to have to get a lot of people around the ball.”
Yes, tonight, the Bobcats step out of those shadows and into the spotlight at Ratliff, looking to build a legacy of their own in District 2-6A.
And there, tonight, the Bronchos will be waiting for them.
