Bowie’s Cade Venable (90) sacks Austin High quarterback Whit Davenport in the second quarter of their District 26-6A game at Burger Stadium on October 31, 2025 as teammate Marrell Hinton closes in. Venable had two sacks and two fumble recoveries in the first half and Bowie won 34-7.
Jay Plotkin /Special to American-Statesman
Rhys Moreno rushed for 223 yards and four touchdowns to help Bowie erase a year’s worth of frustration and defeat Austin High 34-7 Friday night, clinching District 26-6A’s final playoff spot.
Bowie joins Lake Travis, Westlake and Dripping Springs in the playoffs. Lake Travis and Bowie will play in the Class 6A Division I bracket with Lake Travis as the top seed. Westlake and Dripping Springs will play in the Division II bracket with seeding decided when the teams play next week to close out the regular season.
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The Bulldogs (6-4, 3-3) rode their running game and a defense that smothered Austin High (2-7, 2-3). Bowie’s defense set the tone early by throwing the Maroons for losses on their first three offensive plays. The Maroons gained 2 yards of offense in the first quarter and had just 10 yards at the half. Bowie defensive end Jackson Lang along with Cade Venable and Marrell Hinton led the defense that posted six sacks, 10 tackles for loss and forced four turnovers.
“We applied a lot of pressure at the snap,” Bowie defensive end Jackson Lang said. “Cade (Venable) was blowing the center right back into the handoff, so the offense really can’t do much out of that.”
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Here are three takeaways from the game:
Bowie’s Rhys Moreno runs away from the Austin High defense in the first quarter of their District 26-6A game at Burger Stadium on October 31, 2025. Moreno ran for 223 yards and 4Jay Plotkin photo for Statesman
Jay Plotkin /Special to American-Statesman
Finally, revenge for the Bowie Bulldogs
Last year, Austin High beat Bowie 35-32 to clinch the district’s final playoff spot. Rather than let that loss slide off their backs, Bowie leaned into the frustration this week.
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“We practiced Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday full blow,” said Lang, who played in last year’s game. “We were reminded about it every time we stepped in the weight room. Coaches wouldn’t shut up about it. It was in our minds the whole time. It felt good.”
When the dust settled, Lang looked back and thought about the seniors who didn’t make the 2024 playoffs because of that loss.
“It was almost like we were avenging our seniors from last year,” he said. “I bet they were watching the game.”
Its playoff spot secured, Bowie now will rest
As he gathered his team and congratulated players on earning a playoff berth, Bowie coach Jeff Ables also rewarded them with some time off. Bowie’s bye week comes next week, which means Ables’ team has worked, counting the preseason, since early August.
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“We need the rest,” Ables said. “It’s going to be nice to be able to go back and get that rest over this weekend and give them some time off. And we’ve still got to figure out who we’re going to play.”
The rest comes at a perfect time. Bowie’s list of injuries includes receiver Trevor Watts and linebacker Mason East, both of whom left Friday’s game but should be ready for a playoff game in two weeks.
Bowie feels ready for the second season
Back in the postseason after a year’s absence, Bowie is excited about seeing if it can make a run. The team hasn’t won a playoff game since 2021, and there are elements that need to be cleaned up — Bowie committed three turnovers — but that won’t dampen expectations.
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“Once we get some things cleaned up on offense, then we’re going to make a deep run in the playoffs,” Moreno said.
Time, Lang said, might be the most important thing the win gives Bowie.
“This time last year, we were done, and now we’ve guaranteed ourselves two more weeks with each other,” Lang said.
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That’s two more weeks to improve things on both sides of the ball.
“We just need to keep working on everything, strengthening every aspect of our game,” defensive back Fabian Limuel said after making two interceptions against the Maroons.