Things to know about the Del Valle Cardinals

Playoff pushing

Del Valle (1-3, 1-1) figures to be part of the battle for the fourth District 14-6A playoff spot. The Cardinals flew past Akins 25-22 to open district play before falling to Hays 48-14 last week. Hays, Austin High, Akins and Anderson all have hopes of joining current district unbeatens Bowie, Lake Travis and Westlake. Del Valle’s last playoff appearance came in 2012.

Streak starters…and stoppers

Del Valle saw both ends of Lake Travis’ school-worst 18-game losing streak in the early 2000s. Lake Travis struggled mightily during that stretch, winning just once in the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Following a 21-20 win over Lockhart midway through the 2001 season, Del Valle knocked off Lake Travis 28-21. The Cavaliers went on to lose 17 more games before snapping the streak in 2003, against Del Valle.

Not so welcome back

Following the 2003 meeting, Lake Travis and Del Valle didn’t meet again until 2012, when realignment placed them in the same district. Since then, Lake Travis has won all three games by scores of 31-6, 47-7 and 55-0. The Cardinals managed just 74 yards of offense in last season’s game, and Abe Willows led Lake Travis with a career-best 234 yards rushing on just 17 carries.

Where’s the D?

While holding Akins to 22 points in their lone win, the Cardinals have given up at least 40 points in each of their three losses. Dripping Springs (41) and McNeil (45) both topped the 40-point mark in non-district games and Hays piled up 48 points last week despite playing without starting quarterback Braeden Kent. Del Valle allowed only three teams to score 40 points against its defense last season – the top three teams in the district: Lake Travis (55), Westlake (54) and Bowie (45).

Key Cardinals

If Del Valle hopes to find the end zone, it will rely on the arm of senior quarterback David Gutierrez and legs of senior Fred Wilson. Gutierrez has thrown a touchdown pass in all four games so far, and Wilson averages nearly 100 yards per game rushing. Wilson’s four games have been all-or-nothing efforts. In losses to Dripping Springs and Hays, he rushed for a combined 35 yards. Against McNeil and Akins, he averaged 175 yards per game. He’s scored three touchdowns as well. La’Thaniel Washington has caught two touchdown passes, both longer than 40 yards.