Stepping up to the mic, he clears his mind and readies to answer their first question as his friends listen in from the tables behind him. He talks about his strengths, weaknesses and opinions about his performance on the football field, laughing at their jokes and chiming in where he can. Then, he is told to send another player up to the mic, chooses one and returns to his half-eaten taco.

Every Tuesday night at 7 p.m., a radio broadcast show called Timberwolf Night in America featuring the varsity football team is held at Taco Palenque and broadcast online. Each week, a different position group is interviewed by hosts Josh Willard and Brad Cone, who discuss player details, ask silly questions and go over team statistics. Last night, the O-Line was featured on the show.

“Timberwolf Night in America is an opportunity for us to learn about who the players are, because the team changes every year,” Willard said. “It’s a chance to ask what they are looking to accomplish this week. We’ll go over the last game, preview this week’s matchup, and talk about the record book. It’s just fun talking about Timberwolf football.”

Position coaches are interviewed along with the players during the broadcast, which lasts about an hour. Online viewers have the option of listening in from a media website or YouTube on the VYPE LIVE channel.

“[Cone and Willard] do an awesome job of loving our kids,” Head Coach Michael Quintero said. “We want a lot more people to go over there during the radio station, to listen to it and support. [The broadcast] is not just for football players, it’s for fans, too. If you’re a Cedar Park fan, you have the opportunity to go to [Taco Palenque], eat dinner and listen to the interviews; they play out on the speakers so you can hear the kids talking. It’s pretty cool.”

Last night, varsity football player and senior John Woodall was interviewed on the show, where he was asked about his successes on the football field as well as his hopes for the future.

“This broadcast is a good thing for the team because the community can hear [the broadcast] and listen to the moments we talk about,” Woodall said. “My favorite part about the show is getting to hang out with my teammates and eat food.”

Co-Host Brad Cone started the broadcast out of his living room in 2011. Since then, the broadcast has been hosted from many locations, mainly restaurants or businesses that have sponsored the team. This year, Taco Palenque is the title sponsor and opens up its restaurant to the broadcast every Tuesday, where students and faculty can get 15% off food with a school ID.

Cone is also the arena voice for Concordia men and women’s basketball and the stadium voice for Concordia baseball. For six years, he worked as the stadium voice at the Erwin Center for the UIL state women’s and men’s basketball tournament. He has been the announcing stadium voice for Cedar Park since the school opened in 1998.

“[Cone] gets a lot of speaking engagements from this [line of work], and I’m trying to learn his ways,” Willard said. “He’s definitely my mentor in this field and has taught me everything I know. It’s been awesome to learn from him.”

During Thursday night games, the broadcast is patched into ESPN 102.7 Austin, which gives the broadcast its radio coverage. According to Cone, Timberwolf Night in America is the longest running high school sports broadcast in Texas.

“We have met a lot of good people over the years,” Cone said. “My wife and I can’t hardly go out to eat or go to H-E-B without somebody stopping us and saying, ‘Oh, you’re Brad Cone, the voice of the Timberwolves,’ and I’ll know who they are. [It could be] the mom of the quarterback we had eight years ago. We love all the people we meet; players, parents and coaches.”

Cone, who is retired, used to do the play-by-plays for the team and has been passing over more broadcast responsibilities to Willard. Both men broadcasted for free for several years, but now are contracted part-time by VYPE LIVE, a media company operating out of Houston, to cover high school sports.

“[Cone and I] are two of the longest tenured employees for VYPE,” Willard said. “I never thought I could make this a career until recently. I’ve got 10 years on the mic, doing this audio and visual work. I’m starting to put feelers out there to make this a career, [because] this is so much fun. I wish this was [my job].”

Willard graduated from Cedar Park High School in 2011, where he was on the football team. Two years after graduating, he began broadcasting, and now he does the game play-by-plays at home and on the road, as well as hosts Timberwolf Night in America.

“I just love Friday night lights,” Willard said. “I went to college and I would still come back every Friday night. My friends would be like, ‘Why are you not staying in college?’ I love this atmosphere. I love the coaches—the coaching staff has played an instrumental role in my life. It’s just a good community. I love getting to know each team each year, because they are all so different.”

Next Tuesday, the running backs position group will be interviewed at Taco Palenque at 7 p.m. Those who are not able to make it in-person can find the broadcast on the vypelive.com website.

“In Texas, high school football is just something special,” Cone said. “Even when you leave high school, you’re still drawn back to be a part of it. Here I am, 65 years old, and I still love high school football.”

This story was originally published on The Wolfpack on October 2, 2024.