Archive : August 2005
August 30, 2005
Top 10 Ranking
I guess it is difficult to say that you are mad when your get ranked in the Top 10. There are plenty of teams that would love that kind of recognition. The question I suppose is what are those people voting on. What reasoning are they using. Coach Warren thinks it is the reward of a successful program over the course of several years. He may well be correct.
The case in point is that the Abilene High Eagles are now ranked # 10 in the state in Class 5A after their win over Lubbock Monterey. How good is Monterey? They are not a bad team. Was beating them enough to get into the top 10? Did it take a loss by Austin Westlake for Abilene High to crack the top 10?
Eagle fans, did you enjoy the win? Sure you did! Did you notice the Offense and the Defense and the Special teams had a few new faces? You probably did to some degree. The Eagles graduated something like 44 players off the 2004 team. What might surprise you is that the Eagles had at least 18 new faces filling the 22 Offensive and Defensive positions on the field. We also had a new punter and place kicker.
I am not sure what the pollsters look at. This team has a good deal of talent on it. Can anyone argue that? This team has a coaching staff that is very good. Some are new this year and some or returning. Abilene High has re-established the winning tradition of the glory days of the 1950’s. No, they have not won any state championships lately and they may not. Winning they have!
2005 Won 1 and Lost 0
2004 Won 12 and Lost 1
2003 Won 8 and Lost 5
2002 Won 10 and Lost 2
2001 Won 8 and Lost 4
2000 Won 7 and Lost 4
1999 Won 11 and Lost 3
Congratulations Eagles on your opening victory and your Top 10 ranking. Earned or unearned, it is yours to protect.
- August 30, 2005 6:09 AM
August 28, 2005
Eagles 1-0
Playing off my earlier blog titled questions abound, well, I believe we know more than we did. Scrimmages are a good thing but a real game is a far better way of finding out how your team will react in certain situations.
The Eagles showed great offensive potential. The running game clicked with over 200 yards. The passing game was more than adequate with Taylor Potts completing 13 of 16 for 164 yards and a touchdown. The O line played very well for the first game out of the chute. The O made some very good plays and actually all that was with an ultra conservative game plan. I know there were lots of fans around me that wanted to see the play calling open up more. The weapons are in place for Abilene High but last night the opponent did not require an all out assault by the Eagle Offense. My Offensive game ball goes to Casey Bell. He had 105 yards on 22 carries. I think we can continue to expect great things from him through out the season.
The Defense looked sharp for the most part. They did give up well over 200 yards rushing. Two things I will say about that. Most likely they will not face the option like that the rest of the year and secondly, lots of kids saw playing time. This group of Eagles will administer the headgear to you. Stephen Powell picked up where he left off last season by recording two interceptions the first game of the year. For that and recovering an Eagle fumble on a punt and his other defensive play of the evening, I give Sunshine the Defensive game ball. I will give an honorable mention to Michael Reno on his timely interception that stopped a Monterey drive late in the game and to Jividen McCoy for a bone jaring, teeth rattling, tackle he made. I love those!
There is work to be done on both sides of the ball and the good thing is the Eagles know that. Speaking of work to be done, the kick coverage needs a little work. Cory Rodriguez did well on extra points and field goal kicking, 4 PAT’s and 1 FG. The Eagles punted three times for an average of 33 yards per punt.
Next game is against San Angelo Central Saturday in San Angelo.
- August 28, 2005 3:37 PM
August 25, 2005
Question abound.
E…A...G…L…E…S! We are getting closer to the kickoff of the 2005 season. There is certainly excitement in the air, yet something is missing. I did not see the scrimmage last week but I was told it went real well. Coach Warren seemed he was mildly disappointed with where the offense was but not displeased. The defense was flying to the ball but some mistakes were made. He summed things up by saying they were good and sometimes looked very good. What made him most happy was the Eagles came out of the scrimmage with just the regular bumps and bruises and no injuries. His best explanation I thought was the Eagles are searching to find what it is that will identify this team. What will set them apart? Will they score lots of points? Will they have another strong defense? What will they be good at? What will be their weakness? Will answers to these questions be readily available after the Monterey game? Perhaps.
What should be expected from this weeks opponent? Lubbock Monterey is usually a play off team. They have the reputation of starting out slow and peaking late in the season just in time to make a strong run in the playoffs. Will this year be different? Last season the Eagles beat the Plainsmen soundly. I hear that Monterey should have a strong defense this season. What I read is they expect to have a strong defensive backfield. Will Taylor Potts and company be put to a test early? Will the Eagle ground game have a big day?
Monterey, if true to form from past teams, will come out running. Then they will run some more and run and run and run and run again. Unless they have changed game plans, the Abilene High defense will need to stop the ground game early and often. Will Abilene High use a 3-4 formation against Monterey?
Questions abound. Answers forthcoming.
See you at the game.
- August 25, 2005 5:56 PM
August 24, 2005
2005 Abilene Eagle Roster
Hello boys and girls. Here is the roster for the 2005 Abilene Eagles.
It looked real nice on my computer. Not for sure how it will turn out on here. Go out and support these fine young men!
NUMBER NAME POS CLASS HEIGHT WEIGHT
1 Luke Kittley WR SR. 6' 2'' 165
2 Jayson Brooks LB SR. 5' 11'' 175
3 Xavier Beaver RB SR. 6' 0'' 170
4 Stephen Powell DB SR. 6' 1'' 165
5 Logan Bibb WR SR. 5' 8'' 160
6 Jace Leedy WR JR. 5' 9'' 140
7 Jason Boone WR SR. 6' 2'' 175
8 Wade Baker DB SR. 6' 0'' 180
9 Chris Hale WR SR. 5'10" 155
10 Jet Ellis DB JR. 6' 0'' 170
12 Taylor Potts QB SR. 6' 5'' 215
13 Casey Bell RB SR. 6' 1'' 190
14 Cory Rodriguez K SR. 5' 9'' 150
15 Jividen McCoy LB SR. 5' 11'' 200
16 Polaris Haynes DB JR. 6' 0'' 165
18 Braden Kehl QB JR. 5'10" 160
19 Lyle Leong WR SR. 6' 2'' 170
20 Abe Chiappone DL JR. 6' 0'' 260
21 Bryson Walker WR JR. 5' 8'' 140
22 Jeff Williams LB SR. 5' 9'' 155
23 Brian Johnston DB JR. 6' 0'' 165
24 Austin Rye LB JR. 5' 11'' 165
25 Kortney McDow WR SO. 5' 8'' 155
26 Keith Brown DB JR. 5'10" 145
30 Kevin Walker DB SR. 5' 9'' 160
31 Nathan Loflin DB SR. 5' 11'' 160
32 Garrison Hardin DL JR. 6' 1'' 220
33 Bryan Nalepa LB JR. 5' 11'' 175
34 Dmidrick HarrellRB SO. 5' 8'' 160
35 Junior Ortegon DB JR. 6' 0'' 160
40 Raleigh Sadler DL SR. 6' 0'' 190
41 Taylor Hill DB SR. 6' 0'' 150
42 Michael Baker LB JR. 5'10" 175
44 Michael Reno LB SR. 6' 0'' 210
45 Briley Hicks LB JR. 6' 1'' 190
48 Erik Santiago DL SR. 5' 9'' 200
51 Maui Hermosillo DL SR. 5'10" 240
52 Ricky Daniels LB SR. 5' 8'' 165
53 Marcus Brooks DL SR. 6' 0'' 280
54 Evan Hester LB JR. 5'10" 170
55 Andy Smith OL SR. 6' 2'' 225
56 Rufus Martinez DL SR. 6' 0'' 260
57 Dustin DeLaCruz OL SR. 5'10" 185
59 Jonathan Cano OL SR. 6' 0'' 230
60 Mitch Harvey OL JR. 6' 0'' 225
61 Andrew Hamaty DL SR. 6' 0'' 200
62 Grant Zeller OL JR. 6' 2'' 245
66 Michael Deleon OL SR. 6' 0'' 275
70 Anthony WilliamsOL JR. 5'10" 245
71 Brad Berry OL SR. 6' 2'' 270
72 Seth Crain OL JR. 6' 0'' 245
73 Danny Dudgeon OL SR. 6' 2'' 260
74 Luis Salazar DL SR. 5' 9'' 180
75 Kegan Carey OL JR. 6' 1'' 280
77 Wade Hood OL SR. 6' 0'' 285
78 Sassh Onger OL JR. 6' 2'' 250
79 Anthony Ramirez DL SR. 5' 7'' 210
84 Quentin Bell TE JR. 6' 0'' 180
88 Ben Gibbs TE SR. 6' 5'' 225
- August 24, 2005 8:23 PM
August 23, 2005
Abilene High Eagles Week Zero
The great successes enjoyed by the Abilene High Eagles football team last season have been well documented. The season included 12 wins. They beat a talented team from Louisiana 19-14. They won a thrilling game against Midland Lee 20-17 to win the District 3-5A championship and cap off the regular season undefeated. Advancing 3 rounds in the playoffs, they were outscored 35-30 by the eventual Class 5A Division II State Champions, Southlake Carroll. The season will be remembered by the Eagle faithful for years to come because of an offense that was lead by an unsung quarterback seeing his first varsity action and a defense of which the likes may never be seen again led by the Class 5A defensive player of the year.
That was then and this is now. You see, that is how it is in football. For as good as the Eagles were last season and for all the fun we as fans had watching them, that now becomes the past and we must bring ourselves back to the reality of being 0 and 0. Two a days are behind us as is the scrimmage with Copperas Cove. Saturday night the Eagles begin a new campaign against an old foe, the Plainsmen of Lubbock Monterey. Yes, the Eagles face a new season and for those who choose to read the Eagle blog, you face a new blogger.
There are many positive things that will carry over from last season. The winning tradition that began with the 1999 season that saw the Eagles in the playoffs for the first time in 40 years is alive and well. I am told by Coach Warren that there were a total of 282 boys who made the trip to the scrimmage at Copperas Cove. That is the largest group at Abilene High in the Warren era. The actual playing time that the younger players received last season will be of particular benefit as they become the starters this season. The last but certainly not least carry over will be the Eagles opportunity to take the field as the defending district champions.
There are many people in the business of ranking teams before the season begins that think highly of this year’s version of Abilene High football. The Eagles are ranked from 18th to as high as 3rd in the state depending on who you are reading or listening to and therefore are picked by several to repeat as this years District Champion.
Not only did the Eagles graduate top players from last years squad, they also lost some outstanding coaches which included both their offensive and defensive coordinators. Head coach Steve Warren has filled those positions from within the Eagle organization. Therein lies the questions about this group of Eagles. Will the players step up and fill the open positions caused by graduation? Will the returning starters play up to their potential? Will the players respond to the newly appointed coordinators on offense and defense? Does the chemistry exist between the players and coaches? The word I hear is yes. We will know a good deal more after we get the first real game under our belts. Come out Saturday and support the Eagles at Shotwell.
By the way, don’t forget that this weekend is the first annual Champions Classic at Shotwell. You can see Clyde and Ballinger square off on Friday night at 7:30 PM. Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM you can see Southlake Carroll and Midland Lee in Class 5A action. The AISD is preselling tickets to the SLC/LEE game. General Admission tickets are $6.00 for adults and $2.00 for students. That should be a real treat for area fans no matter what classification you normally watch. The Eagles and Plainsmen will play at 7:00 PM Saturday.
Don Hardin
- August 23, 2005 7:42 PM