crabman
11-17-2005, 10:29 PM
Tough performer
MIKE FORMAN
Advocate Sports Writer
Thursday, November 17, 2005
CUERO - Cuero offensive coordinator Travis Reeve was comfortable with junior Kyle Noack taking over as the Gobblers' starting quarterback this season. Reeve's confidence was based on more than Noack's strong right arm, competitive nature, or overall toughness.
Reeve's faith in Noack's ability to do the job stemmed mostly from his knowledge of the position and his desire to keep getting better.
"Last year Matt (Schumacher) was the starter and got most of the reps as Kyle does this year," Reeve said. "But on Wednesdays we bring our quarterbacks in and go over checks and reads. Kyle always got the right checks and reads. That's unusual for a backup quarterback in high school."
Noack has more than justified Reeve's trust by leading No. 1 Cuero to a 10-0 record heading into Friday night's Class 3A, Division II area playoff game against Llano (8-3) at Farris Stadium in San Antonio.
Noack has directed an offense that has averaged 400 yards and 38.6 points per game. He has completed 105 of his 152 passes (69.1 percent) for 1,927 yards and 25 touchdowns, while throwing only three interceptions. Noack has also rushed for 235 yards and seven touchdowns.
"Kyle is very intellectual. He really studies the game," Reeve said. "He knows what our opponents do. He knows how we can hurt them and how they can give us problems. He's always thinking ahead about where we can do well and where the defense has an advantage."
Noack, who started in the secondary last season, grew up watching Cuero football. Noack lived next door to former Cuero quarterback Clint Finley and his cousin Kevin Parma played running back for the Gobblers. But Noack, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs around 180 pounds, credits much of what he's learned about being a quarterback to his father, Dwayne, who spent hours tossing the football with him in the front yard.
"I always want to get better all around, especially in my technique and consistency," Noack said. "My dad always says the day you're satisfied is the day you start going back downhill."
Noack's commitment to be the starter at Cuero began during offseason workouts and continued through the summer when he threw passes to receivers Justin Wesley and Tre Gray on a daily basis.
"I didn't really have any experience so I didn't know what to expect," Noack said. "I hadn't really played quarterback since my freshman year. It took a little while and in the spring I struggled with my reads. But when I came back to school, I started to get a hold of a little more every week."
Noack didn't exactly start the season off slowly - he threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-7 season-opening win over Corpus Christi West Oso - but he continued to improve and won over his coaches and teammates by rallying the Gobblers to victories over Wharton, Sealy, and Hallettsville.
With Cuero trailing Wharton 28-21 late in the fourth quarter, Noack led a five-play, 70-yard drive that included completions of 13 yards to Gray and 39 yards to Brandon James before he scored on a 1-yard run with 1:28 left and threw the decisive two-point conversion pass to Gray.
"Kyle has a knack for making big plays and the kids believe in him," said Reeve, who hasn't forgotten Noack's 27-yard fumble return for the decisive touchdown in last season's 21-17 Division I regional playoff win over Wimberley. "With Kyle at quarterback, they believe we can score from anyplace on the field."
Noack showcased Cuero's big-play ability in the Gobblers' 34-12 bi-district win over Sweeny last Friday night at Victoria's Memorial Stadium. He threw a season-long touchdown pass of 71 yards and another for 49 yards to Wesley and also ran a season-long 53 yards for a touchdown.
"Kyle has been making plays all season with his arm and with his feet," Reeve said. "Kyle is always making great decisions and we compliment him well in our offense. We can run or throw and that makes it hard to defend."
Noack's best performance this season may have come in a 41-14 win over Yoakum. He completed 12 of 13 passes for 260 yards and five touchdowns, and according to Cuero head coach Mark Reeve, Noack's one incompletion, "could have been caught."
"Kyle has added a vertical dimension to our passing game," Travis Reeve said. "He's done that with the same toughness and execution as Matt had last year. He's gotten better and better every week."
Noack is likely to top the 2,000-yard mark against Llano but insists that milestone pales in comparison to his desire to bring Cuero another step closer to a state championship.
"A lot of teams see what teams tried to do to stop us the week before," Noack said. "When they do that, we can hurt them with something else. We go over a lot of stuff and see what works best. I don't care what we have to do. As long as we win, that's all that matters."
MIKE FORMAN
Advocate Sports Writer
Thursday, November 17, 2005
CUERO - Cuero offensive coordinator Travis Reeve was comfortable with junior Kyle Noack taking over as the Gobblers' starting quarterback this season. Reeve's confidence was based on more than Noack's strong right arm, competitive nature, or overall toughness.
Reeve's faith in Noack's ability to do the job stemmed mostly from his knowledge of the position and his desire to keep getting better.
"Last year Matt (Schumacher) was the starter and got most of the reps as Kyle does this year," Reeve said. "But on Wednesdays we bring our quarterbacks in and go over checks and reads. Kyle always got the right checks and reads. That's unusual for a backup quarterback in high school."
Noack has more than justified Reeve's trust by leading No. 1 Cuero to a 10-0 record heading into Friday night's Class 3A, Division II area playoff game against Llano (8-3) at Farris Stadium in San Antonio.
Noack has directed an offense that has averaged 400 yards and 38.6 points per game. He has completed 105 of his 152 passes (69.1 percent) for 1,927 yards and 25 touchdowns, while throwing only three interceptions. Noack has also rushed for 235 yards and seven touchdowns.
"Kyle is very intellectual. He really studies the game," Reeve said. "He knows what our opponents do. He knows how we can hurt them and how they can give us problems. He's always thinking ahead about where we can do well and where the defense has an advantage."
Noack, who started in the secondary last season, grew up watching Cuero football. Noack lived next door to former Cuero quarterback Clint Finley and his cousin Kevin Parma played running back for the Gobblers. But Noack, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs around 180 pounds, credits much of what he's learned about being a quarterback to his father, Dwayne, who spent hours tossing the football with him in the front yard.
"I always want to get better all around, especially in my technique and consistency," Noack said. "My dad always says the day you're satisfied is the day you start going back downhill."
Noack's commitment to be the starter at Cuero began during offseason workouts and continued through the summer when he threw passes to receivers Justin Wesley and Tre Gray on a daily basis.
"I didn't really have any experience so I didn't know what to expect," Noack said. "I hadn't really played quarterback since my freshman year. It took a little while and in the spring I struggled with my reads. But when I came back to school, I started to get a hold of a little more every week."
Noack didn't exactly start the season off slowly - he threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-7 season-opening win over Corpus Christi West Oso - but he continued to improve and won over his coaches and teammates by rallying the Gobblers to victories over Wharton, Sealy, and Hallettsville.
With Cuero trailing Wharton 28-21 late in the fourth quarter, Noack led a five-play, 70-yard drive that included completions of 13 yards to Gray and 39 yards to Brandon James before he scored on a 1-yard run with 1:28 left and threw the decisive two-point conversion pass to Gray.
"Kyle has a knack for making big plays and the kids believe in him," said Reeve, who hasn't forgotten Noack's 27-yard fumble return for the decisive touchdown in last season's 21-17 Division I regional playoff win over Wimberley. "With Kyle at quarterback, they believe we can score from anyplace on the field."
Noack showcased Cuero's big-play ability in the Gobblers' 34-12 bi-district win over Sweeny last Friday night at Victoria's Memorial Stadium. He threw a season-long touchdown pass of 71 yards and another for 49 yards to Wesley and also ran a season-long 53 yards for a touchdown.
"Kyle has been making plays all season with his arm and with his feet," Reeve said. "Kyle is always making great decisions and we compliment him well in our offense. We can run or throw and that makes it hard to defend."
Noack's best performance this season may have come in a 41-14 win over Yoakum. He completed 12 of 13 passes for 260 yards and five touchdowns, and according to Cuero head coach Mark Reeve, Noack's one incompletion, "could have been caught."
"Kyle has added a vertical dimension to our passing game," Travis Reeve said. "He's done that with the same toughness and execution as Matt had last year. He's gotten better and better every week."
Noack is likely to top the 2,000-yard mark against Llano but insists that milestone pales in comparison to his desire to bring Cuero another step closer to a state championship.
"A lot of teams see what teams tried to do to stop us the week before," Noack said. "When they do that, we can hurt them with something else. We go over a lot of stuff and see what works best. I don't care what we have to do. As long as we win, that's all that matters."