Vote: Who was best Central Texas high school football player in 2023 regional semifinal round?
The playoffs are heating up through three weeks and the stars are still shining bright.
The Texas high school football playoffs continued across the Lone Star State, SBLive Texas is keeping tabs on the latest scores, top storylines and best performances throughout the area round.
Congratulations to Colton Chmelar, A&M Consolidated kicker, who went 4-for-4 on PATs and booted through a 43-yard field goal in the Tigers' win over Fulshear. The junior was named SBLive's Central Texas Football Player of the Area Round after receiving more than 27,910 reader votes, 45 percent of the total vote.
Now, onto the regional semifinals. Who was the MVP of round three?
After looking at the most compelling results in the Class 6A, Class 5A and small school (1A through 4A) brackets, we examined the top performers in the state. Now, we're zooming in closer at Central Texas, from Waco, to Austin, to San Antonio.
Here are the top performances across Texas in the first round to the playoffs, spanning all corners of the state and schools all shapes and sizes.
Scroll down to read up on the nominees and cast your vote. Voting ends Sunday, Dec. 3 at 11:59 p.m. Central time.
Have a case about an individual performance? A bone to pick? Reach the Texas editor at andy@scorebooklive.com.
TOP STARS FROM TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL FROM THE REGIONAL SEMIFINAL ROUND
Chad Warner, jr., Cibolo-Steele
The junior quarterback was nothing less than spectacular in the Knights third round playoff win finishing with 4 total touchdowns - 3 passing, 1 rushing, while completing 71 percent of his passes for 281 yards through the air.
Royal Capel, jr., Cibolo-Steele
The junior swiss army knife receiver for the Knights hauled in six catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns to propel Steele to a regional final appearance in TX 6A-Divisio 2 next week.
Jack Kayser, sr., Austin-Westlake
The Westlake senior running back helped propel his Chaps to yet another regional final this week with a stellar performance with another three touchdown performance on the ground with 100 rushing yards.
Rees Wise, so., Austin-Westlake
In just one half, the sophomore Chapparal quarterback led the Austin power with 158 passing yards and three total touchdowns - two passing, one rushing.
Jackson Duffey, sr., Smithson Valley
The two-way star for the Rangers continues to shine catching four balls for 120 yards, while also racking up two tackles for a loss, and a forced fumble.
Will Sloan, sr., Austin-Westlake
The senior Chapparal defensive lineman racked up five total tackles, three sacks, and had one fumble recovery in a lopsided regional semifinal victory.
Kyle Koch, sr., Dripping Springs
The senior wide receiver continued to lead his Tigers offensively hauling in 5 catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns in their regional semifinal win.
Michael Terry III, jr., Alamo Heights
The two-way four-star athlete gave his best effort in last week's regional semifinal loss as he had an interception returned for a touchdown, along with two rushing touchdowns
Cody Stoever, jr., Wimberley
The junior quarterback continues to lead his Texans team to their second straight regional final with a stellar performance from quarterback position with five total touchdowns. Stoever rushed for 176 yards and passed for 152 more yards.
Zach Patek, sr., Wimberley
The senior Texan helped contain an explosive Ingleside offense as he came up with two interceptions and had six tackles
John Hamilton, jr., San Antonio Pieper
The Warriors came up with a big regional semifinal victory last week and Hamilton was certainly a big contributor to their explosive offensive output. Hamilton rushed for 113 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns, while also catching five passes and two more touchdowns in the passing game.
Jake South, sr., San Antonio Pieper
The San Antonio touchdowns leader on the season, South continued his spectacular season passing for six more touchdowns on 25-39 passing for 368 yards.
Kaden Glass, sr., San Antonio Pieper
Glass was a menace all night from his linebacker position for the Warrior defense as he posted 12 tackles, three tackles for a loss, and two sacks.
Isaiah Champagne, jr,, San Antonio Pieper
The 2025 slot wide receiver was instrumental in the Warrior offensive attack in their regional semifinal win hauling in nine catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns. Champagne averaged nearly 23 yards per reception.
Triston Hamlin, sr., San Antonio Davenport
The Wolves are moving on to this week's regional final after leading the Davenport offense passing for 285 yards on 20-35 completions and four touchdowns.
Dontae Carter, sr., Cibolo-Steele
The Vanderbilt commit has shown all season that he is a leader on the Knight defense. In their regional semifinal win, Carter posted eight tackles, one tackle for a loss, and one interception.
Noah Long, sr., Liberty Hill
The senior running back for the Panthers carried the rock 15 times for 188 yards and found the end zone four times helping Liberty Hill advance to the regional finals for the fourth year in a row.
Nico Hamilton, sr., Lake Travis
The senior Cavalier running back continues to be the steady hand for the Lake Travis offense helping lead the Austin power to a regional final berth against their TX-6A, District 26 rival, Westlake. In the win last week, Hamilton gained 221 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
-- Ryan Childers | ryanchilders0455@gmail.com | @sblivetx
Lead photo by Paul Brick.
Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week features are intended to be fun and generate productive discussion. We do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
