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Thoughts on the first weekend
August 31, 2009Not a whole ton of surprising things happened this weekend.
But some quick thoughts of what transpired:
* I knew Holliday was going to be very good, and they looked great in a 49-27 win against Windthorst.
Coach Green said he came away even more impressed than he was while watching tape of them. And when I can write a game story about Holliday and its 49 points and not even mention Tyler Cole's name, that's really saying something. So much skill all over the place.
* A couple eyebrow-raising scores: Alvord 12, Electra 6; Seymour 15, Jacksboro 13.
They maybe won't be so surprising once the season plays out, but based on preseason predictions they are now. Either Jacksboro is going to be tougher than I thought, or Seymour still needs to iron out some kinks.
And either Electra has made up some serious ground, or Alvord -- which just got a new coach right before two-a-days -- will have a down year.
* When I first saw it in our paper, I knew Seth Crumpton's 319 rushing yards had to be a missprint. Like it should have been 139 or something. Then I saw how long his TD runs were.
* Speaking of Crumpton, how about the 5-2A QB race. Who's the best? Crumpton was ridiculous over the weekend, Holliday's Colton Englishbee looked awesome throwing for 4TDs and running for another (he is more involved in the offense, for sure), Olney's Callen Pittman played well in his return and Bowie's Tim Metts led his team in passing and rushing. His 223 passing yards may be the most of the weekend.
I can promise you, there have been years in this 2A district where no team had a QB like this. Since all four are seniors, it could be years until there are two QBS this good again in this district. Enjoy it while you can.
* Good wins for Munday, Olney, Burkburnett and Archer City. Tough, tough losses for Iowa Park and Hirschi.
* City View, like Electra, may be improving too. Scoring 20 points against Quanah and playing them until the bitter end is much better than last year's 44-6 loss.
That's about it off the top of my head. Anybody else have thoughts or surprises from Week Zero.
Posted by at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
RCC wins opening Week of "Sack Zach"
August 30, 2009The first week of high school football is in the books, which means we have a winner of the "Sack Zach" contest.
It's RCC who picked 9 of 10 games correctly (missing Burkburnett-Sweetwater game). RCC actually tied with football 12 (missed the Stamford-Munday game).
But RCC won the tiebreaker, guessing 46 points in the Munday game. He almost made it right on the dot.
I got 8 of 10 right, missing WFHS and Stamford picks. And jacksooner also got 8 right.
So RCC, please e-mail me at duncanz@timesrecordnews.com so we can get you a "Football Freak" TRN T-shirt.
If you didn't play last week, you can still log in and play for the rest of the season. Weekly winners get a T-Shirt, and whoever picks the most games correctly at the end of the year gets a to-be-determined prize.
Also, starting the third week, I'm thinking about making the number of games be closer to 15.
Posted by at 9:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thoughts on opening night and there's still time to "Sack Zach" this week
August 28, 2009So far it looks like there's about a dozen people signed up to "Sack Zach" in the high school football picks this week.
A couple people got Saiginaw right (I had WFHS) and lots of people didn't make picks until after the game had started. So it's anybody's game right now.
There's still a few more hours left to sign up before kickof tonight. And even if you miss this week, sign up and play the rest of the weeks.
Now thoughts on last night's games:
* I showed up at WFHS-Boswell about 8:30 thinking halftime would have just started -- I planned on watching the second half.
Instead, there was about nine minutes left in the second quarter. The game dragged and dragged and dragged. It didn't end until midnight.
Part of the reason was penalties, lots of passes and lots of plays that ended out of bounds. Seemed like the officials took a little while longer sorting things out a couple times, too.
* The Coyotes lost --Eddie Aboussie's 89-yard TD run that would have tied the game with about 5 minutes left was called back for holding -- but they could have given up a couple times when trailing and didn't.
Boswell had a 20-7 lead when I showed up, but WFHS pulled to within 20-14 on a great 2-minute drive before the half and eventually tied things up at 20-20.
Then trailing 34-20, WFHS cut that lead in half and then nearly tied things up again. Obviously, there were some things to work on -- I saw a lot of dropped passes and too many big plays for Boswell in the passing game.
It's going to be tough for WFHS to win the next two weeks -- state-ranked Denison and Everman are road games -- so all the Coyotes need to worry about doing is staying healthy and improving before district starts.
*Good win for Coach Rodriguez and Olney last night. I don't know how good the Cubs are going to be, but I think they will be a factor in the 5-2A race this year.
Also heard QB Callen Pittman looked good (2 pass TDs, 1 rush TD) in his first game back. He completed all of his first-half passes in the win.
Posted by at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
"Sack Zach" up and running
August 27, 2009The pick-em contest "Sack Zach" is up and running now. I just made my picks, and couple others have as well.
Go ahead and get logged on and choose this week's games. The WFHS-Boswell game is one of the selections, so hurry and select winners. Here is the link:
http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/sports/high-school-football/1trn/
Posted by at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
District 9-A predictions
August 26, 2009One day to go until the high school football season opens, and there are one district's predictions to make.
9-A holds a special place in my heart. Maybe because it always produces a great team that makes a run at the state title. And maybe because all of the teams in the district are from the area.
For a couple years, it was the toughest in Class A. It is still tough now, but when you have two 1-9 teams playing in it, I don't think it can be labeled the best.
One thing that was mentioned in the 9-A preview story in today's paper (go get it if you have not -- it's a pretty good preview section) was how 9-A is lacking in a loaded senior class this year.
As tough as this district has been the last three years, each 9-A winner has run the table. Doesn't that have to end this year? I guess we'll see.
Here are my picks:
1) Windthorst -- The Trojans are very young at the skill positions, but Coach Green wouldn't throw a bunch of sophomores into the fire if he did not trust them. Green also says this is his best team since 2006, and the last two haven't been bad by any means. The Trojans went 5-6 years without losing a district game, so not winning the last two district titles have been a slight surprise. I just think Windthorst gets it together this year (last year it seemed turnovers/fumbles killed them in lots of big games). It was so close to knocking off a really good Albany team early on in last year's playoffs, and I expect that intensity to carry over to 2009.
2) Seymour -- I know I picked Seymour on TV the other night, and I will admit I may have underestimated the Panthers a little bit. After working on the Panthers' preview for the tab, I realized how many defensive starters return from last year, which was a really good unit. My question is can Seymour get it done on offense? I know Coach Smart is a great offensive coach, but the Panthers had some inconsistencies last year with the ball, and the QB carousel/injuries were a part of that. Either way it goes, I think right now WIndthorst/Seymour or Seymour/Windthorst are 1-2.
3) Archer City -- The Wildcats lost so much, it is hard for me to see a district title this year. But with QB Patrick Dayton and LB Cooper Twyford back, there is enough for the Wildcats to nab a playoff berth. Coach Smith has really turned around that program (I know I've said that plenty of times) and now it seems like Archer City SHOULD make the playoffs every year.
4) Munday -- The Moguls finished in this spot last year, and I think they could challenge for third this time around. Being so young on the offensive line, Munday will have to get that straightened out before district starts. There is a lot of skill on this team, and lots of speed (Munday's track team was pretty fast a year ago). If they can beat Archer City, then the Moguls could return to the playoffs.
5) Petrolia -- I thought, for some reason weeks ago, that Mitchell Heaton had graduated. I think it had to do with the longevity of QBs named Heaton (his brother Lee started at least two years there and this is Mitchell's third year on varsity). But Heaton is back and the Pirates were better than their 1-9 record indicated. Remember, they were beating the Wildcats at the half last year. Maybe Petrolia can make a run at the playoffs, but it's too early to tell now.
6) Electra -- The Tigers, from what I hear, will be better this season. But I cannot remember the last time a school went 1-19 over the past two years and then made the playoffs in the third year. A better goal would be to avoid last place in this tough-as-nails district.
Tomorrow: My picks for this week's games.
Posted by at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
More "Sack Zach" news and 5-2A predictions
August 25, 2009Before I examine 5-2A, I promised an update on the "Sack Zach" pick-em competition we're doing this year.
Here's the deal. Each week, you'll pick the winner of 10 games going on in the area. The person/people who get the most winners, gets a T-shirt each week.
And they're pretty cool. Saw them today -- they're black with the words "Football Freak" on the front.
Every weekend I'll post the results (probably Sunday afternoon) and get in touch with the winners. You'll also see how you stacked up against me.
Whoever picks the most games right for the entire year will win something else. Don't know what yet, but I'm sure we can provide some sort of gift certificate or something. To win this, you'll want to make sure you choose each week's games.
To pick the games, go to our website -- www.timesrecordnews.com -- and you 'll also have to set up an account (which is free of course) with the selection program we're using.
This should be up and running hopefull by Wednesday. At worst, it'll be good to go Thursday morning. And one of the games is WFHS-Boswell that night, so you'll want to make your picks Thursday so you can get that game in.
Now onto 5-2A:
1) Holliday -- This is an yeasy pick. It's not to say that Henrietta, Bowie and the others will hand over the title easily. But I think the Eagles, ranked No. 7 in 2A, will be better than last year when they went 10-0.
There are just too many weapons, starting with Tyler Cole, who will see a few more carries come his way at RB. Tyler Jolly, Chris Sadberry, Colton Englishbee, the entire o-line back. It just seems like Holliday will be very, very tough to beat.
2) Bowie -- Henrietta and Bowie waged a great 5-2A game last year, with the Bearcats pullint it out in the end. I expect the same competitive contest again, with the home team barely winning again. I still don't know who Bowie will be using at QB against Boyd -- Coach Castles likes to be very slick that way -- but whoever it is, it'll be someone who is good. I guess I'm going with Bowie over Henrietta because I think it might have more playmakers.
3) Henrietta -- But Henrietta might have the best playmaker of them all in Seth Crumpton. He's a great player who is fun to watch. In the football tab preview section that comes out Wednesday (go pick it up -- it'll be worth it), one of the topics mentioned is how great the 5-2A QBs will be. The Bearcats will be your typical Bearcats -- a great scrappy defense, a good offense, great special teams. If someone else steps up with Crumpton in the backfield, then a district title could be a decent possibility.
4) Olney -- It would only slightly surprise me if Olney made the playoffs. Why? Because I honestly feel like Callen Pittman is too good only to take the Cubs to the playoffs once. He was close in '07 and didn't play in '08 because of a torn ACL. I hear he's looking good, and Olney also has a bunch of impact guys coming back. Consider the Cubs my 5-2A sleeper.
5) Nocona -- I expect the Indians to be solid just like they were last year. But can they get over the hump? Nocona, if you remember, got off to a 4-0 start (with a win over Callisburg that looks even more impressive now than it did then) but lost badly in its last non-district game, then couldn't beat Holliday, Olney or Bowie right in the middle of district. Maybe this team can get back to the playoffs, but it's a tough district. Also, Nocona is the only team breaking in a new starting QB (Pittman doesn't count).
6) City View -- I hear the Mustangs are getting better, which is good. Hopefully they'll pull out a couple of non-district wins against Chico and Electra or Perrin-Whitt. But they lost by an average of 31 points to 5-2A schools last year, and I can't see them winning a district game this time around.
Posted by at 7:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
5-3A predictions
August 24, 2009We're at the second installment of my district predictions.
But before we look at District 5-3A, I promised more info on "Sack Zach," a pick-em contest that we're doing via the TRN website.
Well, a meeting is scheduled tomorrow to hammer out the details, so I have no new updates. Check out the blog Tuesday night, and you'll get answers.
Now onto 5-3A:
First, I think this is the most up-in-the-air district by far. There's no clear-cut winner, first off.
The top three teams in 2009 (Bridgeport, Burkburnett, Vernon) probably lost more than any other team. And the bottom three are expected to be much-improved.
I can honestly see five different teams having a legit shot at the postseason, and if Hirschi keeps on improving, you could make it six.
Given that, here are my picks that will appear in the tab section:
1) Bridgeport -- They lost a ton of offensive players, but may have the district's best defensive guy in Blake Waldrep. They lost their QB, but the new one has the same last name as the coach. That's proven to not be a bad thing through the years.
2) Iowa Park -- Why would I choose a team that went 1-9 last year as this year's runner-up? In this district this year, why not? The Hawks have a very talented backfield, most of their line back and they gave Vernon and Decatur good games last year. Even Burkburnett was close for a while.
3) Burkburnett -- I think when Dalke left, Burkburnett made the right choice going with Scott Boswell. The Bulldogs shouldn't miss a beat because of it. They will miss Jay Gould and the Beaches, but I have a feeling people will step up at the skill positions. And Lorenzo Barnes is a dominant force on the line. The defense will be very good again. If you flop IP and Burk, I'd be fine with that too.
4) Vernon -- Don't count out the Lions. They made the playoffs last year even though the offense averaged 18 points a game. No more Whitesides are around, but Coach Hall does a great job and gets the most out of his team.
5) Decatur -- I might have given the Eagles a higher spot if QB Tim Metts hadn't gone to Bowie (from what I heard, he wasn't going to be allowed to play anyway at Decatur). The Eagles will bounce back and could even make the playoffs. Just goes to show you how crazy this district can be.
6) Hirschi -- I'm not even comfortable the Huskies will finish here, but they have lost 17 straight games, so it's hard to rank Hirschi higher than this now. But they are better right this moment than they were at this point a year ago. I guess we'll see.
A couple years ago (2006), this district was a mess. Burk looked to have the title sewn up, Graham looked to be out, then Hirschi upsets the Bulldogs to get in and Graham wins out; eliminating Burk from the mix. It was crazy. That's what I think will happen here again too.
Posted by at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
5-4A predictions
August 23, 2009Alright, here we go. The season kicks off in only four days, so it is the perfect time to look at my district previews.
Full disclosure: This is how I voted in our TRN football preview section that comes out Wednesday. By the way, if you enjoy reading about area high school football, I strongly suggest picking up a copy.
Anyway, here's my 5-4A predictions:
1. Denton Guyer -- No surprise that the No. 2 team in 4A is the pick to win 5-4A. They have one of the best defensive players in Texas (Taylor Bible), a stud tailback in Jaimaine Wilhite and a top-notch QB in J.W. Walsh.
2. Denton Ryan -- If Guyer doesn't win 5-4A, it'll be Ryan doing so. Scotty Young threw for 65 TDs a year ago and is going to Tech. The defense will probably be better, and Ryan is always a tough out, even in down seasons.
3. Rider -- Maybe Coach Ponder's best coaching job was in 2005, when Blake Szymanski and David Nelson had just left. It was the year before the Beaver/Thompson/Ward trio arrived. The Raiders won the district title that year.
I could see this group flying under the radar like that one. It may not always be pretty, but Rider still has some key defensive players (Mason Deerinwater, for one), a pretty good RB in Paul Mason and a QB who got some much-needed experience last year in Malcolm Carter.
4. Lake Dallas -- If Scotty Young in the best QB in this district, then the Falcons' James Franklin is right behind him. His numbers -- 2,641 passing yards, 23 TDs; 1,151 rushing yards, 18 TDs -- are sick. He lost some skill guys around him, but I think Lake Dallas gets the job done. The Rider-Lake Dallas game may be the most important one because whoever wins will likely have an easier playoff route.
5. WFHS -- Maybe the Coyotes can prove me wrong and go to the playoffs in Lavender's first year. They did that in Pride's first year in 2005, but this district is tougher now. Chris Anderson did a pretty nice job at QB last year, but they'll have to stay healthy and play well in a couple key games where they will be underdogs.
6. The Colony -- The Cougars are a decent team (who did lose a key RB from last year) that might make the playoffs in other districts, But not this one. The best I can see is another fifth-place finish like last year.
7. Little Elm -- They just need to improve on their 1-9 record from last year.
8. Denton -- They just need to improve on their 0-10 record from last year. What used to be a pretty good program has struggled a lot lately.
Posted by at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Can you sack Zach???
August 22, 2009No, not actually sack me. That would hurt.
I'm not very elusive anyway, and since I've had three knee surguries from sports-related injuries, I'd rather avoid any physical contact.
I just wanted to give everyone a heads-up on a pick-em high school football contest we're putting on called "Sack Zach." I'll have more concrete details hopefully on Monday, but here's the deal.
Basically, each week I'll choose 8-10 games -- probably all three city teams and the most competitive or hardest-to-choose area games.
Then I'll make my picks and anyone on the website can make theirs. Like I said, the details haven't been worked out yet, but maybe whoever gets the most right each week gets a small prize (most likely a First and TRN T-shirt).
And whoever picks the most right during the entire season will get something worthwhile, I can assure you.
We'll have more of this straightened out soon, but you'll be able to pick the games by the middle of the week and then keep track of how you're doing.
I'll be picking the same games too, so you can chart your progress against mine (hopefully I won't get embarassed by this, but I usually do a decent job picking games).
Also, starting Sunday I'll be giving you my predictions on the major districts -- 5-4A, 5-3A, 5-2A and 9-A -- once every day.
And also tune into NBC's Sports Sunday tomorrow night, where Ricardo and I will be breaking down the high school football season.
Posted by at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Three weeks to watch for
August 21, 2009It's hard to believe the season is less than a week away. Once it starts, it seems like it can go by pretty fast.
Looking at the 2009 master schedule, there are three weeks where the matchups look even more tantalizing than the others.
Those are the weeks where I wish we had another couple writers to send to area games.
In my opinion, here they are:
Week Two (Sept. 11)
The docket: Sulphur Springs at Rider; WFHS at Denison; Burkburnett at Graham; Holliday at Iowa Park; Windthorst at Olney.
Thoughts: There are a couple more games involving only one area team that also look good -- Argyle at Vernon is one of them. You have one city team (Rider) playing a defending state champ, and another (WFHS) playing a Top 5 4A squad. Burk-Graham is an old district rivalry, Holliday-IP should be entertaining and so should Windthorst-Olney.
Week Six (Oct. 9)
The area docket: Bridgeport at Burkburnett; Iowa Park at Decatur; Henrietta at Bowie; Olney at Holliday; Archer CIty at Windthorst and Seymour at Munday.
Thoughts: The city games leave a little to be desired (Little Elm at WFHS; Rider at The Colony; Hirschi at Vernon), but this is the best area slate of the year (and it happens to be my sister-in-law's wedding weekend). There's a couple really good 9-A rivalries (AC-Windy and Seymour-Munday); Burk-Bridgeport was for the 5-3A title last year and Henrietta-Bowie was great last year. Holliday-Olney may not end up being too exciting, but the two teams have played some thrilling matches through the years.
Week Nine (Oct. 30)
The docket: Iowa Park at Burkburnett; Decatur at Vernon; Abilene Wylie at Graham; Bowie at Nocona; Henrietta at Holliday; Archer City at Munday.
Thoughts: Again, the three city games may not be thrillers, but I think a lot of these area showdowns will determine district titles and playoff spots. IP-Burk rarely disappoints, and last year Vernon-Decatur was for a playoff spot. Wylie-Graham could very well determine the 2-3A champ, and Henrietta-Holliday could do the same for 5-2A. Plus, I think whoever wins AC-Munday will grab the last 9-A playoff spot. And Bowie-Nocona is a renewed rivalry which has Nocona's Brad Keck going against the team he took to the playoffs last year.
Just talking about these weeks gets me excited for high school football season.
Posted by at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Holliday, Seymour crack AP Top 10 Poll
August 20, 2009Congrats to Holliday and Seymour, who both made the Preseason AP Top 10 released today.
The Eagles tied with last year's 2A state champ Muleshoe for 7th in the 2A poll.
Seymour was No. 8 in the Class A poll. Graham also received a couple 3A votes.
Here's the full version of the AP poll. A couple things I noticed:
* Class A had the most different teams with first-place votes. Six -- 1. Cayuga, Albany, Quinlan Boles, Alto, Canadian and Stratford each had at least one.
* 2A was the most decisive. Daingerfield got 24 of the 25 first-place votes. Bushland got the other.
* WFHS will play three of the top five teams in 4A this year: Denton Guyer (2t.), Denison (No. 4) and Everman (No. 5).
* Rider plays the toughest team -- 5A Cedar Hill, ranked No. 3, comes to town the first Friday in September.
Class 5A
Team Rec Pts Pvs
1. Katy (14) 13-3 230 -
2. Allen (8) 15-1 229 5
3. Cedar Hill (2) 12-2 177 -
4. Galena Park North Shore 9-1 112 2
5. SA Madison 9-3 102 -
6. Euless Trinity (1) 13-1 86 1
7. Southlake Carroll 8-3 80 -
8. Dallas Skyline 12-2 71 -
9. Fort Bend Hightower 13-1 55 7
9. Odessa Permian 12-1 55 4
Others receiving votes: Lufkin 49, Round Rock Stony Point 46, Garland 46, Abilene 9, DeSoto 8, Smithson Valley 5, Copperas Cove 4, Odessa 3, Wylie 3, Klein Oak 3, Pearland 1, Arlington Bowie 1.
Class 4A
Team Rec Pts Pvs
1. Longview (17) 13-3 239 5
2. Lake Travis (5) 16-0 194 1
2. Denton Guyer (2) 12-3 194 -
4. Denison (1) 12-1 163 -
5. Everman 14-1 145 2
6. Dallas Highland Park 11-2 88 9
7. Schertz Steele 10-2 85 -
8. Dallas Carter 12-1 67 4
9. Hewitt Midway 12-2 42 7
10. Aledo 11-1 38 3
Others receiving votes: Wolfforth Frenship 23, Sulphur Springs 23, Brenham 16, Ennis 15, Texarkana 9, Dayton 8, Angleton 7, Abilene Cooper 6, Friendswood 4, CC Calallen 4, Texas City 2, Killeen 1, FW Dunbar 1, Kerrville Tivy 1.
Class 3A
Team Rec Pts Pvs
1. Gilmer (19) 12-2 243 5
2. Carthage (3) 14-2 209 -
3. Celina (3) 12-4 197 -
4. West Orange-Stark 10-1 155 3
5. Giddings 11-4 115 -
6. Bellville 12-2 82 -
7. Abilene Wylie 11-3 75 7
8. Wimberley 5-5 72 -
9. Prosper 14-1 65 9
10. Cuero 11-2 47 8
Others receiving votes: China Spring 28, Liberty Hill 27, Navasota 16, Rockdale 14, Cleveland 11, Monahans 6, Van 4, Graham 2, Bridgeport 1, Paris 1, Brownwood 1, Texarkana Pleasant Grove 1, Mexia 1, Tatum 1, Bandera 1.
Class 2A
Team Rec Pts Pvs
1. Daingerfield (24) 15-1 249 8
2. Arp 11-1 196 4
3. Bushland (1) 10-1 159 9
4. Kirbyville 13-1 126 2
5. Altair Rice 12-1 121 6
6. Refugio 13-1 90 1
7. Muleshoe 15-0 87 3
7. Holliday 10-1 87 -
9. Omaha Pewitt 9-3 48 -
10. Newton 9-4 44 -
Others receiving votes: Boyd 40, Cisco 36, Pilot Point 21, Lone Oak 20, Clyde 17, Blanco 11, Crane 9, Winnsboro 6, New Waverly 3, Kerens 1, Littlefield 1, Jefferson 1, Grandview 1, Troy 1.
Class 1A
Team Rec Pts Pvs
1. Cayuga (18) 13-3 231 -
2. Albany (1) 14-1 174 -
3. Quinlan Boles (1) 13-1 153 6
4. Alto (2) 8-4 144 -
5. Wellington 11-1 137 -
6. Canadian (1) 13-1 117 8
7. Stratford (2) 14-1 82 5
8. Seymour 8-4 72 -
9. Goldthwaite 10-2 59 -
10. Ganado 9-4 58 -
Others receiving votes: New Deal 55, Mart 22, Mason 20, Falls City 20, Iraan 9, Roscoe 6, Lovelady 5, Shiner 5, Chilton 4, Sundown 2.
Posted by at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
This is pretty cool
August 19, 2009I promised a blog every day until the season kicks off Thursday night.
We're in the single digits now, by the way. I got pretty busy working on things for the preview section (which comes out next Wednesday by the way and will be pretty cool), so I did not post this until after midnight.
But don't worry. Two blog posts will go up today (with a lot of sleep in between).
I stumbled across this link and thought it was pretty cool.
It looks like the UL is celebrating 100 years in 2009-10, so they are having ballots for people to pick their all-century teams in football, volleyball, basketball, track and baseball.
There's a few area names on the football list, and I saw a couple Windthorst volleyball people on that ballot.
Voting is open until the end of football and volleyball season. Here's the link if you want to vote now or at least check it out:
http://www.uil100.org/vote.php
Posted by at 12:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Perfect preseasons?
August 17, 2009One goal of every team is to go undefeated during the season, but that rarely happens.
With the 2009 season a mere 10 days away, I thought we could look at which teams have the best chance to emerge from non-district with a perfect mark.
I have divided my predictions into four categories: Liking their chances; Pretty decent chance; If lots of things go right; and Not likely at all. I also mention a game or games that could do each area squad in.
Here we go:
LIKING THEIR CHANCES
Holliday -- The Eagles have won their last 10 non-district games (last loss came in 2006 season opener to Windthorst). The Trojans and Iowa Park should be their two hardest games, but I expect them to run the table. And I'm sure Coach Wolf does, too.
PRETTY DECENT CHANCE
Henrietta -- To me, it all comes down to Paradise. The Bearcats should beat Petrolia, Chico and Jacksboro (they did last year). Pottsboro is nowhere near as experienced as in 2008, so the Paradise game is the determining factor. And these two teams always play very competitive games.
Seymour -- Hamlin, City View and Ralls don't worry me. If Seymour plays well, I think it beats Jacksboro. That means the only team left is Olney, which should be a pretty good game. The Cubs have won this one each of the last two years, but both were close.
IF LOTS OF THINGS GO RIGHT
Burkburnett -- The Bulldogs did so last year, but this is a much younger team. Sweetwater and Gainesville are games they are probably favored in, but road games at Argyle and Graham will be very tough.
Olney -- This may sound weird, but I can see the Cubs pulling this one off. Coleman and Jacksboro are not as good as last season. They beat Seymour, and with Pittman back, Windthorst and Munday should be competitive games. I am not saying it will happen, but it might. And I will reference this blog post if it does.
Nocona -- There are some decent Class A teams that Nocona beat a combined 112-15 last season. Callisburg will be pretty tough (although that game got easier once QB Thor Long transferred back to Sherman) and Paradise beat the Indians by 34 points last year. They need to win both of those.
Bowie -- For the record, I think Bowie will be (at least right now) better than Olney and Nocona. At least that is what I think right now. But the Jackrabbits have a very difficult non-district schedule, starting with a ranked Boyd squad. Paradise and 3A Van Alstyne both will be tough ones, too.
Quanah -- Again, this is a reach. Among Anson, Munday and Haskell, one of those games will probably be a loss. But none is so obvious that the Indians go in the bottom category.
Archer City -- Lindsay is real good this year (they played two pretty competitive games a year ago against the Wildcats), plus Haskell and Tolar are better than a year ago. So the Wildcats will be hard-pressed to repeat a perfect non-district.
Windthorst -- The Trojans always have a hard schedule. They played 2A Canadian the first year they won state in 2006. Even if they knock off Holliday, Lindsay, Stamford, Olney or even Alvord could be a loss. None are shoo-ins, just like Coach Green likes it.
NOT LIKELY AT ALL
Rider -- The Raiders didn't win a district game last season, and they had a much more dangerous team. Maybe Sulphur Springs and Tyler John Tyler are winnable home games, but Rider opens with Class 5A power Cedar Hill.
WFHS -- Old High took some lumps last season. They have to adjust to a new coaching staff and play 4A Top 10 teams Everman and Denison, who beat the Coyotes by a combined 86-28 last year.
Hirschi -- There are a couple games the Huskies could win, but 4A Springtown on the road is not one of them. Holliday and Clyde are very strong 2A schools, too. Plus, what are the odds a team who has lost 17 straight opens up with five wins?
Iowa Park -- I think the Hawks will be pretty good this year, but the schedule is just too hard. Argyle, Childress, Holliday, Graham and Robinson are all favored to make the playoffs this year.
Vernon -- State-ranked Abilene Wylie is right off the bat. Even if the Lions win that one -- and with lots of young guys, I do not see it happening -- they still have to beat Argyle and Clyde.
City View -- It has won two games in five seasons. Enough said.
Jacksboro -- The Tigers play a gauntlet of solid area teams in non-district. They go up against possibly the four toughest 5-2A teams (Holliday, Henrietta, Bowie, Olney) plus a good Seymour squad. With low numbers and not many experienced starters, I cannot see 5-0.
Electra -- The Tigers have gone 1-19 the past two seasons. They play Holliday the second week. They should be better than last season, but those first two points pretty much sums it up.
Munday -- The Moguls are going to be pretty decent (real raw on the o-line, pretty skilled at the other positions) but there is not one guaranteed win on here among Stamford, Haskell, Jim Ned, Quanah and Olney. I am thinking Coach Corcoran would be real pleased with a winning record.
Petrolia -- Lindsay and Henrietta look like the hardest games. Even if the Pirates are much-improved, I cannot see them winning these ones.
Posted by at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Scrimmage stories
August 16, 2009I didn't make it out to see Holliday and Burkburnett scrimmage Saturday morning.
The 5-month-old baby boy made sure of that.
But I talked to a couple coaches over the weekend, and heard some other things from around the area.
It sounded like Iowa Park really looked good against Bowie. IP coach Chris Ellis told me his defense kept the Jackrabbits out of the end zone too.
Last year, it was Bowie who whipped IP. I thought at the time that that was a good sign for Bowie and a bad one for the Hawks.
I think IP has a pretty good chance to make the playoffs in a wide-open 5-3A race, and this helps confirm it. However, I don't think it's a bad sign for Bowie.
Coach Castles is still trying to find out who his QB is, and where best to utilize his skill kids. Plus, a good 3A school is supposed to beat a good 2A school, right. I'm sure the Jackrabbits will get things figured out the next few weeks.
Also, Burkburnett played well against Holliday. The Burk starters outscored Holliday's starters, 2-1, in three drives each.
Again, it's a good sign for Burkburnett. And Holliday won't probably play a team as strong or quick as the Bulldogs all year long. They held their own, and Coach Boswell told me he was impressed with the Eagles.
Another thing -- Olney looked pretty good against Archer City. If Callen Pittman is back to 100 percent like Coach Rodriguez says he is, I'm not surprised.
What other surprises/good things happened over the weekend in scrimmages?
Posted by at 9:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Best area teams I've covered
August 15, 2009After covering high school football for the last five years, I've seen a lot of very good teams and a few bad ones.
Fortunately for me, I usually get to pick what I feel like is the best area game every week to cover, so there's not many times I actually watch a 0-10 or 1-9 team play.
But enough about that. What are the top five area teams I've covered over the past five seasons?
In coming up with the list, I considered how dominant a team was from wire-to-wire. So Vernon, which went to the 3A semifinals in 2006 but lost six times, didn't make the cut because they struggled some during the season. So keep that in mind.
Here they are, with a few more honorable mentions included:
1) Munday (2007: 15-0) -- Only state championship title team I have covered. The Moguls also had the best small-school defensive line I have seen. They allowed 39 rushing yards per game in the playoffs. Something like 0.8 yards per carry. That's nuts.
2) Windthorst (2006: 14-1) -- The Trojans lost in the title game to Chilton. I still don't know how Chilton dominated the trenches like it did. Windthorst's o-line had been dominant all year long. The Trojans scored only 10 points, way below their average.
3) Windthorst (2005: 14-1) -- It can be said the Trojans were actually closer to winning a state title this year instead of in 2006. That's because they had Stratford beat but couldn't score on a QB sneak to win the game. Stratford won the Class A title the next week. Also, I consider this Coach Green's best coaching job since I've been around. In Brad's junior year, he had lost lots of skill players the year before and Brian Hoff didn't emerge until the next year.
4) Henrietta (2004: 12-2) -- Lost to eventual 2A state champ Boyd twice, and last time the Bearcats let a possible win slip away in state semifinals. They had a great defense, an above-average passing game and the speed/strength combo in the backfield.
5 tie). Seymour (2007: 10-4) and Holliday (2004: 11-3) -- Couldn't decide between the two. Leaving a state championship qualifer off didn't feel right, but not including a Holliday team felt wrong too.
Seymour lost to Munday, a 14-win Cisco team, a really good Olney team and Alto in the title game. I still would have liked to seen that outcome if Hayden Holub doesn't get hurt in the first quarter. The Panthers might not have won, but it would have been really close.
This Holliday squad road the legs of Colin Leggett to the quarterfinals, where Canadian nipped them by one point. Their line was great, and the defense was very solid, too.
Honorable mention (in no real order):
* Archer City (2008: 12-1) -- Had all the qualities of a great team: stingy defense, game-changing RB, good lines, quality quarterback
* Holliday (2006: 12-2) -- I remember this team really jelled late and made a run to the quarterfinals that was somewhat a surprise, at least to me. I knew they were good, but Holliday crushed everyone in district and became great in the playoffs.
* Vernon (2006: 9-6) -- Anytime a team makes a run to the state semis, they deserve lots of props. This was the Aston-Whiteside-is-a-beast playoff run.
* Vernon (2007: 12-2) -- After losing Whiteside, the Lions made a run to the state quarterfinals behind QB Darien Williams. A very good team that flew under the radar for a while.
* Windthorst (2004: 12-3) -- Don't be fooled by the record. Brad Green missed the first three games with a broken collarbone (the Trojans were also without a couple other key starters) and the team went 1-2 in his absence. This group also lost a narrow decision to Stratford in the state semis.
Posted by at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Scrimmages and the flu
August 14, 2009Tomorrow is the first day high school teams can scrimmage, and I'm sure everyone will be doing so (with the exception of Rider, which started a week late).
Some of the intriguing ones I'd like to find out what happened: Holliday-Bowie (may try to make it out there), Bowie-Iowa Park and Windthorst-Nocona.
There's actually another team that won't be scrimmaging, and that's Munday.
Why? Because practice has been shut down since Tuesday afternoon because of the flu.
Eight of Coach Corcoran's 38 players (varsity and JV combined) have gotten sick since two-a-days started. He had two varsity OL healthy Tuesday.
There's no way of knowing if it's swine flu or not. According to Corcoran, when the clinic where the tests were taken looked into getting them sent off to be tested for swine flu, the place said to not even bother. Just treat the kids.
Corcoran said the kids are getting better and practice will start back up on Monday, but this is concerning for two reasons.
From the Moguls' perspective, they have lots of guys who'd they like to see get lots of work on the OL (they might start thre sophomores there). So for these guys missing a week of practice and a scrimmage, it won't help them get ready for the season.
In the bigger picture, this is scary for any football team in this area. Health officials are already predicting a worse flu season because of the swine flu. Imagine your team getting ready for a make-or-break district game, and a ton of kids get sick the week before.
High school kids that play football are in good health, so I wouldn't assume any football player would get really, really ill. But we might see some small-school teams having to forfieit or at least bring up the JV to fill out a starting lineup.
It's something that is at least worth keeping an eye on this fall.
Posted by at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Best regular season games last 5 years
August 13, 2009In two weeks from tonight, the high school football season begins.
I'm sure many athletes would like for it to begin today. And I'm sure many coaches, who are still tinkering with personnel and basics, wish it was a little longer away.
Yesterday, I mentioned the best playoff games I have seen in my five years on the area beat. Today's topic is the best regular season games I have covered.
However, I could not come up with a clear-cut top five. A lot were about the same excitement-wise. So I decided to list a bunch (in order of the year they were played) that I remember pretty well.
And remember, these were only games I covered. Henrietta-Electra In 2005 that went 4 OTs would obviously have made the grade, but I was not there. I am sure I missed a bunch of other great games because I was somewhere else.
Here's the list:
2004
Holliday 22, Windthorst 14 -- Resilient comeback by Trojans (who were missing Brad Green and a couple others) but last, lengthy drive stalled inside Holliday's 10-yard line.
Graham 38, Birdville 32 (OT) -- I remember Jeremy Louder threw a long TD pass on a trick play in the last minute to tie it, and Graham scored first then held in OT.
Henrietta 23, Childress 20 -- This was when you knew Henrietta was going to be very good. Cody Jackson led brilliant two-minute drill on the road, sparking a Bearcat comeback.
Henrietta 10, Holliday 0 -- Pure smashmouth. It poured the whole day of the game, and Henrietta bottled up Colin Leggett like no other team did that year.
2005
Windthorst 14, Holliday 6 -- Brad Green, playing with messed-up shoulder, seals game with big-time TD run.
Olney 24, Paradise 20 -- Remember the Cowboys' Thanksgiving game when Leon Lett touched the ball after a blocked field goal, and Miami got a second chance and won it. Some Paradise kid didn't. That is what happened here, and QB Rue Rogers tossed a TD pass in the final seconds to win it.
Holliday 24, Olney 20 -- Olney was in control early, Holliday came back. Then Olney fumbled a QB sneak on the 1-yard line that would have won it.
Windthorst 9, Alvord 7 -- Trojans win district title on last-minute field goal.
2006
Burkburnett 24, Vernon 21 (OT) -- Spoon Horn made a couple huge TD passes for Burkburnett, and Vernon misses last-second field goal in regulation, then turns it over in OT.
2007
Graham 29, Abilene Wylie 23 -- Case McCoy threw four INTs, including two that were cashed in for 14 points. But he also led a spirited comeback against a very tough Bulldog squad.
Graham 27, Burkburnett 19 -- Just a fun game between two teams who already were looking forward to the playoffs. Fog came rolling in, and the game got really weird late.
2008
Holliday 37, Bowie 27 -- Seems like I covered a lot of blowouts the few weeks before this game. This one did not disappoint as Tyler Cole had a big night.
Holliday 10, Henrietta 7 -- You could probably list every Henrietta-Holliday game the past few years. The Eagles clinched district on a late field goal.
Are there any games other people saw in the last five years that deserve mentioning? Remember, these are just the games I covered.
Posted by at 9:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Best area playoff games I've seen
August 12, 2009Only 15 days to go until the 2009 high school football season kicks off. Scrimmages start this weekend.
Last weekend my wife and I celebrated our five-year wedding anniversary. It has also been five years since I started covering the area high school football beat for the paper.
So it's a perfect time to look at some five-year highlights I have witnessed.
Today's topic: The best five playoff football games I have seen since 2004.
Keep in mind I cover the area teams, so I never witnessed some of Rider's really exciting playoff matchups.
Also, I obviously didn't cover every area game (had my gallbladder removed right before Windthorst-Goldthwaite in 2006; I'm sure that one would have made the list if I had been there).
And blowout games don't count. All of these had to be intense even to the neutral observer. Here is the list:
1. 2005 Class A state semifinals: Stratford 21, Windthorst 17 -- This one came down the last play where Windthorst QB Brad Green was stopped on a sneak on the 1-yard line. It had it all. The Trojans soared out to a 17-0 lead at the half, and Stratford converted every crucial play down the stretch (three fourth-down conversions, if I remember correctly, on the game-winning drive). And Green orchestrated a tremendous 2-minute drive. Stratford won the state title the next week.
2. 2004 Class 2A bi-district: Holliday 35, Spearman 28 (2OT) -- It's every kid's dream to play football in a snowstorm. About four inches of snow pummeled Canyon during the game, and it was a great game to top it off. Holliday made a great comeback in the second half behind QB Zach Stewart, who threw the ball better in that blizzard than he did in any other game that season. Spearman scored first in the first OT and their botched PAT led to a two-point conversion. So Holliday had to score and go for two. It was snowing so hard, you could not even see the yard lines.
3. 2007 Class A regionals: Munday 35, Roscoe 27 -- The Moguls scored 14 points before Roscoe even touched the ball. And they needed all of those points. This one had it all: tons of turnovers (I think Roscoe had 6 or 7), lots of crazy plays, big momentum swings, a little controversy and it came down to the wire. Munday wound up winning the state title that year.
4. 2004 Class A bi-district: Stratford 40, Quanah 35 -- This one was the night before the Holliday game snowstorm. That weekend also was my first playoff weekend working for the paper. Henrietta played before this game, so it didn't start until after 9 p.m. I remember two things: whoever had the ball last was going to win, and this one ended after midnight. I remember sending my story 3 minutes after the game -- it was pretty frantic in the Dick Bivins pressbox as I tried to make final deadline. I ran into Coach McDaniel at this year's state track meet, and we talked about how thrilling this game was.
5. 2004 Class 2A state semifinals: Boyd 32, Henrietta 22 -- The more I think about it, the more I realize how great the 2004 area playoffs were. Windthorst's first loss to Stratford in the state semis easily could have taken this spot. The Bearcats, who lost to Boyd by at least 40 points earlier in the year, were one half away from their first state title game. They had peaked as the playoffs had progressed, and played brilliantly against Boyd, who would win state the next week. Boyd tacked on a late TD in this game. Right before it, Henrietta was moving the ball with a few minutes left before an iffy fumble did it in. It was very exciting.
Honorable mention
* 2004 Class A state semis: Stratford 34, Windthorst 31 - The first of two great meetings, Stratford held off an exciting Trojan rally.
* 2008 Class A area: Archer City 38, Roscoe 27 - Very similar to the Munday-Roscoe game. Turnovers and big plays (although not as many quirky ones in the Munday-Roscoe game) tilted the outcome Archer City's way.
* 2008 Class 2A bidistrict: Merkel 34, Holliday 28 -- Merkel made a great comeback to end Holliday's 10-0 season prematurely. There were some great individual performances in this one.
* 2008 Class A state quarterfinals: Albany 14, Archer CIty 7 -- Pure smashmouth football at its best.
Posted by at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Six-Man rankings come out
August 11, 2009When I started writing for the paper a few years ago, there were only a handful of 6-Man teams in the area.
Since then the list of teams that have dropped down is pretty long: Throckmorton, Crowell, Knox City, Saint Jo. Then schools like Byers, Gold-Burg and Forestburg started up programs from scratch.
So now about 2/5 of our coverage towns play 6-Man. They don't often get a lotta love -- except during state title runs or when Throckmorton wins a 102-100 game like last year.
We'll give them some blogging love today, though. Let's look at some 6-Man state rankings (courtesy of sixmanfootball.com):
Division I (out of 64 schools total)
No. 7 Throckmorton
No. 15 Crowell
No. 23 Northside
No. 26 Newcastle
No. 44 Knox City
Thoughts: It's hard to not respect Throckmorton every year. The Greyhounds won the 2005 title (the last year when 6-Man was one division) and they're always in the mix. No more Hogus go to school there, but a guy named Michael Everett is a quality player. Northside still should be good, but they will miss Colby White. Crowell had a few good players last year, so if any of those stuck around, the Wildcats could be in the mix. Paducah, the other team in this district, is picked No. 8. So get your tickets for Paducah-Throckmorton quick, because I hear they're going fast.
Division II (out of 61 teams)
No. 26 Benjamin
No. 28 Bryson
No. 38 Chillicothe
No. 42 Gold-Burg
No. 45 Forestburg
No. 61 Byers
Thoughts: One of these last three mentioned will make the playoffs in a four-team district, then will play No. 2 Highland right off the bat. Benjamin could make the playoffs too. Last year, we our 6-Man teams went 0-4 in the playoffs, so maybe we're headed for another down year for the small, small towns.
Posted by at 9:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tidbits around area teams
August 10, 2009The second week of two-a-days began today, which means things are starting to take shape at several area football camps.
It's now 17 days until the season starts, too.
I haven't spoken to a ton of area coaches, but here's a note or two I've picked up from the ones I have talked to:
*Graham -- A funny story I got from down there last week. A couple of weeks ago, Coach McCoy held a youth football camp in Graham. Colt and a few UT guys showed up for it, and one night they took on Graham's guys in a 7-on-7. The Steers made a deep run in last month's tournament.
Anyway, Jordan Shipley was running and some Graham kid stuck out his leg and tripped the star UT receiver. Before Shipley could destroy the kid, I heard Colt stepped in and took care of things. That kid would have been in some big trouble if Shipley would have gotten hurt.
* Seymour -- I still stand by the fact that Seymour probably isn't the No. 5 team in the state (which is what Texas Football said). But I'm liking Seymour more after talking to Coach Smart. It sounds like Seymour won't be going through 4 QBs, moving guys around as much this year. Right now, Aaron Barton is going to probably be the QB, and Tarrington Rivers the RB. Hunter Brooks moves to WR.
* Olney -- Coach Rodriguez said Callen Pittman looks 100 percent and is showing no signs of the ACL surgery he had last year. Rodriguez is more worried about the injury than Pittman is, he said.
* Henrietta -- Also, Seth Crumpton is looking better than ever, I was told from Coach West. What a big year in store for 5-2A quarterbacks.
*Bowie -- Speaking of quarterbacks, Josh Castles has a tough choice to make. Tyler Price was the man last year, but the job is open now because Tim Metts came over Decatur, where he started the last two years. Whoever doesn't get it will find another place on the field.
*Archer City -- Coach Smith said Albany, who beat the Wildcats in the state quarterfinals last year, will be even better this time around. That's bad news, because somebody from 9-A will run into them the week after the bye. Smith will also be more involved on the defensive side since DC Brad Keck left for Nocona. They hired a replacement (Blake Crutsinger, who was at Nocona and Notre Dame before that), but no one that had the credentials to be a coordinator.
*Windthorst -- Coach Green likes this team and think the Trojans will be better than they have been since 2006. They could also start three sophomores in the backfield.
*Munday -- Only one lineman returns (Blanford Paul) and he started on varsity for only half a season.
It seems like line play is unproven/a concern is a few places: Olney, Archer City and Bowie have the same question marks.
Posted by at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
All-time football playoff stats
August 9, 2009Days until the high school football season starts: 18.
Blogs until then:18.
This one will be about all-time playoff records. I saw this on a 3A football website the other day, and thought it was very interesting.
Here's a look at our area teams (the number before represents category ranking):
MOST PLAYOFF WINS
17. Wichita Falls 57-34-3 :: 0.6223 :: 40 playoff appearances
33. Vernon 47-27-2 :: 0.6316 :: 30 playoff appearances
78. Windthorst 35-17-0 :: 0.6731 :: 19 playoff appearances
MOST PLAYOFF APPEARANCES
6. Wichita Falls 57-34-3 :: 0.6223 :: 40 playoff appearances
33. Holliday 30-31-2 :: 0.4921 :: 32 playoff appearances
48. Vernon 47-27-2 :: 0.6316 :: 30 playoff appearances
PLAYOFF WIN PERCENTAGE
11. Throckmorton 16-4-1 :: 0.7857 :: 10 playoff appearances
32. Petrolia 10-4-0 :: 0.7143 :: 5 playoff appearances
56. Newcastle 13-6-1 :: 0.675 :: 9 playoff appearances
60. Windthorst 35-17-0 :: 0.6731 :: 19 playoff appearances
MOST WINS PER PLAYOFF APPEARANCE
26. Petrolia 2 wins per appearance :: 10-4-0 :: 0.7143 :: 5 playoff appearances
49. Windthorst 1.84 wins per appearance :: 35-17-0 :: 0.6731 :: 19 playoff appearances
88. Munday 1.6 wins per appearance :: 32-18-0 :: 0.64 :: 20 playoff appearances
89. Throckmorton 1.6 wins per appearance :: 16-4-1 :: 0.7857 :: 10 playoff appearances
96. Iowa Park 1.57 wins per appearance :: 30-17-4 :: 0.6275 :: 19 playoff appearances
97. Vernon 1.56 wins per appearance :: 47-27-2 :: 0.6316 :: 30 playoff appearances
Posted by at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Three teams in, three teams out
August 8, 2009In one week, the first scrimmages of the high school football season will take place.
If my calculations are correct, we're down to 19 days until opening night.
Today's topic is going to be a quickie, since I've been tied up with the Wildcats hockey tryout camp this weekend as well.
The question: Which three teams that made the playoffs last year won't do so this year? And vice versa.
THREE IN
1. Graham -- this one is the easiest pick. The Steers have a tough district, but they are loaded. Case McCoy is primed for a big season. I'll be shocked if they don't make it.
2. Iowa Park -- To me, District 5-3A is pretty open at this point (I haven't talked to any coaches yet to see what they think, though). Bridgeport may be the favorite, but l think IP has at least a decent chance. RB RIchard Smoak is a good one, and they, like Graham, were pretty young last year.
3. Quanah -- The Indians, who had been pretty dominant in their district since dropping down to Class A in 2004 until last year, had a young team as well. They lost a stud in RB Tevin Mitchell, but I remember Coach McDaniel saying good things about Roderick Woodard. Quanah always has a good tailback, and it may not be good enough to win district, but the Indians should be back in the mix for the playoffs.
THREE OUT
1. Jacksboro -- The TIgers were second in 9-2A last year, a feat that will be hard to repeat. They lost tons of starters, plus Boyd is better and Paradise is still very, very good. That leaves Alvord, Millsap and Jacksboro fighting for one spot.
2. Vernon -- The Lions won the games they needed to down the stretch, but Vernon's offense suffered a nearly season-long slump. The guy who got them out of that funk (RB Craig Whiteside) is gone. I'm not writing the Lions off by any means, but 5-3A will be more open this year.
3. Northside -- Not trying to pick on Wilbarger County, but Northside lost its best player in QB Colby White. The Indians still have a couple of weapons -- Zack Agnew is one of them -- but they will have a new coach. Throckmorton may be the favorite right now, and Paducah is very good, so it's possible Northside misses out. It may be a reach, but I didn't see any 11-man Class A teams that fit better.
Posted by at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
2,000-yard rushers not all that common
August 7, 2009The start to the high school football season is 20 days away.
So far, everyone is wrapping up a full week of practice. And I haven't heard of any devastating injuries.
You also don't here of many 2,000-yard rushers these days in the area.
I began full-time covering the Texoma area in 2004, so I've seen five seasons.
And during that time, I've only followed four 2,000-yard backs. Here's the list:
2004 -- Colin Leggett, Holliday (2,527 yards)
2005 -- Alton Gary, Jacksboro (2,044 yards)
2007 -- Tevin Mitchell, Quanah (2,178 yards)
2008 -- Tevin Mitchell, Quanah (2,055 yards)
Vernon's Aston Whiteside was also close to doing it in 2006 with 1,934 yards, but he only had about 1,000 when the regular season ended.
Why is it so rare. There are many reasons.
* Obviously, the spread offense and throwing the football so much is the biggest reason behind it. The more you throw, the less you run. This takes several teams out of the equation.
* Many of our successful teams run some kind of option offense. Windthorst from the wishbone and Archer City from the veer -- both offenses don't revolve around one guy getting 20+ carries. The less carries, the less chance of 2,000. Burkburnett, Iowa Park, and Vernon are others. Plus, the more depth you have at that position, the less carries to go around.
* Other factors have to be just right. A bad team will fall behind too much and have to throw. A really good team rests its players for at least a quarter in blowouts. So the team needs to play in lots of close games.
* Playoffs are almost a must. Out of those four, only Mitchell from last year didn't make the playoffs. And he had back-to-back 300-yard games when Quanah was out of the playoff hunt; it was obvious they wanted him to get the mark again.
Holliday went to the state quarterfinals during Leggett's big year -- he had a 300-yard game against Lockney in the Area round.
In Mitchell's first 2,000-yard season, Quanah went two games deep. And Jacksboro lost in bi-district, but Gary had a 200-yard game in the playoffs.
* What makes it so hard is the consistency of it all. Think about it. If a guy has a 150-yard game (which is a good performance), he has to answer with a 250-yard game the next week in a 10-game season.
So will we have a 2,000-yard back this season? If we do, I think Holliday's Tyler Cole will be the one. He will be getting more carries with the graduation of Brayden Little, and the Eagles are poised for a deep run.
The only thing that could prevent it would be Coach Wolf pulling him out of blowouts. Electra (1-9 last season), Hirschi (0-10) and City View (0-10) are all on the schedule, so Cole might get too much rest to do so.
Guess we'll wait and see.
Posted by at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
"Young County Youngsters" all grown up
August 6, 2009Three weeks to go till high school football season starts.
It's also been three years since I wrote a feature on freshmen QB sensations Case McCoy of Graham and Callen Pittman of Olney.
Both were thrown into the fire as freshmen, and both had much success doing so.
Pittman led Olney to its first playof berth since 2000. And Graham, which started out 2-5 in 2006, rallied to make the playoffs and then win two games, the furthest the Steers had advanced in quite some time.
So as freshmen, we have two playoff wins and two playoff appearances between them. In the two years since, the duo has combined for one playoff appearance and one playoff win.
It's something I thought about while driving to Graham to interview Case for a feature story. What's gone wrong?
McCoy has steadily improved every season. In 2007, Graham was better than the previous year, but lost to Argyle after one playoff win. I think the Steers never were the same after their bye week that year.
And with a really young team, McCoy probably had to do to much early on. But the team got better -- it just fell short in a relly tough district.
Pittman improved Olney's record to 8-2 the next season, but the Cubs lost two district games they needed to win and missed out on the playoffs.
That team was the only one who has beaten Holliday in the regular season the past two years. One thing I remember is Olney's line had lost some guys from the year before, and I was at the game where Henrietta manhandled them up front.
Then last year Pittman tore his ACL in a scrimmage against Graham.
Both QBs have one more chance to go out with a bang, and I have a feeling neither will disappoint.
Posted by at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Trojans are team of the decade
August 5, 2009We're just 21 days away from the start of the high school football season.
And we're also one year away from the end of the decade.
But let's include 1999 into the equation for now, giving us 10 years of records to work with (City View and Benjamin only played nine seasons).
Obviously, Windthorst has to be considered the best area team of the decade by averag-ing 10 wins a season. Holliday is right behind, while Throckmorton, Quanah, Graham, Rider and WFHS have all averaged at least seven wins a season.
And just if you're curious, Windthorst, Throckmorton, Petrolia, Munday and Northside all won one state title during this time.
Team Record Playoff appearances
Windthorst 101-30 10
Holliday 95-27 9
Throckmorton 77-35 5
Quanah 76-39 8
Graham 74-36-1 7
Rider 72-47 7
WFHS 71-43 7
Vernon 69-51 8
Newcastle 66-38 3
Henrietta 65-46-1 7
Jacksboro 65-47 8
Petrolia 63-50 4
Munday 61-44 3
Northside 61-46 4
Knox City 55-50 4
Bryson 53-48 1
Iowa Park 56-56 5
Olney 53-53 3
Seymour 53-55 3
Burkburnett 46-57 4
Archer City 46-57 2
Electra 45-60 4
Crowell 41-59 2
Chillicothe 38-66 2
Bowie 34-68 2
Nocona 33-68 1
Benjamin 31-60 2
Hirschi 31-73 3
Harrold 28-70 1
City View 18-71 1
Posted by at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Pigskin Prep's state rankings
August 4, 2009The countdown to the opening of the high school football season is now 22 days.
Today's blog will wrap up -- at least for now -- the Pigskin Prep preseason package discussion.
Where does that website have our area teams ranked in the region and state. Let's see:
Class 4A
Rider -- 46th of 238 in state; 13th in region
WFHS -- 171st of 238 in state; 41st in region
Class 3A
Graham -- 27th of 177 in state; 7th in region
Burkburnett -- 66th of 177 in state; 16th in region
Iowa Park -- 105th of 177 in state; 26th in region
Vernon -- 112th of 177 in state; 29th in region
Hirschi -- 158th of 177 in state; 40th in region
Class 2A
Holliday -- 8th of 205 in state; 3rd in region
Henrietta -- 44th of 205 in state; 11th in region
Bowie -- 96th of 205 in state; 22nd in region
Olney -- 110th of 205 in state; 27th in region
Nocona -- 127th of 205 in state; 30th in region
Jacksboro -- 172th of 205 in state; 47th in region
City View -- 195th of 205 in state; 49th in region
Class A
Seymour -- 15th of 163 in state; 3rd in region
Munday -- 32th of 163 in state; 7th in region
Archer CIty -- 36th of 163 in state; 9th in region
WIndthorst -- 43rd of 163 in state; 11th in region
Quanah -- 71st of 163 in state; 22nd in region
Electra -- 125th of 163 in state; 25th in region
Petrolia -- 152nd of 163 in state; 34th in region
6-Man Division I
Throckmorton -- 7th of 64 in state; 2nd in region
Northside -- 16th of 64 in state; 6th in region
Crowell -- 25th of 64 in state; 9th in region
Newcastle -- 50th of 64 in state; 14th in region
Knox CIty -- 53rd of 64 in state; 15th in region
6-Man DIvision II
Benjamin -- 19th of 63 in state; 4th in region
Gold-Burg -- 31st of 63 in state; 8th in region
Chillicohte -- 39th of 63 in state; 11th in region
Bryson -- 44th of 63 in state; 10th in region
Harrold -- 59th of 63 in state; 16th in region
Byers -- 62nd of 63 in state; 15th in region
Posted by at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Playoff lookahead -- months and months in advance
August 3, 2009We're down to 23 more days until the 2009 football season starts.
That also means 23 more blog posts from yours truly until the season arrives.
Today's topic will be examining Pigskin's Prep playoff predictions (gotta love alliteration) and how they compare to last season.
By the look of things, lots of playoff-bound area teams could have their seasons ended by similiar fates.
Archer City, which lost in the state quarterfinals, was the only area team that won more than one playoff game. We had a bunch of teams get tough early draws, like Burkburnett facing China Spring right off the bat.
Mainly, it was a little bit of a down year for area football. Judging by Pigskin Prep's predictions, you can expect more of the same this go-around.
Remember, this is only some predictions based on team ratings. Obviously, lots of teams will be better than their rating, and lots will be worse. But it's still fun to look at.
And remember -- these are not my predictions.
4A: Rider
Last year: Rider lost to Stephenville in the Area round
This Year: Rider loses to Aledo in bi-district (they have the Raiders getting the second Div. II seed this time around)
3A: Burkburnett
Last year: Lost to China Spring in Div. 1 regionals
This year: Loses to China Spring in Div. 1 regionals
2A; Bowie
Last year: Lost to Clyde in Div. I bi-district
This year: Loses to Clyde in Div. I bi-district
Henrietta
Last Year: Lost to Cisco in Div. II bi-district
This Year: Loses to Cisco in Div. II bi-district
Holliday
Last Year: Lost to Merkel in Siv. II bi-distirct
This Year: After beating Merkel and Comanche, Holliday loses to Bushland in regional round.
A: Seymour
Last Year: Lost to Quinlan Boles in Div. 1 state quarterfinals
This Year: After beating Stamford again, loses to Quinlan Boles in Div. 1 state quarterfinals
Archer CIty
Last Year: Lost to Albany in Div. II state quarterfinals
This Year: Loses to Albany in Div. II Area round (the Wildcats are slated to get the second Div. II seed this time around, therefore meeting Albany early).
6-MAN: Throckmorton
Last Year: Lost to Garden City in Div. 1 regionals
This Year: Beats Garden City, but loses to Fort Davis in Div. 1 state quarterfinals
Northside
Last Year: Lost to Fort Davis in Div. I regionals
This Year: Loses to Fort Davis in Div. I regionals
Benjamin
Last Year: Lost to Lefors in Div. II regionals
This Year: *Loses to Silverton in Div. II regionals
* This is wrong. They have messed up the brackets this year. Benjamin would play Lefors instead of Silverton and lose again.
Gold-Burg
Last Year: Lost to Highland in Div. II regionals
This Year: Loses to Highland in Div. II regionals
TEAMS THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT LAST YEAR
Graham: After beating Dalhart in bi-district, it will lose to Fort Stockton in the Div. II Area round.
Munday: After a bye, it will lose to Roscoe in the Div. II Area round.
So if these predictions hold true, we'll only have one area school (Holliday) win multiple playoff games in 2009.
Also, of the 11 teams to make the playoffs both years, seven are slated to lose to the same team in the same round. An eighth, Archer City, will lose to the same team in a different round.
I guess we'll have to wait the next four months to see if any of these pan out.
Posted by at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Pigskin Prep's predictions
August 2, 2009Pigskin Prep does a great comprehensive preview package and it came out today.
What did it say?
Well, for starters, it looks like we'll have a lot of playoff rematches again if these predictions hold up.
We'll save that blog for another day, though. Let's take a look of each main area football district, and I'll say whether I agree or not.
DISTRICT 5-4A
Denton Guyer
Denton Ryan
Lake Dallas
Rider (4-6, 4-3)
The Colony
WFHS (2-8, 2-5)
Little Elm
Denton
Thoughts: I'm cool with the teams that make the playoffs, and I'm cool with the order except I think Rider has a good shot of beating Lake Dallas at home. And that's a big game because the Raiders will most likely get Aledo in bi-district if they can't. Also, WFHS could snag fifth, but if it can't beat Saginaw or The Colony, then that record will be correct.
DISTRICT 5-3A
Bridgeport
Burkburnett (6-4, 4-1)
Decatur
Iowa Park (3-7, 2-3)
Vernon (3-7, 1-4)
Hirschi (1-9, 0-5)
Thoughts: I'm cool with Bridgeport being the team to beat now, but I think this district is really wide open for five teams. I know Vernon struggled some last year, but the Lions still made the playoffs. It's hard to think they'll be 3-7. Either them or Iowa Park (or both) will challenge for a playoff spot -- the Hawks should be pretty decent this season. The website is counting on Hirschi to beat Gainesville, and that's it.
DISTRICT 5-2A
Holliday (10-0, 5-0)
Henrietta (9-1, 4-1)
Bowie (4-6, 3-2)
Nocona (4-6, 2-3)
Olney (3-7, 1-4)
City View (1-9, 0-5)
Thoughts: I like the three playoff teams just fine. I'd have Bowie barely in front of Henrietta, but I'm good either way. What I have to question is Bowie's low rating. If Bowie and Henrietta played on a nuetral field, the Bearcats would win by 14 according to this. And the Jackrabbits won't lose by 30 to Holliday. Bowie went 4-1 last non-district, but they're going to go 1-4 this time around? I'd also give the edge to Olney for fourth -- the Cubs went 3-7 last season and now have Pittman back, so I think they'll be better than this website has them.
DISTRICT 9-A
Seymour (10-0, 5-0)
Munday (8-2, 4-1)
Archer City (7-3, 3-2)
Windthorst (5-5, 2-3)
Electra (2-8, 1-4)
Petrolia (0-10, 0-5)
Thoughts: Yikes. Windthorst has made the playoffs the last 14 years, and while I haven't talked to Coach Green yet, I think they are going to be better (or at least more consistent) this year. Plus, they get all three of those teams ahead of them at home in 2009. So I'm betting they get in, and I like them to win 9-A. Seymour should be a playoff team, but 10-0? The Panthers didn't do that when they went to the state title game two years ago. They could lose their unbeaten record as early as the second week of the season to Olney. So Munday and Archer City could battle it out for third. I'm not siding with either one yet, but I know Coach Corcoran would LOVE to be 8-2, especially since they will be starting almost from scratch on the offensive line.
OTHER DISTRICTS:
Graham (9-1, 4-1) is projected to lose only to Abilene Wylie and is rated pretty high. I'm fine with that, although another Steers loss sometime in non-district or district wouldn't surprise me with such a hard schedule.
Jacksboro (1-9, 1-4) is in a rebuilding year, but surely with a pretty good coaching staff and their QB (Kole Weldon) coming back, they'll beat more teams than just Chico.
Quanah (4-6, 2-3) is slated to finish behind the same three teams -- Wellington, Clarendon and Wheeler -- they did in 4-A last year. The Indians will be returning lots of youngsters, but they did lose RB Tevin Mitchell. If things go well, they could make the playoffs.
Tomorrow -- only 24 more days until the season starts -- I'll look at all of these teams' possible playoff opponents.
Posted by at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
"Good" is going to be pretty great
August 1, 2009It's the first day of August, and high school football players report on Monday.
So to celebrate this, I'm promising a blog post every day to help count down the Aug. 27 kickoff date to the 2009 season.
I've been working on a couple football previews, and I'm hearing "good" things out of Holliday.
"Good" can translate differently coming from certain coaches.
But when Terry Wolf, who always understates things (it seems every year when we talk about district, he says you can't count out City VIew) says the Eagles will be "good" it means they'll be really, really good.
I can easily see this team going 10-0 (will be somewhat shocked if it doesn't) and making a deep playoff run. In my eyes, I think this is Holliday's best team since 2004, when Colin Leggett carried them to the state quarterfinals.
Why all the love for Holliday? Check out these tidbits:
* They went 19-1 the past two seasons, and this team is another notch ahead of those groups.
* They averaged the most yards in the area last year, and return nearly everybody. QB Colton Englishbee looked pretty good in his first season at the helm, Tyler Cole is tremendous, Tyler Jolly is a load to stop in short-yardage and the entire o-line is coming back.
* Nine starters return on defense. And they had a pretty good defense.
* Losing Brayden Little will hurt because of his versatility, but Wolf told me Cole is expected to get 15-20 carries a game.
The last person to have that many touches was Leggett during his 2,527-yard performance in 2004, although Cuyler Flinn was close to that number in 2006.
Cole is 4.5 fast, but he also showed a durability that was equally impressive last year. I covered Holliday three times (in probably their three biggest games -- Bowie, Henrietta, Merkel). Cole averaged 179 yards in those contests on 17 carries.
Lots of guys can average 10 yards per carry against the worst teams on the schedule, but Cole, who also had a big game against Windthorst, proved he was a big-time player as a sophomore. He'll be even better this year.
*Plus, Wolf says the Eagles are deeper. I remember watching the Eagles get worn down by Merkel in last year's playoff loss. With a pretty good rotation on the lines, plus another possible Cole-type speedster in Austin Twilligear, the Eagles should be able to keep everyone fresh.
Tomorrow, I'll look at Pigskin Preps' preseason package. We'll see where they have Holliday and other area schools ranked.
Posted by at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
