Before Cal’s trip to SMU last Saturday, there was another Bay Area connection worth watching in North Texas: Southlake Carroll receiver and Cal commit Blake Gunter was on the field for a rivalry game against Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club.
Gunter’s Dragons had to work for it early. Byron Nelson turned the first half into a low-scoring grind, hanging around with a 3-2 edge until the final minutes before Southlake Carroll found the end zone late in the half.
After that, the game flipped hard. The Dragons took control in the second half and rolled to a 38-10 road win, with RB/WR Dez Bryant, Jr. leading the way with three touchdowns.
“That was a great team win,” Gunter said. “When adversity struck, we found a way to pick it up and get some momentum on our side.”
Gunter keeps finding ways to affect games, and Southlake Carroll uses him all over the field. He catches passes, gets a few handoffs, throws the ball at times and even handled a successful two-point conversion play. He’s also a special teams contributor, which is where his varsity role started before his offensive workload grew.
“Yeah, before I was a receiver on varsity, I was a special teams player, and I tried to contribute any way I could at that time. And I was doing so well that they kept me on there, and then as time went on, they gave me more roles as they trusted me more.”
The senior’s production backs that up. Through the season, Gunter has 38 catches for 622 yards, good for 16.4 yards per catch, and two receiving touchdowns.
On the ground, he’s added 12 carries for 47 yards and two more scores. He’s also tracking toward a second straight 1,000-yard season after piling up 1,224 yards as a junior and 759 as a sophomore.
When asked about the strengths of his game, Gunter pointed straight to his flexibility.
“The strengths of my game - I'm versatile,” Gunter noted when asked. “I can play any position, and really, when it comes to receiving, I can block.
My blocking is one of my best things, and one of the best things part of my game. I really make sure I block my man out there.”
He also takes pride in winning balls in the air with his size and athleticism.
“Yes, sir. When a ball's up in the air, I’ve got to get it,” Gunter said.
For Gunter, his commitment to Cal carries a personal connection. He was born at Alta Bates Hospital, which is less than a mile from campus, and he described the school as a kind of second home.
“The way I think of it is home away from home,” Gunter said. “I lived in that area for five years of my life before I moved down here, and it's cool because I’ve still got family down there. I’ve got people that live down there, so it's basically home away from home.
“IF I want to go see grandma and grandpa, I’ve just got to go drive down the street. So yeah, it's always cool because I can see the hospital I was born in from the stadium. Whenever it's game day, I just look to my right and see where I came from.”
With his high school career winding down, Gunter is planning an early move to Berkeley.
“I'm early graduating,” Gunter noted. “I'm going to enroll early at Cal, just so I can get an extra step ahead into that playbook.”
Cal fans should expect a player who brings more than one skill set to the table.
“They’ll see an energy bringer,” Gunter said. “I bring the energy, and I've learned to become a leader this year.
I think I can really make an impact on the team by guiding them and just making plays in general. Like whether you need a big time block, you need a big time run, big time pass, or a big time catch.
I'm the one that’s called.”
Southlake Carroll, ranked No. 13 in Texas and No. 53 nationally, is now 6-2 and will face 3-5 Timber Creek next as it moves toward the playoffs two games later.
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