Go Friday Night

Tyler Ethridge of Richland Springs

This information was passed on to me but I take it as the gospel truth.

Chris Leak and Graham Harrell have a lot in common. Both enjoyed
record setting high school careers. Leak set the all-time touchdown
passing record for a career with 185. Graham set the mark in Texas
during his 41-3 record as a starter with 167. Both went on to star
at Division I colleges with Leak capping off a stellar career by
winning the national championship last year. The two also share
another thing in common. They will both be surpassed in career
touchdown passes by Texas six-man star, Richland Springs QB Tyler
Ethridge.

Ethridge has led Richland Springs to a 44-1 record in the last 3 plus
years with two state championships (2004, 2006) with the only loss in
a 2005 semi-final to the eventual state champion. During that time
he has amassed astonishing statistics most of which were accomplished
in games that lasted only two ten-minute quarters. Because six-man
has a mercy rule which leads to game stoppage after a team is forty-
five points ahead at half-time or at any time in the second half
Ethridge has had to do his record setting in record time.

Two games into his senior year Ethridge has 184 career touchdown
passes and is poised to pass Leak's national prep record of 185 this
Saturday night at 6:00pm against Vernon Northside at Shotwell Stadium
in Abilene, Texas. In 2006 the UIL divided six-man into two
divisions. Northside won the Division II title last year leading to
this year's matchup of last year's two six-man state champions.

While Ethridge's passing statistics have garnered the most attention,
it is his overall football abilities that set him apart. He is no
pampered QB. He plays both sides of the ball and rarely leaves the
field. His running style compares with Barry Sanders, he blocks like
a lead back, he tackles like an NFL safety and his instincts are
arguably the best ever seen.

CAREER STATS

Offense
Passing

2004 112/168 2275yds 53TDs
2005 151/239 2877yds 68TDs
2006 143/213 3038yds 54TDs
2007 17/23 466yds 9TDs
To date 423/623 8656yds 184TDs

Rushing

2004 177att 1053yds 19TDs
2005 130att 1394yds 29TDs
2006 109att 1063yds 26TDs
2007 13att 171yds 1TD
To date 429att 3681yds 75TDs

Defense
Tackles
2004 110
2005 89
2006 59
2007 9
To date 297

Interceptions
2004 3
2005 11
2006 5
2007 1
To date 20

I said it before and I will say it again, DON'T MISS THIS opportunity to see Tyler Ethridge in action. It will be a lont time before we see someone like this again. It may never happen.

• September 18, 2007 5:30 PM

A Historic Day in Abilene?

Saturday September 22nd at 6:00 PM in Abilene's Shotwell stadium, history will be made. If you are any kind of a fan of football you will want to be there.

What you have are two teams that both won State Championships last season. These two teams, Richland Springs and Vernon Northside are also ranked # 1 in the state in their respective divisions this season.

ALL you Division I schools in the state should want to see Richland Springs and ALL you Division II teams in the state should want to see Vernon Northside. Can the Indians of Northside defeat the Coyotes of Richland Springs?

Division I vs Division II State Champions on the same field just like like year except this time they are going at each other. I believe those are good enough reasons to make the trip.

Neither teams fans have much good to say about yours truly. You see, in a previous bit I wrote the following:

"The upcoming season appears to be a two horse race in Division 1. I am not sure
how Division 2 will play out. Even so, it was a nice thing to see this thread spring up.
I must admit that of the games mentioned, Rule going against the Colorado outfit
peaked my interest the most.

I am not sure what I hope for the most. I have nothing against Richland
Springs or Vernon Northside but I hope neither repeat as State Champions.
New blood is needed. Pass it around. The Championship that is.

On the other hand it is great to see a dynasty. Richland Springs is very close to that
at this time if not already there. Northside needs a couple of more titles to get there.

There are teams that put a great product on the field year in and year out without
winning the Championship. I am kind of hoping someone will get to the next level
they maybe has not had lots of luck recently. A dark horse so to speak. As I type
this I can feel a little bit of excitement building within me as I look forward to the new
season."

I really have not heard from the Nortside fans but I have heard from a few of the Richland Springs people. People I consider friends. Good friends. That little blip about hoping neither repeated has strained some relations some what.

Back to the upcoming game. How many of you have seen Richland Springs' Tyler Ethridge play? I suspect that most of the people that are reading this have. IF YOU HAVE NOT, please make this a must see game. Missing seeing this young man play when you had the chance would be the same thing as miss seeing the Beatles in concert or miss watching Willie Mays play baseball in his prime, miss seeing Michael Jordan play. I am serious!

Ethridge is a Senior this year. He has already broken all the Texas High School passing touchdown records as a Junior with 175 TD passes. He is now up to 184 TD passes. Tyler Ethridge is 1 touchdown away from tying the overall National high school TD passing record of 185 by Chris Leek. Chances are Ethridge will break this record on Saturday. Tyler's record to date is 45-1, with two state championships and working hard toward a third championship as a Senior.

DO NOT PASS UP A CHANCE TO SEE HISTORY MADE!!!!!!!!!!!

Don Hardin
Abilene

• September 17, 2007 7:22 PM

Top 10 Div i and Div II Week Two Results

Division 1
1. Richland Springs defeated Div II # 9 Gustine 68-6
2. Rule defeated Div II # 2 Motley County 66-16
3. Calvert defeated Greenville Christian 57-8
4. Rankin defeated Div II # *8 Grandfalls-Royalty 48-0
5. Trinidad defeated Austin Christian Home School 46-0
6. Happy Open Date
7. Meadow defeated Whitharral 48-0
8. Grady defeated New Home 64-0
9. Valley defeated Div II # 5 Follett 48-20
10. May defeated Bryson 47-0

Division 2
1. Northside Did not play
2. Motley County lost to Div 1 # 2 Rule 66-16
3. Samnorwood Did not play
4. Woodson defeated Groom 66-18
5. Follett lost to Div I # 9 Valley 48-20
6. Milford defeated Avalon 48-0
7. Jayton defeated Spur 70-42
8. Grandfalls-Royalty lost to Div 1 # 4 Rankin 48-0
9. Gustine lost to Div I # 1 Richland Springs 68-6
10. McLean defeated Hedley 49-0

• September 16, 2007 4:42 PM

FRIDAY NIGHT IN IRA

There has to be a song in that somewhere. There was a good crowd there with it being homecoming and all. If you were not there, I wished you had been. It doesn’t get any better than seeing a good Six-Man game. We are talking a game where the community comes out in force to cheer their team. It was a typical homecoming game where most people watched the game and some visited with friends from days gone by. The field was in grand shape thanks to the work of the coaches and player’s dads and other volunteers. It was a Six-Man setting at its best. Enough about the atmosphere.

Entering this game, the visitors from Aspermont were supporting a 2 and 0 record that matched the Ira Bulldogs record. Two undefeated teams coming together means someone leaves with a loss. The folks in the know of such things had Ira as the favorite to win by about a touchdown. I myself thought I would see Ira win by perhaps 20 points.

The game began with Ira kicking off to the Hornets of Aspermont. Folks were still trying to find their seats when Trace Myers of Aspermont scored on a 14 yard run with just 56 seconds elapsed off the clock. The PAT was good and the Ira homecoming crowd seemed a bit stunned to see the Dogs down by 8 points so quick.

Enter the Ira offense and Mr. Andy Rivera. With a mere additional 18 seconds run off the clock this game was tied 8-8. Less than a minute later, Aspermont scored again and led 16-8 with 7:49 left in the first quarter.

Sensing an opportunity to extend their lead Aspermont tried an onside kick and recovered the ball. Unfortunately the Hornets would turn the ball over immediately on an interception. The Ira Bulldogs soon returned the favor by fumbling the ball into the hands of the Hornets. Another Trace Myers touchdown run and PAT had the Aspermont Hornets up by the score of 24-8. I am surprised the game was halted for lightning. Lightning scoring that is. There was still 6:21 left in the first quarter. Momentum was alive and well in the Aspermont cheering section. With that being said, I commented to a fan from Aspermont that there was lots of football to be played and that the Hornets looked a little winded.

At the 4:46 mark of the first quarter Ira scored again but missed the PAT and trailed 24-14. Aspermont soon again turned the ball over and Ira made them pay by scoring and made their PAT to cut the lead to 24-22 with 3:18 left still in the first quarter. By the way, Mr. Momentum had raced across the field to the Bulldogs side. A game within the game had developed by now. It was a battle between Andy Rivera of Ira and Leon Miller of Aspermont. Rivera was doing his thing running the ball but Leon Miller was tackling hard. Again the turnover bug was biting the Hornets and Ira scored again with 1:52 left in the first quarter. They missed the PAT but Ira was in the lead 28-24 when the first quarter finally ended. Ten minutes of playing time had yielded 52 points of scoring.

The Hornets of Aspermont may have looked winded earlier but they show no sign of quitting. With 6:48 left in the second quarter they regained the lead 30-28. Ira came right back and scored with 5:36 left in the half to lead 36 to 30. Aspermont got the ball back and once again was driving the ball down the field. The Bulldogs defense started digging in and stopped the Hornets on a 4th down attempt. I believe that was the play of the game.

Ira scored again with 2:47 left in the half but missed the PAT and led 42-30. Aspermont turned the ball over again and Ira scored again and added the PAT to lead 50 to 30. Quite a comeback after trailing 24-8 in the first quarter.

Here is where Aspermont could have folded their tent and gone home. Instead they scored with 3 seconds left in the half and trailed 50-38. They kicked off to Ira and an Ira played fell on the ball with 1 second showing on the clock. 1 second, time to get one play off maybe. Unbelievable as it may sound, not only did Ira get the play off, Rivera scored from 55 yards out and with the PAT led 58-38 to end the half.

In the third Ira increased their lead to 66-38. Aspermont refused to go away. They cut the lead to 66-46 with 9:15 left in the game. Then 66-54 with 3:53 left.. Ira came back to extend the lead 72-54 with 3:18 left. Aspermont scored again with 2:07 left trailing then by the score of 72-62. One more time Ira found the end zone to lead 80-62 with :45 seconds left. Aspermont showing the heart of a champion scored again on the final play of the game. The final score was 80-68.

I had questioned what kind of team Aspermont had. I found out tonight that they are a very good team. Take away five key turnovers and this score could be reversed. On the other hand, The Bulldogs of Ira kept their cool after falling behind early and showed they are a team that upcoming opponents better be ready for.

IRA, HERE’S TO YOU! Thanks for a great time.

Don Hardin
Abilene

txsixii@yahoo.com

• September 15, 2007 12:39 PM

Week Two

Here is a look at the Top 10 teams in the state in each Division of Six-Man.

Division I
1. Richland Springs
2. Rule
3. Calvert
4. Rankin
5. Trinidad
6. Happy
7. Meadow
8. Grady
9. Valley
10. May

Division II
1. Northside
2. Motley County
3. Samnorwood
4. Woodson
5. Follett
6. Milford
7. Jayton
8. Grandsfalls-Royalty
9. Gustine
10. McLean

Week Two has several key games between Division I and Division II teams.

Richland Springs and Gustine
Rule and Motley County
Rankin and Grandfalls-Royalty
Valley and Follett

A key game in our area is the contest between District 3 Ira Bulldogs and District 7 Aspermont Hornets. They are both 2-0. Ira is the favorite to win by a touchdown. I look for a wider victory by Ira. Should Aspermont win, that will sound a loud signal to District 7 teams that Aspermont is for real.

The game between Meadow and Whitharral should be entertaining regardless of the score. Last season these two teams met in Whitharral with Meadow winning 99-60.

One other game I am interested in is between Trinidad and Austin Christian Home School. I doubt it will be close at all, I just can't wait to see what the stats will be for Trinidad's Stacey Womack. Coach Kevin Ray may use him lightly as the Trojans of Trinidad have Calvert next week.

Speaking of next Week, Richland Springs and Northside will play at Shotwell Stadium. This game will match the defending state champions from Division I and Division II. Both teams are currently ranked number 1 in their respective Divisions.

See a Six-Man game this week.

Don Hardin
Texas Six-Man Central

Read more at
http://www.sixmanfootball.com/blogs/index.php/b
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/sixmancentral

• September 13, 2007 11:12 PM

It was worth it.

Week One has come and gone without me making it to a Six-Man game. That is an unusal thing to happen. However, I had an excellent reason for not making a game. I have a new grandson! He doesn't have a name yet. Weighed in at 7 lbs ans 7oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long.
His parents are Bradley and Kim.

• September 8, 2007 11:08 AM

A Promise Kept to the Westbrook Cheerleaders

Top Row - Milina Funderburg, Hanah Berber
Bottom Row - Stormy Haggerton - Paws (Kingslee King) - Keesha Krapf

I attended the Trent and Westbrook game on Friday August 31st because I love watching history being made. This was the first game to be played in the new stadium in Trent which you all know by now has the first Six-Man artificial turf field on the Planet.

There are still a couple of things to be worked out. That didn't stop the Gorillas from winning the game by the score of 30-26. Congratulations to Trent on the win and an extremely nice sports complex.

I ran across my friend Tommy Wells. If you are a six-man fan, he is your friend too. He works relentlessly to promote the sport across America and Canada. He is the publisher and managing editor of Six-Man Illustrated. If you would like a copy you can contact Tommy directly at (325) 728-9296 or by email: newzboy3@yahoo.com

• September 2, 2007 3:42 PM
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