SHENANDOAH — Mabrey Mettauer was an expert on all things transportation for The Woodlands’ offense Friday night in what turned out to be a record-breaking performance against Oak Ridge.
He drove the bus. The senior himself said that his offensive line was opening holes ‘you could drive a bus through’ en route to 105 rushing yards and a score.
He piloted the plane. Through the air, the Wisconsin commit threw a single-game school-record 416 passing yards and six touchdowns as The Woodlands won 55-26 over Oak Ridge for its first win of the season. Mettauer connected with an experienced group of receivers as eight had receptions.
Mettauer, a four-year varsity letterman and the Highlanders’ starting quarterback since his sophomore year, helped his team emerge from an 0-2 start with the District 13-6A win.
“I know what he’s capable of,” The Woodlands coach Jim Rapp said Friday night. “It’s tough to be the No. 1 quarterback at any school. There’s a lot of pressure on him here because there’s a lot of expectations for our football team.”
It was only a matter of time before the offense really got going.
Mettauer, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound four-star recruit (via 247Sports) is the No. 47-rated quarterback prospect in the country for 2024. He committed to Wisconsin as a junior on Christmas Eve and returned to The Woodlands for 2023 with four of the team’s top five receivers from 2022 back.
Playing state runner-up North Shore in Week 1 (a 38-17 loss) and Lamar in Week 2 (a 45-21 loss), the season didn’t start as the Highlanders had hoped on either side of the ball.
Entering Week 3, Mettauer was sixth among District 13-6A passers with 264 yards and he had just two touchdown throws — one in each game. Mettauer was set back for minus-18 yards rushing against the challenging North Shore defense and had eight yards on 11 attempts against the Texans.
As seen over the past two years, Mettauer is one who can step up, make it look easy and get his team back on track.
“Unfortunately, he has to hear a lot of negative chatter on social media and things like that,” Rapp said. “It’s tough to be him. We talked a lot about just relaxing, being yourself and having fun. I’m excited for him and the way he responded.”
Mettauer was 21-for-29 against Oak Ridge, averaging 19.8 yards per reception. He rushed the ball nine times for 105 yards, including a 62-yard sprint on the second play of the night against a highly-touted War Eagle defense. The Woodlands totaled 606 yards of total offense, blowing away the team total of 550 (an average of 275 per game) through the first two games.
He found a groove with his receivers, too.
“It’s awesome,” Mettauer said Friday. “Our chemistry is just getting better and better each week.”
Quanell X Farrakhan Jr., a four-star 2025 recruit, led the way with four receptions for 112 yards and two scores — both in the first half.
Farrakhan Jr., who currently carries 19 NCAA Division I offers (according to 247Sports), was the team’s leading receiver last year with 38 catches and 532 yards. He hit the end zone seven times and this year is seeing significant time on defense and special teams.
Senior Patrick Rabel caught two touchdown passes and was second on the team with 86 yards. Rabel had one touchdown reception last year.
Senior Aden Self (67 yards) and junior Shane Walker (79 yards) each had one touchdown reception against Oak Ridge. Although he didn’t hit the end zone, junior Jackson Bolender caught four passes for 64 yards.
“You have to pick your poison,” Rapp said of the receiving corps. “You take one away and you have some others can go. It’s a nice group to have.”
Combined, the quartet accounted for 1,687 yards and 17 touchdowns last year. Mettauer threw for 2,621 yards and 32 scores.
“They’re a great group,” Rapp said. “They’re fun to have around and fun to watch. Sometimes, there’s not enough footballs to go around. But I’m excited for them and what they did (Friday). They played really well.”
The Woodlands will stare face-to-face this Thursday night against their only blemish in district play a year ago.
New Caney (2-1, 0-1) is in a different spot this year: New head coach in Mike Dewit; stud running back Kedrick Reescano is at Ole Miss; the Eagles are breaking in a new quarterback in Hunter Taylor.
The Highlanders lost 14-7 last year to New Caney at Randall Reed Stadium. This time, the Eagles come to Woodforest Bank Stadium and they come in off a 54-21 home loss to high-powered Willis.
The Woodlands, meanwhile, relished that first win Friday night. Especially coming against Oak Ridge, one of the favorites to possibly stake claim to a district title this fall.
“I think our team and our coaches are super excited about that,” Mettauer said of earning a first district win.
