'Resilient' Steele blasts Hutto in Texas high school football showdown
SCHERTZ-CIBOLO, TEXAS - It was clear that the SBLive Texas Power-25, No. 18 ranked Steele Knights (2-1) wanted to start fast in Friday's matchup against the Hutto Hippos (1-1).
They did, and then some, blasting Hutto 57-27 in a Texas high school football showdown on Friday night at Lenhoff Stadium.
The Knights had jumped out to a 22-0 lead early — at the 6:50 mark of the first quarter.
Class of 2025 Steele quarterback Chad Warner found his deep threat playmaker in 2025 receiver Jalen Cooper just 4-plays in for a 52-yard bomb for the opening score of the game.
"We said 'let's forget about last week,'" Warner said. "We played a really good Lake Travis team, and tonight we played a really good Hutto team, let's forget that and focus on us and how we can build from week-to-week. We have a really good offense. We are playing really good teams, but we are just clicking and finding us offensively."
After a quick three-and-out by the Hippo offense, Warner and the Knights capitalized on great field position setting up a three-yard rushing score for 2026 running back Jonathan Hatton.
"The kids were resilient, last week we had a game that did not go our way, and this week we had a team that has been scoring 70points per game," Steele head coach David Saenz said. "We knew we would have to be on top of our game, and all week we talked about not to worry about our opponent, but worry about us in all three phases. They did a really good job at all that tonight."
With another quick offensive possession for Hippo resulting in a punt, 2025 athlete Christian Watson took the Hutto punt back for a house call for the third score of the quarter.
It appeared Texas Tech commit and 2024 Hippo quarterback had something going on offense as they moved the ball into Knight territory, but the Knight defense pounced on a fumble to end the scoring threat.
One play later, Warner found his man Cooper for a short-post route as the junior wideout made one man miss and raced 75-yards for his second score.
"The gameplan tonight was lets not take our foot off the gas because of the hard loss last week," Cooper said. "We just watched film, and coach said go make plays, they called the plays and I just executed them."
The Knights defense continued wreaking havoc throughout the first half for Texas Tech-bound QB Will Hammond and the Hippos, and the Steele offense continued to roll through the second quarter.
"He [Hammond] is a really good football player, and they have a lot of skill," Saenz said. "We knew up front that we were going to have to control the line of scrimmage, and keep him in the pocket and keep him moving because when he gets comfortable, he can really hit his spots. Defensively, our coaches did a tremendous job with the game plan and the kids executed it really well."
Warner and Cooper would hook up a third time for a 62-yard score, while Hatton added his second score of the half, while 2024 Avion Fareaux and 2025 tailback Samuel Harris each added a rushing score.
The Knights finished the first half with 391-total yards offensively being paced by Warner going 11-13 passing for 321-yards and 3-scores. Cooper added 3-catches for 140-yards and 3-touchdowns.
Hammond was able to get his Hippos on the scoreboard with :22 left on a short shovel pass from 4-yards out to make the score 57-6 at the break.
"The key to the victory tonight was our communication across the board," said Vanderbilt commit and 2024 cornerback Alvin Williamson." They have a great offensive scheme, and a smart QB [Hammond] that knows where to go with the ball. Communication across the board and everyone playing with 100-percent effort."
For the Hippos, after the halftime break, Hutto was able to build some offensive momentum finding the endzone on three drives in the second half.
The future Red Raider added a 4-yard rushing score to open up the second half, then dropped a dime over the top to his 2024 receiver Alex Green for his second touchdown pass of the night.
Class of 2024 and Hippo wide receiver hauled in 6-catches for 132-yards and a touchdown.
Steele will host Midland Legacy (3-0) next week at home as they look to continue to focus on themselves and getting better each week.
"I am just really excited with the more games we are playing, the more confidence we will get," Saenz said. "We have four new offensive lineman starting and they are starting to really gel and come together as a unit."
-- Ryan Childers | ryanchilders0455@gmail.com |@sa_hcpreps
