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Week 2 observations
September 15, 2008In my four-plus years of being the area high school football writer for this paper, I have covered lots and lots of teams.
Windthorst, with its deep playoff runs, probably tops the list. Holliday, Iowa Park, Vernon, Henrietta and Graham are all up there too.
There were still three 11-Man area teams I had not covered in person, and two of them were crossed off the list Friday as I went to watch Bowie and Jacksboro square off (Nocona is the other, FYI).
I thought both teams looked good, although Bowie left some points on the board with a turnover and loss on downs inside the 5-yard line.
And speaking of that, here is something that has always bothered me. Bowie was just the latest example of this.
Fourth and 1 from the 1-yard line. It kills me when spread offenses still operate from shotgun when all they need is a couple of feet for a first down or touchdown.
Just get under center and QB sneak it. You got a better chance of getting in that way -- in my opinion -- that from a handoff from 4 yards away.
Back to topic -- I thought it was a highly competitive game, and I will be pretty shocked if either team misses out on the playoffs.
Other thoughts:
* I think the area is down a little this year, especially in the higher classes. As I wrote today, take out Burkburnett, and the 3A/4A schools are 2-14. Rider will be fine, but WFHS and Vernon are not the playoff locks I thought they would be at the start of the season.
* I like my District 9-A preseason picks right now: Archer City and WIndthorst battling it out for first, with Munday-Seymour facing off for third.
* There are three 3-0 teams in 5-2A, and if I had to rank them in order of impressiveness against tough competition, I would have it in this order: 1. Bowie; 2. Holliday and 3. Nocona.
The Indians, though, have a couple of really tough games coming up. No more patsies on their schedule.
* The next couple of week's non-district games are kinda bland. I wrote a story in the preseason section about all the great September matchups, but one of the problems is that Olney -- which faces Munday, Jacksboro and Windthorst -- is not nearly as good as expected without Pittman.
Combine that with some sluggish starts (like who would expect the Graham-Iowa Park game to be a matchup of winless teams) and it leaves something to be desired.
Bowie-Paradise is interesting this week, and Nocona-Paradise and Holliday-Jacksboro should be competitive next week.
Do not fret. On Oct. 10, when all the area's six-team districts start, there are plenty of great matchups: Burkburnett-Bridgeport; Archer City-Windthorst, Bowie-Henrietta and Munday-Seymour.
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