Go Friday Night

One Heartbeat!!

What a game. I knew that after the first drive took off 8:31, the Tascosa Rebels would be in for a long day. And that certainly was the case. A great 48-14 win. I was very pleased with the way that we played. I will tip my hat to the Rebel defense those first couple of plays out of the gate. It seemed like they were prepared for us. But then it just fell apart for Amarillo.

Once again the Warbird Defense did an excellent job. I believe that the Defense only gave up 2 first downs in the first half of play. That’s saying a lot right there. The rest of the first downs for Tascosa were mostly against the backups and the backups of the backups. You know you played a great game when 3rd and 4th stringers get in there. And how about that heads up play by Adan Martinez. He will be replaying that touchdown over and over in his head for as long as he lives.

And how about that Eagle O. They all did an excellent job picking apart the Rebels putting up just over 400 yards. I know that those boys are thrilled. I can only imagine what next week is going to be like. I’m guessing a lot of the same things. Our entire team is one well oiled machine right now. I don’t see anyone knocking us off at this point in time.

This win puts us up against the DeSoto Eagles. We played them in the third round back in 1999 and then again for the first round in 2002. We beat them both times. Although I am very ecstatic about us NOT playing Southlake, I’m not so thrilled that we have to play DeSoto in Brownwood. But it is better than playing them in their backyard at Texas Stadium.

• David Craghead
• November 27, 2006 8:21 PM

Look Out Tascosa!!

The Eagles are on a roll. 7 games in a row. We will be walking away with win number 8.

Amarillo Tascosa has played a few teams that we are familiar with: Odessa High, Lubbock Monterey, and Permian. Their only win out of those three came against OHS 17-7. Permian won their game 42-17. 14 of those points for Tascosa came against the backups in the 4th Quarter. Just about the same thing happened to Amarillo when they played against Monterey. But according to a few people on the mywesttexasfootball.com forum, Tascosa doesn't give up even if they are down by that big of a margin. El Paso Coronado lost last week against Tascosa because it was a close game until the 4th Quarter. That is when THS turned it on. As long as we are able to pick apart Tascosa's passing defense and stop the run game, the Warbirds will have no problem during the game. We will have to gain the momentum right at the start to put another check in the W column. With as well as we have been playing, I see a repeat of last week's score against Weatherford. I expect a big crowd out at Jones Stadium. The last time that we played there, we won 40-9 against Monterey in the first round of the playoffs back in 1999. It will be a great game up there in Lubbock. Let's get out there and knock some heads around. GO EAGLES!!

• David Craghead
• November 24, 2006 5:58 PM

"GEEEEETT SOOOOOOMME!!!"

The Warbird Defense certainly “got some” since they shut out the Weatherford Kangaroos. Many of us knew that one of the keys to winning this ballgame was to eliminate Willie Fielder. The Eagles definitely did that by holding him to just 65 yards on 15 attempts. This was by far the best game defensively that we have had all year. We are just one more step closer to playing an entire game.

That first half for the defense was excellent, but not so much for the offense. Not very much was happening inside the red zone until the end of the 2nd quarter. After we scored that first touchdown, things looked up from then on out. What a great second half. I was very happy with the way that we played. I was hoping that the second and third stringers would get to see some action by the end of the 3rd quarter, but getting to see them come out in the middle of the 4th still made me happy. They did an excellent job. I was also very happy to see some of the J.V. guys get in there for a couple of plays.

I was very happy with the crowd that we had out there. Everybody showed great enthusiasm throughout the game even though we had to stare into the sun for most of it. I hope we have that much cheering going on next week against Amarillo Tascosa. The Rebels beat EP Coronado 33-23 last week in the Sun Bowl. That was the first win in the postseason for Tascosa since 1967. From the looks of the stats for that game, Tascosa is a run heavy team. They put up 278 yards of rushing vs. the 16 yards through the air. It will be a great game next week at Jones Stadium in Lubbock

• David Craghead
• November 20, 2006 9:58 PM

One Game At A Time!!

It is now WIN or go home. And with the way the top half of the Region 1 bracket is set up, there is NO excuse for the Abilene High Eagles not to make it to the Quarter Finals and beyond. I am not saying that we should look past any team in the playoffs. They are here for a reason. Although some teams like Weatherford are playing in the 3rd half of the season because of the new rule that allows 4 teams to go from each district, they are all forces to be reckoned with.

Even if Weatherford snuck into the dance, they are not to be ignored. They have a good enough football team to beat us IF we show up flat. But I do not see that happening. The Warbirds are on a 6 game winning streak and that will continue. With the way that we have been playing recently, I see no reason why we shouldn’t walk away with another check mark in the Win column. We are on a great run on all sides of the ball. As long as we show up and take care of business, the Eagles should basically score at will. Looking at the stats for Weatherford so far in the 2006 season, they like to run the ball a little bit more. Willie Fielder leads the way in their rushing game with a little bit over 1300 yards on the season, getting about 9 yards a carry. Our Defense will need to keep an eye on that ball. If we cause some turnovers and take advantage of them, we should have no problem in this game. I expect our younger players to see some action by the end of the 3rd Quarter. I expect a big crowd to show up to cheer on the Eagles. This is going to be a great Bi-District game. Let’s get out there and knock some heads around. GO EAGLES!!

• David Craghead
• November 17, 2006 3:06 PM

A Complete 180!!

We started off 0-4. I knew that we would have to come together in a hurry. And we certainly did that by winning 6 straight games. And more importantly, we came out 5-0 in district play. Not very many teams say that they can go perfect in their district 3 years in a row. What a great job our boys have done so far this season. They made the people who said it wouldn't happen eat their words. I am very proud of the way we have come together and played. I expect a great run in the playoffs. And with most of the bigger power teams going to Division 1, the road to the State Title is just a tad bit easier.

It was an ugly win at Ratliff on Friday. For most of that game we weren't playing the Odessa Bronchos, we were playing against the ref on our side of the field. I was getting a flashback to 2001 when I didn't want to. There were so many calls on the field that didn't even happen. Our side of the scoreboard should have read something in the 60's. It was very clear that we scored a touchdown on several occasions, but the refs didn't see it that way. It even showed on the replays. The same thing with the safety. I don't think I have seen Coach Warren that mad since the Del Valle game. I was happy with the way that our boys handled it. They didn't let the refs get them down. They played a harder game. And even though I was nervous about it, I was very happy that we got everybody in the game. It's always a great time when you can do that.

This week, we see a repeat of last year for the Bi-District round of the playoffs. We take on Weatherford (5-5). Last year we beat them 49-14. And I am really glad that the game is not in Brownwood this year. The game has been moved from its previous time and place. The game will now be played at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The stadium holds about 7,000. So if you want a fairly good seat, you better get there early.

• David Craghead
• November 13, 2006 11:15 PM
• Comments (1)

Time For A Three Peat

Our Abilene High Eagles are looking to make it 5-0 in District 3-5A play for the third year in a row. We haven't done that since our span of six titles from 1954 to 1959. I am really excited about tonight's game against Odessa High. However; this is the one game I really worry about. I hope our guys don't look past this game toward next week. If that happens, we will get a flashback to 2001 when we lost 13-10. I don't want that to happen. I would rather Odessa see a flashback to 2003 when we won 63-7. As well as our team has been doing, I don't think that we will be in trouble tonight. Based on last week's performances, I think that we will be able to Flye all over the Bronchos. I hope that we have a bunch of fans making the trip to Ratliff. Even though we have made into the playoffs, we need to let our boys see how proud we are of them. If you choose not to make the long drive, I suggest that you head out to Shotwell to cheer on Cooper. They are in a desperate situation to get into the playoffs. With wins from both the Eagles and the Cougars, everybody's hometown hero will get a trip to the 3rd half of the season. But I still will be expecting a great turnout. Let's go into their house and knock some heads around. GO EAGLES!!

• David Craghead
• November 10, 2006 10:42 AM

I Find It Amazing....

I find it absolutely amazing how well our defense adjusts in the second half. Going into the half tied 21 to 21, I thought that it would be a shootout unless our D picked up the pace. Looking back on the first half, we should have gone into the locker-room up 21 to 7 or 21 to 14. I knew that this game would be full of emotions and sure enough it was. Polaris Haynes was over-run with emotion and got a 15 yard penalty thrown on him which later resulted in a touchdown for Cooper. Two of Cooper’s touchdowns could have been avoided easily. But I am still VERY happy with the fact that we keep the bragging rights for another year. I am also VERY happy that we keep the BELL! For the third year in a row the Bell stays black and gold. What a great accomplishment for this group of players. The very tough pre-district schedule certainly paid off.

I find it absolutely amazing that we only threw the ball 9 times the whole game. What a great job by the Offensive Line. As a former lineman, I am always happy when a W comes by way of the O Line. They did a great job opening up holes for Williams, Flye, Lackey, Walker, and on the goal line for Chris Williams. Our running game was awesome.

I find it absolutely amazing how many Cooper fans were talking bad about Abilene High. All week I kept hearing that the Eagle coaching staff, teachers, student body, football players, and fans were tasteless, classless people who live in the past. Also during that week, I kept hearing about how the Eagle winning streak for the Cross-town Showdown was nothing compared to the 15 year streak that Cooper had a long time ago. It seems to me based on that, and some of the comments left on the Cougar blog, they are the ones living in the past. And if we are the ones that are classless, then why is it that a couple of the Cooper players started talking trash at the end of the game? I am not trying to get anybody upset; all I am doing is defending my team.

I find it absolutely amazing some of the comments made by the Abilene High fans towards the end of the game. When we got a delay of game penalty, I heard somebody from our side of the stadium shout, “Come on Bill Parcells!” I was really upset at that and my face showed it. I don’t know who said that, and I am glad I don’t. Coach Warren is a FAR better coach than Parcells. I expect a better attitude from our fans when it comes to the coaches. They put in at least 15 hours a day to get our boys prepared for their next game. I am never happy when some of our fans bad mouth our coaches over something. I guarantee you that those that bad mouth them couldn’t take a trip in a coach’s shoes.

I also want to congratulate a former Abilene High coach. Don Delozier, who has been the Head Coach of the Hereford Whitefaces since 2003, and his team won 40-14 against Randall on Friday. That win clinched an outright District Championship. Congratulations Coach D and I hope you make a good run in the playoffs. You deserve it.

• David Craghead
• November 6, 2006 6:30 PM
• Comments (7)

Everybody Loves Week 9

Rivalry Week. It is time for the Showdown at Shotwell. No matter what the records are, this game is different. Everybody plays with more emotion than any other week. It's bragging rights for the year. And the Eagles are once again looking to keep those rights. Most people would say that the biggest rivalry in District 3-5A is between Lee and Permian. But I think that in recent years, it has become Abilene High vs. Cooper. This year is no different. I know Cooper will be looking for revenge after last year's game when the Warbirds shut them out. This game also has more riding on it than just bragging rights. Abilene High will be looking to keep the winning streak in district games. The Eagles are also looking for at least a share of the Bell. Cooper on the other hand is looking to keep their playoff hopes alive. Cooper will have their backs against the wall for this game. Both teams are coming off of really big comeback wins last week. There will be high emotions on all sides of the ball. If the Eagles can play smart, take advantage of turnovers, and play full tilt, they will come out with a 4-0 record in district. I am really excited about this game. I look forward to seeing a great showing on all sides of the ball for the Warbirds. I know that there will be a huge crowd for this game, and I hope that there will be more fans wearing black and gold. This is our house. Protect it. Let's get out there and knock some heads around. GO EAGLES!!

• David Craghead
• November 2, 2006 8:57 PM