Sports and Outdoors

Thursday, September 30, 2010

 Lake Info

Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is: 320.15 Water Temperature:
83  degrees - top
82 degrees - bottom

’Jackets to work on fundamentals
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
KEMP–Injuries and missed opportunities hurt the Kemp Yellowjackets last Friday night, and they are hoping to heal and re-focus this week before hosting the Ferris Yellowjackets for homecoming Friday, Oct. 8.
Kemp (2-3) was able to hang with a much faster and bigger Fairfield squad for a while, but lost two quarterbacks to injury and could not generate a sustained offensive threat in the second half.

Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Players on both teams react as a low pass slips through Kemp Yellowjacket senior Justin Lawler's (9) hands in the end zone with just seconds remaining in the first half Friday. Kemp was just that close to being within a touchdown at halftime, but they were unable to stay with Fairfield's speed in the second half and fell 58-7.

The ’Jackets game plan was to control the ball and the clock, keeping the speedy Eagles offense standing on the sideline, which they did during the first half, Kemp head coach Greg Anderson said Monday morning.
“The kids played well in the first half,” he said. “We had two chances to get points late in the first half, but our quarterback (Jeff Goldman) went down and we could never get a rhythm going in the second half, offensively.”
Goldman was injured completing a 14-yard pass to senior Justin Lawler that put the ’Jackets at the Fairfield 16 with about 33 seconds left in the first half, and did not return.
Junior Blake Murray, who suffered a knee injury in the second scrimmage against Van Aug. 19, stepped in at quarterback for the final few snaps in the first half, and played most of the second half.
“Blake was about 85-90 percent, but he tweaked his knee again,” Anderson said. “We had a freshman, Cory Watkins, in for the last two series at quarterback.”
Goldman got what essentially is a sprained shoulder after being driven into the turf by the Eagles’ defensive rush, Anderson said.
“We’re hoping to get him healthy,” he added. “We’ll also have another week (of healing) for Blake and Jon Jennings (concussion).”
Without a sustained drive, “we put the ball right back into their hands, and that let it get a little lopsided in the third quarter,” he said.
Fairfield scored 30 points in the third quarter, forcing the ’Jackets into a safety on their first possession, “and it kind of snowballed from there,” Anderson said.
Last Monday, looking ahead to the Fairfield game, Anderson suggested they would make a deep playoff run, and an up-close look at the 5-0 Eagles convinced Anderson he was right.
“They’re a good football team,” he said. “They really didn’t have any weaknesses. They’ve got the speed, and they’ve also got good size up front. Defensively, they’re as physical as anybody we’ve seen.”
Ferris also has some speed – just ask Eustace (see related story, page 3B) – and Anderson said the ’Jackets will have to work to contain that speed.
“We’re going to have to do a good job getting people to the ball, wrapping up and keeping them in front of us,” he said.
First, the ’Jackets are going to concentrate on correcting fundamental errors, which showed up when they missed three chances to score from the Eagles’ 4 as time was running out in the first half.
“Monday and Tuesday, we’re going to focus on us,” Anderson said. “Thursday (today), we may start looking at Ferris a little bit.
“We’re going to spend more time on individual drills, and work the fundamentals hard,” he added.

Bulldogs seek healing
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
EUSTACE–A bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the bruised and battered Eustace Bulldogs.
Eustace head coach Doug Wendel hopes to get some healing and self-correction installed in the two weeks before the District 6-2A opener, when the Sunnyvale Raiders visit Eustace for the Bulldogs’ annual homecoming contest Friday, Oct. 8.
The Bulldogs (1-4) go into this bye week off a 47-29 road loss at the hands of the Ferris Yellowjackets, who open District 13-3A play Oct. 8 at Kemp. Kemp also will be celebrating homecoming that Friday night (see related story, page 1B).
Despite Friday’s loss, Wendel remained upbeat Monday morning.
“I feel good about our team,” he said. “There’s no doubt we’re better this Monday than we were last Monday. We played Ferris better than we ever have in the past – we led (14-13) at halftime – and our offense scored more points than we ever have against them.
“Right now, we’re hitting on all cylinders on offense,” he added. “We’re doing more variations with our option game, and the three or four plays that we have that aren’t options we’re executing very well. We averaged 8.2 yards a carry Friday night.”
Wendel said the Bulldogs will focus on two or three things offensively this week.
“Defensively, we’re young, and that’s not going to change in two weeks,” he said. “We’re going to continue to work on tackling. I believe we have the right people in positions – we’ve just got to get better there.”
Healing is the first priority. The Bulldogs played Ferris without senior center Owen Babcock (ankle sprain), and lost senior fullback Jacob Petillo to a pulled hamstring early in the third quarter.
“I think we would have been another touchdown or two better with (Petillo) in the game,” Wendel said.
There’s a few other Bulldogs nursing nagging injuries. “We had two or three play positions they had never played before, just to finish the game,” Wendel said.
Ferris also revealed some personnel changes, the most significant being Robert Grady, who finished with 281 yards and five touchdowns on just eight carries, scoring on runs of 75, three, 65, 60 and 18 yards.
“That’s the first time he’s touched the ball all year,” Wendel said. “They moved him from safety to running back.
“(Ferris) made four or five personnel changes, and I believe they were all warranted,” he added. “I think they’ll be a playoff team. They’ve got three or four guys who can go.
“We were disappointed that we lost, but we knew we played a physical and fast football team, and went toe-to-toe with them for three quarters,” he said. “We just need to get healthy and get ready to go into district.”
Wendel said he figured the Bulldogs have already played three teams who are better than anybody in 6-2A, with the possible exception of 4-1 Grandview.
“I could be wrong,” he added, “but I think all five teams that we’ve played would be in the playoffs in our district.”
Sunnyvale’s 3-1 Raiders, who are playing their first varsity season, are the only 6-2A team playing this week. They will be hosting Dallas Christian for homecoming Thursday (tonight), and Wendel will be there.
“They are a spread team,” he said. “I don’t know if they’ve played a running/option team. It’ll be our homecoming, and it will be their first (varsity) district game.
“The game will have an effect on the district seedings,” he added. “(Losing is) going to put a lot of pressure on somebody.”