Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas

The Texas Bowl named Kerrville Tivy quarterback Johnny Manziel the 2010 Texas Bowl Gridiron Legends High School Player of the Year.  The award was presented by Wrangler Jeans and Cavender’s Boot City.  Formerly known as Mr. Texas Football, the award was given out by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football and was voted on by fans, players and coaches throughout the state. 

Manziel had a dazzling senior season at Tivy, finishing the year with 3,609 passing yards, 1,674 rushing yards and 75 combined touchdowns. Manziel threw just five interceptions in 347 pass attempts this season as he led the Antlers to a 10-2 record and the 4A District 28 title.  Over the past two seasons combined, Manziel has thrown for 6,391 yards and rushed for 3,203 yards.

Manziel, who is committed to play at Texas A&M, had several games this season in which he dominated the competition. Against eventual 5A Division II state champion Cibolo Steele earlier this year, Manziel led the Antlers to 54 points, throwing for six touchdowns and rushing for another two. Against an undefeated Boerne Champion team to decide the district title, he threw for four touchdowns and ran for three more, guiding his team to 56 points and a victory.

This was the fourth consecutive year in which the award has been presented.  Previous winners were Gilmer QB Darian Godfrey in 2009, Lake Travis QB Garrett Gilbert in 2008 and Lamar Consolidated RB Jaquizz Rodgers in 2007.

Fans, coaches and players voted for the state’s player of the week each week during the high school season by going to Cavenders.com, WranglerWestern.com, TexasFootball.com and TheTexasBowl.com. Each weekly winner was announced online on each of the voting sites; and all of the weekly winners were invited to attend the 2010 Texas Bowl and were nominated for the Player of the Year award.

The Player of the Year was selected at the conclusion of the season, based on in-store votes at Cavender’s Boot City locations throughout Texas. The votes were tabulated by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

The 2010 Texas Bowl pitted Baylor and Illinois in the bowl’s first matchup between Big 12 and Big Ten schools.  The Illini won 38-24 behind RB Mikel Leshoure, who ran for a Texas Bowl-record 187 yards and scored three touchdowns and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.  The win was Illinois’ first in a bowl game since 1999, while Baylor made its first trip to a bowl game since 1994.  The announced attendance of 68,211 was the second-largest in Texas Bowl history.