![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
Tonight the Timberwolves will face the Canyon High School Cougars in a Bi-District playoff game at 7:00 p.m. in New Braunfels. The team placed third in district after a 28-21 win over Georgetown to close out the regular season.
“I am proud [of the team],” Head Coach Michael Quintero said. “They are fighters. We had some challenges during the game, but our kids kept fighting. They are resilient, and they believe in the coaches and they believe in what we are doing, so I am proud of them.”
Senior tight ends Luca Wilson and Joshua Pecci both scored touchdowns, including the game winning touchdown from Wilson.
“Everyone doubted us this week playing Georgetown,” Wilson said. “We had a couple drives where we didn’t end up scoring, but you can’t be perfect. I am very confident, all we didn’t want was the 4th seed [because] we didn’t want to play Smithson Valley.”
After scoring his touchdown, Pecci went down with an injury in the second quarter, which turned out to be a broken collarbone. Senior tight end Ethan Ludtke went in for Pecci and caught a 42-yard pass, the longest pass of the game.
“I’m proud of [Ludtke],” Pecci said. “He’s one of my good friends, so it was cool to see him ball out and get some catches. I’m hoping he gets a touchdown because that would be really exciting.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the secondary unit played a large role in holding Georgetown’s offense to 21 points. Senior safeties, Cody Manning and Garrison Cockrell, had an impact, recording 15 combined solo tackles between the two of them, and junior cornerback Garrett Nichols had five solo tackles.
“I feel like I played pretty good,” Nichols said. “The whole team played really well. We all ‘ride’ together in the second half. We had a couple of mishaps towards the beginning, but other than that, we came out in the second half and made every play count.”
The team has been practicing all week in preparation for Canyon. Quintero said the team is very confident going into the playoff game.
“We are playing well and the last two weeks we have come together as a team gelling,” Quintero said. “We are doing really good things on offense and defense, so it is always good to come in with a big win like this going into the playoffs because you have a little bit more momentum.”
Tickets can be purchased here for tonight’s playoff matchup.
“I am feeling confident,” Nichols said. “We just need to get healthy and work hard [during] practice, and then come out with energy throughout the whole game [against Canyon]. We [also] will be working on just flying around, flying to the ball, and continuing to make sure everyone is giving full effort.”
