Sports and Outdoors

 Lake Info

Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is: 320.68
Water Temperature:
na degrees - top
82 degrees - bottom

By Richard Sutton
Special to The Monitor
PALMER–On a Friday night when everything worked, the Kemp Yellowjackets pounded the hosting Palmer Bulldogs 63-27.
With punishing runs from seniors Korey Henderson (11 carries, 184 yards, three touchdowns) and Josh Carr (15 carries, 145 yards, two TDs), the ’Jackets rushed for 479 yards, with help from Wesley Kerr (three carries, 63 yards, two TDs) and two rarely-seen backups, Justin Lawler and Brandon Smith.
Domination was apparent from the beginning for Kemp fans, and by the end of the night and nine touchdowns later, Palmer knew the same.
It was not known at presstime Tuesday whether the 63 points scored by the ’Jackets was a school record or not, but it certainly has to be close, head coach Greg Anderson said.
That’s unquestionably more than the ’Jackets have scored in one game in a very long time. Kemp fans were already taking pictures of the scoreboard with cell phones and digital cameras at halftime, when the ’Jackets led 42-7.
“To me, the offense continued its improvement in all phases,” Anderson said later. “We got some things in place against Rains, and we continued that from the first drive Friday night.
“Our defense – that was as good as I’ve seen them play for four quarters,” he added. “We were aggressive, and created some turnovers early.
“We score and get the ball right back in the end zone again, and it just snowballed from there,” Anderson said. “It shows we’re getting better, and that’s the key.”
The game started fairly sloppy, as both teams traded turnovers and interceptions.
The ’Jackets drew first blood on a Carr run with 8:58 left in the first quarter, with Bryan Fivecoat adding the PAT kick.
Ten seconds later, a turnover by the Bulldogs set up a Henderson touchdown, and the ’Jackets were up 14-0.
The second quarter proved to be the key to the contest, as Kemp scored 28 points during the period to pretty much put the game out of reach for the run-oriented Bulldogs.
Henderson opened the onslaught with his second touchdown of the first half, a 40-yard gain on a quick pitch. Fivecoat’s PAT kick made it 21-0 just 33 seconds into the quarter.
Palmer tried to control the clock behind the running of Eddie Harden, who almost broke the ensuing kickoff, bringing it back 47 yards, but the Bulldogs fumbled the ball away.
Henderson took the ball in from the 11 for his third touchdown of the first half, and Fivecoat’s kick made it 28-0.
Harden, who led the Bulldogs with 123 yards on 24 carries, scored the first of his three touchdowns with 3:32 left in the half.
The ’Jackets answered the score by the Bulldog with their own from Carr to make it 35-7.
With 27.7 seconds left in the half, Carr broke free for a 57-yard scamper to the end zone for his third touchdown of the first half, and Fivecoat gave Kemp a 42-7 halftime lead.
The second half started much like the first half did, with both teams moving back and forth in the middle of the field.
Harden finally broke a big play, rumbling 49 yards for the Bulldogs’ second TD of the night.
With 9:04 left in the third quarter, Kerr busted his own big play, breaking into the open for a 60-yard touchdown. Fivecoat’s kick made the score 49-13, and Anderson began emptying his bench.
Smith got on the scoreboard with his first touchdown of the year on a 43-yard run with 4:47 left in the third, and Fivecoat nailed his eighth PAT kick to make it 56-13.
Lawler added his first TD of the season on a 28-yard touchdown run, and Fivecoat’s ninth PAT put the ’Jackets up 63-13.
The Bulldogs scored two late touchdowns against the Yellowjacket reserves, but Kemp fans were already celebrating a huge win.

Ferris stops Bulldogs, 30-14
Monitor Staff Reports
FERRIS–A blocked field goal returned for a touchdown proved to be the key play as the Ferris Yellowjackets defeated the visiting Eustace Bulldogs 30-14 Friday.
Now 2-3 on the season, the Bulldogs are scheduled to take this week off, along with most of the other District 14-3A teams, in preparation for loop openers Friday, Oct. 10 (see related story, page 2B).
Trailing 16-14, the Bulldogs moved into position to kick a 44-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Ferris blocked the kick, with quarterback Ryan Kidwell (who had scored two TDs on offense) returning the ball 56 yards for the touchdown.
Jesus Nava added the point after, and instead of possibly taking a 17-16 lead, the Bulldogs were behind 23-14.
“We had an opportunity to take the lead with eight minutes left,” Bulldog coach Doug Wendel said later. “That was a very frustrating thing.”
The Bulldogs earlier had taken advantage of a special teams goof by Ferris, who fumbled a punt to set up a Eustace touchdown.
In a matchup of former district foes, Ferris’ defense, and the experience of nine returning senior starters, made the difference.
“Their defense is much improved, partly due to some personnel moves,” Wendel said. “Scheme-wise, they did a good job taking away what we do best.
“We weren’t sharp executing the option, but I think that was more a result of their team speed,” he added. “Their strong safety was coming up and meeting us at the line of scrimmage.”
Eustace opened the scoring when quarterback Chris Compton got free for a nine-yard touchdown run, with Zach Arambula adding the PAT kick.
Ferris came back with two second-quarter scores by Kidwell, both set up by runs from James Hopkins (18 carries, 176 yards, one TD).
Kidwell’s first score came on a 27-yard run (the PAT kick was blocked) and the second came on a seven-yard run, with Nava adding the kick to give the Yellowjackets a 13-7 lead.
Eustace struck back through the air, as senior wide receiver Zach Keeling (back after missing the first three games to injury) hauled in a nine-yard touchdown reception.
Arambula’s kick gave the Bulldogs a 14-13 lead at halftime.
“I was pleased with the improvement in our passing game with Keeling out there,” Wendel said. “We had the touchdown pass, and we also converted on a third-and-nine.”
The Yellowjackets posted the only third-quarter score, a 23-yard field goal from Nava, which gave them a 16-14 lead.
Following the blocked field goal return, the Yellowjackets added an insurance touchdown late when Hopkins got free and scampered in from 31 yards out. Nava’s PAT kick closed out the scoring.
“Our defense continues to improve. They had been averaging about 40 points a game, and defensively, we gave up 23,” Wendel said. “They are big and strong, but I was more impressed with how they flew around and hit on defense.”

Panthers host Terrell Friday
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
MABANK–After a week off, the Mabank Panthers are prepping for Friday night’s District 15-4A opener at home against the Terrell Tigers.
Last Friday night, Terrell hosted the West Mesquite Wranglers in the district opener for both teams, and the Wranglers spoiled the Tigers’ homecoming with a 50-14 win in a game that wasn’t that close.
Panther head coach Jimmy Cantrell and his coaches took advantage of the bye to scout both teams, and saw West Mesquite dominate every phase of the game.
“They (Terrell) just couldn’t get anything going through the first half,” Cantrell said. “It was a pretty one-sided game for the first three quarters.”
Both the Wranglers and the Tigers are now 2-3 on the season, while Mabank is 2-2 with last week’s bye.
Terrell had been a I-formation team with a tight end through the first four games, but went to a two-back split formation much of the time against the Wranglers, and didn’t use a tight end, Cantrell noted.
Terrell’s offensive formation didn’t matter a whole lot, since the Tigers couldn’t protect quarterback Barrett Calverly, who was sacked eight times in the first half.
Calverly, who had a sore knee coming into the contest, according to reports, watched from the sideline on crutches in the second half as Anthony Bridges stepped in at quarterback and fared no better.
“In the second half, they had one of their defensive linemen, No. 3, at tight end,” Cantrell said.
The Tigers also had problems holding onto the ball. Wide receiver Noreco English fumbled after his first reception, and Wrangler Josh Neal returned it 26 yards for West Mesquite’s first TD less than a minute into the game.
Two more fumbles set up a Wrangler field goal and touchdown, respectively, as West Mesquite took a 27-0 halftime lead and led 43-0 before the Tigers scored.
Cantrell said the Panthers won’t be making any major changes as they prepare a game plan against Terrell.
“We do what we do, and try to get real good at it,” he said. “West Mesquite runs the same kind of defense we do.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how the kids react to their first 4A district game,” Cantrell added. “We’re playing at home, and we’ve played pretty well at home.”
Terrell’s biggest advantage over the Panthers is speed, particularly at the skill positions.
“They ran three or four kickoffs back, and almost broke a couple of them,” Cantrell said. Joel Wren had a 68-yard kickoff return to the Wrangler 27 to set up Terrell’s first touchdown.
“(Terrell) also runs a sprint draw pretty well,” Cantrell said. “They try to establish an inside running game.”
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers have one of the best defensive lines the Panthers will see, Cantrell said.
“They have three big, quick kids,” he said. “I was impressed with their defensive line. They shoot the gap a lot and try to get upfield.”
The Tigers’ offensive line is much bigger than the Panthers’ defensive line, Cantrell said.
“Their backs are the same ones running the kickoffs back, so they’re pretty dangerous,” he added. “Defensively, we’ll have to try and contain their speed.
“Having success early will help our offense, and not putting the ball on the ground,” Cantrell said. “The common denominator in both our losses is that we had four or five turnovers. We’re a solid football team, but we can’t overcome those kind of mistakes.”