CODY MATTHEWS

Smithson Valley head coach Larry Hill wasn’t sure of what to expect out of his young offense going into spring training.

After all, there were vacant positions to fill a several questions to be answered. For the most part, the Rangers accomplished what they wanted when they found a reliable quarterback in Jacob Brown. The line showed improvement and there was a nice supply of running backs.

At the same time, Hill and his coaching staff also discovered another valuable tip to making their offense go. They had to get the ball in Cody Matthews’ hands as much as possible.

Not only did the 6-foot-4, 175-pound senior have the size to be a big target for Brown, he had enough speed to create the big play catching and running the ball. Going into the final game of the regular season, Matthews has not disappointed his coaches or teammates.

He’s turned into one of the Rangers’ top playmakers, catching 39 passes for 682 yards and eight touchdowns, while running for 207 yards and a touchdown.

In this past week’s 24-7 District 26-5A win finale over Roosevelt, Matthews had three catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. In the 35-21 victory over Lee, the senior receiver did his part in helping Brown have a perfect 14 of 14 passing game, catching five of the quarterback’s passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns.

Matthews’ contributions have helped Smithson Valley (9-1) to a Class 5A Division II playoff berth against Pflugerville at 1 p.m. Saturday at Shelton Stadium in Buda.

“Cody could have been a good quarterback like other players we have had here who moved to other positions,” Hill said. “We were thinking where he would best fit our team and receiver was it. He’s a tall kid with speed and can do a lot of things. A defense has to know where he is on the field, whether he is running or catching the football. Sometimes he helps us because someone will double cover him and that allows someone else to catch a pass.”

Although Matthews fits in nicely to the Rangers’ offensive scheme, the one creating all the big plays had no idea he would be used in that capacity when arriving at Smithson Valley. He played quarterback through his ninth-grade season and was planning to be at the position when moving to varsity.

When Hill moved him to wide receiver, the whole scenario changed. Once Matthews started contributing regularly, he found out it was better to receive than give. What made this situation even better was the offense offered opportunities to carry the ball like a running back.

“I wanted to play quarterback, but I learned when I got here receives at this school are a big part of the offense, because we throw the ball quite a bit,” Matthews said. It’s a lot of fun being in an offense where you run with the ball and catch it. Some receivers might get to carry one or twice a year, I get to do it several times a game sometimes.”

Matthews and his teammates went through a few growth spurts at the beginning of the year as several new players were trying to adjust to the offense.

After opening 26-5A with a 12-7 loss to Reagan, the Rangers bounced back with a 20-7 win over New Braunfels. Since then, the offense has been clicking.

The showing against Lee was a good example, especially with Brown’s passing.

“Jacob was on fire,” Matthews said. “He did a great job of getting the ball to us. We have a lot of guys now who are doing things with the football. Earlier in the year we were getting used to playing together. We started coming together and we want to keep doing what we have been doing.”

Although Smithson Valley defeated Roosevelt, Reagan ended up as the 26-5A champion with its 32-28 win over Madison. The Rangers and Rattlers finished with 7-1 district records, but Reagan had the tie-breaker because of its win over Smithson Valley in the opener.