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DCTF: Disagreements and surprises
June 24, 2009Today's "Texas Football" topic is items I disagree with or find shocking in the magazine.
* First and foremost, I'm all for our area teams getting high rankings. But I question Seymour at No. 5 in Class A.
I have no problem with a team returning several starters from a playoff squad being ranked. If the Panthers were 15th, I wouldn't even raise an eyebrow. Here is why I think No. 5 is too high.
In mentioning Seymour, DCTF goes on to talk about what a great hire Rocky Smart from Nazareth was. And I agree. But Josh Castles, in my mind, was an equally great hire and I think Castles squeezed every drop of talent from that team.
Frankly, I think Seymour overachieved a tad last year. Even Castles admitted the offense was all about "smoke and mirrors."
I am assuming Aaron Barton will be the team's QB, but he is not listed in DCTF. I know he broke his leg before the first playoff game against Stamford, but I do not know how he recovered from that. Seymour used four signal-callers last year, but only Barton and Tarrington Rivers are still with the team.
It will take a little while for Seymour to get used to Smart, who is the school's fourth coach in as many years. Plus, Seymour's two best defensive players (DL Joseph Warren and LB Blake Slaggle) graduated.
The Panthers could very easily drop their first two games to Jacksboro and Olney (like they did last year). I expect a playoff appearance and maybe even a deep run, but it is hard for me to believe Seymour is the fifth-best A team in the state right now.
*I had no idea Munday had the biggest negative swing in games won from 2007 to 2008. After going 15-0 two years ago, the Moguls had 10 fewer wins last year after a 5-5 mark.
No school in the state had more. Fort Bend Clements and Harlingen South in Class 5A had the same amount of negative wins.
* I had no idea Benjamin was looking for a coach. I guess Jason Loftiss left.
*I really had no idea Jacksboro was only returning only 2 offensive and 1 defensive starters from last year.
I saw the Tigers were picked fifth in the district, which I thought was a little odd because aren't Millsap and Chico predominantly doormats? And I knew QB Kole Weldon was returning.
But by the looks of it, there is not much experience there. Logan Gunter, Kane Elenburg, Adam Teague, Cason Bennett, Dakota Laake, John Beck and Dusty Welborn were all key guys I remember from last year.
All of them graduated. So it looks like Jacksboro coach Brandon Brown might be in for a rebuilding year.
Posted by at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
DCTF discussion: Holliday deserves its special mention
June 23, 2009I was shocked last year when I opened up "Texas Football" and saw that Holliday was slotted fifth.
I even wrote a column about it a year ago. It can be read at this link: http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2008/jun/23/duncan-bullpen-june-23/
Well, the folks at DCTF obviously recognized their snafu. They ranked the Eagles No. 7 in 2A this year, and even tried to make amends about last year's slight. From the magazine:
"The Eagles made this publication look pretty bad this year... No more disrespect from this magazine -- we've got coach Terry Wolf's squad ranked at No. 7."
One of the reasons Holliday surprised some people in 2008 was the play of sophomore Tyler Cole. He was unknown before the season began. Cole came out of nowhere to be a dominant, speedy yet sturdy tailback who rushed for about 1,300 yards.
If you look at this year's DCTF, you might not know Cole was still an impact player. He isn't listed under Holliday's "Players to Watch" and isn't even mentioned under "Top Juniors."
Cole is the sixth Eagle named in the team's profile. Did Wolf downplay his prominence on purpose -- I have no idea, but I doubt he will sneak up on anybody.
He very well could be the area's top rusher, though. I know it's early and I know I am going out on a limb, but I say Cole hits the 2,000-yard mark if he stays healthy and Holliday plays 2-3 postseason games.
Posted by at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
DCTF discussion: District finishes
June 22, 2009Today's "Texas Football" topic is going to be my thoughts on the district prediction finishes.
Before I looked at each of our four main districts, I wrote down the order I thought the teams would be in.
And I agreed with much of what was forecast. Only a couple decisions in a couple districts were head-scratching.
Let's break them down:
*5-4A -- The only district that we both pegged the same teams in order. I think Guyer and Ryan are 1-2 and in a class by themselves. Rider is third, and Lake Dallas, with QB James Franklin returning, is fourth.
I can't see the Colony or WFHS closing the gap between the teams. Looks good to me.
*5-3A -- This district was the one where I had the most differences.
"Texas Football" went (in this order): Bridgeport, Burkburnett, Decatur, Iowa Park, Vernon and Hirschi.
I had Burk getting second and Hirschi in last. Really my biggest feeling is that Bridgeport will not repeat as the champs because they lost several key offensive weapons to graduation.
I had the Bulls fourth, with Decatur winning the district after not making the playoffs a year ago. They got stung by some injuries last year and will have the district's best QB in three-year starter Tim Metts.
I gave Vernon the last playoff nod, but I can live with IP ahead of the Lions. So basically, I think Burkburnett and Decatur are the surest playoff bets, with those other three mentioned vying for third.
*5-2A -- We both agreed with the same three playoff teams, and both had Holliday in first. I picked Bowie to take second (I really like the Tyler Price-Aaron Chokas combo in the backfield) and Henrietta to get third. Dave Cambell's had them flip-flopped.
Outside of those three, I think as of right now Olney has the best chance to make the postseason. I had them 4th and Nocona 5th, and they had it the other way around.
Nocona has the edge not having to adjust to a new coach, but Olney has the most returning starters in 5-2A outside of Holliday, plus QB Callen Pittman will be looking to prove himself after missing last year with an ACL injury.
*9-A -- Windthorst, which had some impact freshmen step up last year, is my early pick to win the district (I know, I know -- I'm going on a really big limb here, aren't I). "Texas Football" had them second behind Seymour.
I had Seymour, which was given a lofty No. 5 state ranking, taking second.
DCTF liked Munday in the third spot. And there is a bunch to like about the Moguls. But I had them fourth because I like Archer City even better.
Sure, they lost almost all their lines, so a gigantic question mark is there. But QB Patrick Dayton returns. So does my Red River 22 Defensive MVP in linebacker Cooper Twyford. So does impact starters Tres Hughes and Charlie Weakley.
Will I stick by my predictions once two-a-days begin and I talk to several coaches? I guess we will wait and see.
Posted by at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
DCTF discussion No. 1
June 21, 2009I finally just flipped through Dave Campbell's "Texas Football" for the first time since it hit the newsstands, and have several topics I want to mention.
Therefore, I'll be blogging about these topics each day for the next four days.
Today I'll mention all of the rankings/superlatives that I saw from looking through it. Other topics later this week will include my thoughts on district finishes and some surprises/disagreements I saw in the magazine.
Now onto the rankings.
Graham was ranked No. 20 in 3A, while Holliday was No. 7 in 2A. Seymour was No. 5 in A, Windthorst was No. 23 in A and Throckmorton was No. 7 in Six-Man Div. I.
I am cool with all of these rankings (all were playoff teams last year except the Steers, who return nearly every player and have one of the region's best quarterbacks in Case McCoy) except for Seymour. I think the Panthers might be too high (more on that later this week).
Graham-Bridgeport was dubbed the 3A "Game to Watch" in Week 5, while Holliday-Henrietta was the 2A "Game to Watch" in Week 9. Seems like that one never disappoints.
In Class A, Week 6's "Game to Watch" is Archer City-Windthorst. I sure hope it's better this year than it was last year when the Wildcats put on a clinic.
Henrietta punter Blake Wiest earned some pub with a preseason 2A all-state selection, as did Seymour OL Nick Wiles and Archer City LB Cooper Twyford in Class A.
Archer City QB Patrick Dayton was also labeled a Class A "Money Player" by the magazine.
And McCoy was the area's lone representative in the Texas Top 300.
Posted by at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
2A state semifinal updates
June 11, 2009I finally have Internet capability out here at Disch--Falk, so here's a running update of what has and will happen:
We pick up the action in the top of the fourth, with Holliday leading 3-2 in the top of the fourth.
The Eagles scored three in the first on Seth Barrells' 2-run double, and Ryan Todd answered with his own double after that. SInce then, Holliday hasn't really threatened.
White Oak scored two in the third on a triple. No errors contributed to the runs coming home, but if Holliday had turned a double play or caught a fly ball (ruled a double).
Top 4: White Oak scores once in the inning with some nice small ball. A hit, a steal of 2nd, a bunt and a perfectly executed squeeze play that resulted in a hit. We're 3-3 going to the bottom of the inning.
Bottom 4: After two strikeouts, Colton Englishbee steals second base but slides too far past the bag and is tagged out. Brayden Little was caught stealing in the second inning. Still 3-3.
Top 5: A leadoff single and stolen base for White Oak. The guy moves to third on a groundout, and Buckmaster then gets a line out. But he can't get out of the inning. Cleanup hitter Chace Evans has an RBI double. Holliday is now down 4-3 with nine outs to go.
Bottom 5: Brayden Little gets a one-out walk, and Buckmaster has an infield hit. This is the Eagles' first time to have two baserunners since the first inning. Both runners advance, but Barrells grounds out to third to end the inning.
Top 6: Three up, three down for White Oak. That's the first time Buckmaster has done that since the first inning.
Bottom 6: Englishbee ties the game up on a sac fly. Then Tyler Cole's infield single gives Holliday the lead. Now they are three outs away from a berth in the 2A state championship.
Top 7: White Oak knots the score at 5-5 with an RBI single. A baserunning out also hinders a chance for them to take the lead. Can Holliday win with a walk-off hit?
Bottom 7: That answer is no. Holliday three up, three down. The first time that has happened today. We're going extra innings.
Top 8: Holliday turns a double play to gets out of the inning. The Eagles have another chance to end it with a run.
Bottom 8: Cole's two-out double into the gap brings home Dylan Stone for the winning run. Eagles win, 6-5.
Posted by at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Scheduling conflicts
June 9, 2009You would think the UIL would want to make as much money as it can on its state sporting events.
But that isn't the case with the state baseball tournament this week.
Windthorst plays Wednesday, and if it beats Thorndale in the semis, it will play Thursday in Round Rock at 10 a.m.
The 2A semis in at Disch-Falk are at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursday. Guess when the UIL decided to make Holliday play. Yep, the early game.
These Archer County teams have lots of ties between them, and I promise you that many, many Windthorst fans would drive down I-35 to watch Holliday play after their title game. But they're not given that chance, and it will cost the UIL some revenue.
That's not the only curious scheduling conflict this week.
Whoever schedules the Greenbelt Bowl in Childress should have not slated it for the same weekend as the Oil Bowl.
There's probably not as much crossover appeal, but high school football fans in this area wanting to see standout area players like Sam Smith and Kolby Rowe (both from Archer City) will have to decide where to go.
It probably doesn't affect the Oil Bowl at all, but I can see this costing the Greenbelt Bowl a handful of fans.
Posted by at 7:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Quotable from Austin
June 8, 2009Here are some random things I heard hanging around the track over the weekend and during interviews that I didn't print:
"This heat sucks the life out of you." -- Quanah's Tara Riley after winning a gold in the discus (I agree with her totally. And neither of us had to run lengthy distances in it).
"It's not that big of a deal to me." -- Rochelle's Bonnie Richardson about the quest of repeating a state title.
As an aside, this was said after her last race and at the time, a chance of a second individual title looked slim. In fact, Cayuga wins the girls title if its mile relay would have placed fifth or better, and ties with a sixth-place performance. It took seventh.
"I'm going to start jumping now." -- Hirschi's Richard Ross to Coach Anderson after he cleared 6-4 easily. Anderson didn't think he was going as high as he could early on, and Ross let her know it was time to get down to business.
"I hope so. I don't know. I don't really care about it." -- Rider's James Chambers, when asked if he had medal expectations in the shot put.
Chambers is a different type of guy. He's very soft spoken, and while he tried hard in track, I got the feeling that he was glad track is over because practicing was getting in the way of his football workouts.
I'm sure there are many others (plus some journalistic humor that's probably not printable), but my brain is still a little fried a day later, so this is all I got.
Posted by at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Saturday medal winners
June 6, 2009Going to make this quick since I need to get out of here and get to work:
Gold
Derrick Coeman, Knox CIty (400)
Silver
Richard Ross, Hirschi (High Jump)
Demetrion Cooper, Hirschi (300 hurdles)
Hannah Lewis, Electra (shot put)
Seymour girls 4x200 relay
Seymour girls 4x400 relay
Colby White, Northside (200)
Bronze
Demetrion Cooper, Hirschi (110 hurdles)
Posted by at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
A very big shocker
We've got two silver medals after a few events this Saturday morning.
One isn't a surprise -- Electra's Hannah Lewis was second in the A shot a year ago, and that's what she got today.
Another is. Hirschi's Richard Ross didn't win the 3A high jump. It's not that he had a bad day -- 6-9 is the second-best (he hit 6-10 once) he has ever jumped and that is what he had today.
But Parminder SIngh of Huffman-Hargrave went 6-10 in a thrilling ending. I know Ross is a tad dissapointed, but he performed well in his first state meet (and first season of track, too).
Munday's Rob DIllard was 5th in the A shot, and Graham's Katie Adair was sixth in the 3A pole vault.
The running events are about to start, so I'm out. Just wanted to give a quick update.
Posted by at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Read tomorrow's paper
June 5, 2009It's now 10:20.
I'm hot and maybe a little sunburn.
But check out tomorrow's paper for a couple state track stories and a column I wrote (actually rewrote).
I'll return to blogging Saturday morning bright and early.
Posted by at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Chambers wins first city gold since 1990
RIder's James Chambers wanted to finish his high school career on a high note.
He certainly did by just winning gold in the 4A shot put with a personal best 59-1.
I would write more but I'm swamped. Great way for him to go out!
Posted by at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Riley wins gold
Talk about dramatic.
Quanah's Tara Riley won the A girls discus on her last throw, edging Rochelle's Bonnie Richardson by 15 inches.
She had a 128-2. And she's only a junior.
Posted by at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
And we have some city medals
Two events after lunch, two medals by city athletes.
Hirschi's Richard Ross took third in the 3A long jump. He had a 22-8 on his last jump, which was a personal best. He'll try to win a gold in the high jump (his better event) tomorrow.
Then Rider's James Chambers was second in the 4A discus with a 18-3, about a foot short of Red Oak's Preston Sanders (184-5). Chambers was a little dissapointed -- he entered with the best regional distance -- but said he'd been off his form the last few weeks, so he wasn't surprised.
By the way, it's ungodly hot out here and the press area is now out of water. I've already downed 3-4 bottles so far. Hopefully there's some H2O before the next area events occur.
Posted by at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Personal best but no medal
Bowie's Cyler Matlock just set a personal best in the high jump at 6-6 on his last try.
Two others hit 6-7 and Matlock took fourth because of more misses. The one miss at 6-4 was the determining tiebreaker.
Two area athletes so far, two fourth-place finishes. We'll see what the rest of the day holds.
I'm going to lunch now.
Posted by at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Five things to watch for at the state track meet
As promised, here are five themes to be on the look for Friday and Saturday.
1) Can a WFISD boy win a gold medal?
The last time this happened, Jayson Lavender (now the WFHS football coach) won state in pole vaulting in 1990.
We have two legit chances where guys will enter as the favorites in events: Rider's James Chambers (discus) and Hirschi's Richard Ross (high jump).
2) Can we have some city medalists in the hurdles?
I think so. Demetrion Cooper of Hirschi should at least snag one medal Saturday, and could end with two. Jeylin Reed of Rider has a chance in the 110s today. Both will be running both hurdles events.
3) Defending their gold
Last year the Seymour girls mile relay won, and they have everyone back. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see if that means another title.
And it will be interesting to see if Rochelle's Bonnie Richardson can win another state title by herself again. She did last year.
4) 400 power
We have got three people running in the 400, and I think all three will medal.
City View's Lee Eickman and Burkburnett's Dee Walker have the fastest region times in their class. Knox City's Derrick Coleman is third fastest in Class A.
5) Last chances
Several area athletes have a chance to win a medal in their last appearance. Northside's Colby White was third in the 100 two years ago, but just came up short last year. Knox City's Shelby Gutierrez did not qualify as an individual, but she has won medals each of the last three years and will be in the 4x100.
There are several other to mention. We shall see which capture the moment.
Posted by at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Is there internet in Austin?
I was going to blog about the "Five things to watch for at the state track meet" last night after I got in, but our hotel's Internet is not working.
It is so frustrating to connect to a wireless signal, only to not gain page access when you open a browser. And shockingly no one up there knows how to resolve the problem.
The UT internet guy wasn't here early this morning, so I was not able to make a blog post until now. But I am finally good to go.
Here is what I know so far:
*When the Super 8 says it has Internet, be very, very wary.
*Holliday's Hance Loyd, the defending 2A state cross country champ, just finished fourth in the 3,200. He hung with the Crawford kid the last few laps in a race for third, but the Crawford guy ended up beating him by 3-4 seconds.
I am not going to be able to give updates after everyone's race, but we are a little slow right now.
* When I went to put on my sunscreen, it resembled curdled milk. I was not aware sunscreen could expire, but I guess that's what happened. So today will be known as "Can I Borrow some Sunscreen" Day.
* Today is also my 27th birthday. I am celebrating by spending 13 hours in the sun at the track meet. And I blame the swine flu.
* People that have wished me a happy birthday today:
-- HS friend Scott Chao
-- Our photographer Steven Schaffner
-- Ricardo from KFDX
-- My sister-in-law Amanda
-- My mother-in-law
Noticeably absent from that list is my wife, who I have even talked to today. But I will cut her a break because she is balancing work and taking care of a 2-month-old baby.
UPDATE -- My wife has wished me a Happy Birthday. And like I said, she had a legit reason for not calling. I just wanted to see how many people would call/text me before my wife did.
Posted by at 9:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
