After dealing with nagging injuries for much of the regular season, Nico Hamilton has rediscovered the form he displayed while rushing for 1,332 yards in 2022. Hamilton rushed for 180 yards in Lake Travis’ season-opening win over Arlington Martin but then only topped the 100-yard mark once more in the regular season.

In the Cavaliers’ two playoff wins, Hamilton has been a driving force. One week after a bruising 131-yard effort against Vandegrift, Hamilton ran over and through Johnson defenders for a season-high 184 yards and the 3 touchdowns. Afterward, he deflected any praise onto his teammates.

“A round of applause to our defense with all the stops and 6 first-half interceptions, and the offensive line got a great push up front,” Hamilton said. “We were just meshing as a team and that’s how we got the win.”

Hamilton’s big night pushed him over the 3,000-yard mark for his career (3,040 yards). With more than 300 yards in the 2 playoff wins, Hamilton said he’s healthy again and in no hurry to see his final season end.

“I got hurt the day before our second game and it just carried over,” Hamilton said. “My confidence went down, and a whole lot of factors went into that. But, at the end of the season we knew we didn’t want to go out any way at all.”

The combination of the desire to stay alive and a gauntlet of quality opponents that started with Vandegrift and Johnson, who had lost just 1 game between them before facing the Cavaliers, proved a big motivator.

“That’s definitely motivation,” Hamilton said. “Being able to help my team out and going to round 3 now is a blessing.”