Gritty quarterback Cody Stoever absorbs hits, leads No. 9 Wimberley football into season

WIMBERLEY — Cody Stoever worked so hard to reach the state championship game last season, a broken wrist would not keep the quarterback from competing.

Carthage whipped Wimberley 42-0 in mid-December, and no one took that massacre any harder than Stoever, who spent much of the afternoon at AT&T Stadium on his back or running for his life. And when he made a tackle after one his his teammates fumbled the football, he heard a crack in his right (throwing) wrist.

Stoever did not tell coach Doug Warren about the injury until the title game was over. He kept his teammates in the dark, too. Fearing he would have to leave the game if he told anyone, he kept it a secret until they gathered later in the locker room. The next day, he was fitted with a cast that he wore for six weeks.

"No matter the outcome, I wanted to be there for my teammates and finish the game no matter what," Stoever said.

Eight months have passed since that awful afternoon in Arlington. A new season beckons for the Texans junior. But when older brother Cade reflected on that Carthage game this week, he said he was not surprised Cody played through the pain. He had seen that act before.

"When Cody was 11 or 12, I was already playing for the Wimberley football team," Cade recalled. "Me and some of my buddies from the team would rough him up when we played together. Cody was tough back then. He was always trying to run us over or juke us out. He always wanted to be our age."

Stoever brothers have always been close

Cade and Cody Stoever have always been tight. They're best friends. They also are each other's No. 1 fan. Cade, 23, graduated from Wimberley in 2018 and went on to play wide receiver for four seasons at UTSA. Cody, 16, is among Central Texas' top quarterbacks and is a big reason the Texans, who enter this season No. 9 in the American-Statesman's preseason top 10 countdown, are heavily favored to win District 13-4A again and make another strong run through the playoffs.

Stoever might have been the most surprising player in Central Texas last fall. He was prepared to play slot receiver, but everything changed when starting quarterback Cash McCollum transferred to China Spring seven weeks before the opener.

Stoever had played quarterback in middle school and as a freshman in high school but was expected to be McCollum's backup. Instead of having reservations about the sudden promotion to starting quarterback, he relished the opportunity, Cade said.

"When we got the call that he was going to be the No. 1 (quarterback), I said, 'Here we go, man. It's time,’ ” Cade said. "It wasn't a case of 'Oh, my gosh, what do we need to do? What do we need to think about?’ ”

The journey to become Wimberley's quarterback started many years ago. While still in elementary school, Stoever attended Texans games, and he boasts that big brother Cade was one of the best wideouts in the region. Cade helped his team go 28-13 during his three years on the varsity.

Cody wanted to be just like Cade.

It's Cody's turn to shine now.

"When I was a kindergartner, my brother was already in middle school," Stoever said. "He was a slot receiver, and his team was amazing, one of the most talented teams to ever come out of here. I remember watching him and wanting to be part of it.

"Now that I'm here, Cade has been an amazing supporter, and he's taught me so much about football. We go home and watch the game and then break down film together. There's no one who knows more about the wide receiver position that he does."

Settling in as Texans' quarterback

If anyone thought Wimberley would slide after McCollum's surprise exit, it didn't take long for fans to gravitate to their new leader. Stoever had a sophomore season to remember, passing for 2,441 yards, rushing for 1,170 more and accounting for 51 touchdowns. Furthermore, the Texans were 15-0 before running into Carthage.

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A dual threat, Stoever loves to take a deep snap and run through the middle of the line, knocking opponents down as if they were bowling pins.

"Something that I've learned is that when I take hits like that, it instills confidence in my linemen and lets them know I'm not soft," the 5-foot-10, 185-pounder said.

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Warren, entering his 11th season as Wimberley's head coach, smiles when the subject is his quarterback's willingness to take on players bigger than he is.

"Cody sometimes gets mad when we don't run him more," Warren said. "He's really a linebacker who plays quarterback."

Cade Stoever tells an interesting story about his senior year at Wimberley. In a 44-3 regional playoff victory over Cuero, he broke his right hand but continued to play. He even played in the state semifinals against West Orange Stark a week later.

"When Cody broke his wrist against Cuero last year, I guarantee you he thought that if his older brother can play with a broken hand, he can too," Cade said.

Cody confirmed that crossed his mind when he decided to tough it out against Carthage.

"My brother showed me what it was like to keep playing for my teammates and have the grit to win."

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Rough and Ready! Cody Stoever leads Wimberley with tough approach