Dejected ’Jackets looking to regroup against Mineola
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
KEMP–After battling to come from two touchdowns behind to within a point, the hard-luck Kemp Yellowjackets saw the football sail about a foot wide to the left of the uprights last Friday night, pretty much taking their playoff hopes with it.
“I think we all expected going in that it would be a close game, and that (21-20) is about as close as it gets,” Kemp head coach Greg Anderson said Monday.
Friday’s one-point loss against hosting Eustace leaves the Yellowjackets at 0-3 in the District 14-3A race with just two games to play.
Despite the missed point-after kick, Anderson said the game shouldn’t have come down to that.
“We blew an opportunity there (with a fumble at the Bulldog 10), and we blew an opportunity early in the game, when we got down to the 9 and didn’t convert,” Anderson pointed out.
“I was proud of our guys. We got down 21-7 at one point,” he said. “I think we outplayed them in the second half.”
The Bulldogs forged a 14-7 halftime lead on the strength of a 51-yard run by JoJo Bradburn and an 81-yard scamper by Trevan Johnson.
“Outside of those two long runs, I thought we defensed the triple option pretty well,” Anderson said.
Speaking of defense, Yellowjacket linebacker John Kilgore turned in one of the district’s best hustle plays when he ran down Eustace quarterback Chris Compton, who appeared likely to score on a 77-yard run before Kilgore dragged him down at the Kemp 9.
Kilgore’s play turned out to be a touchdown-saving tackle, because the Bulldogs fumbled on the next snap.
“We saw on film that he (Kilgore) was actually knocked down, and got up and caught (Compton),” Anderson said. “That showed his effort.
“We talked about that during the film (session) Saturday, how you can’t ever assume your play won’t make a difference,” he added. “I’ve heard other coaches talk about how he (Kilgore) may be the best defensive player in the district.”
The ’Jackets ran up 351 yards of offense against the Bulldogs, led by Cris Murray (20 carries, 159 yards, plus a 52-yard touchdown on a screen pass) and quarterback Jeremy Quick (17 carries, 58 yards, two TDs).
Despite how well the ’Jackets played, 0-3 probably leaves them out of the playoff picture, barring some very unlikely scenarios.
“As it looks now, it’s going to be Wills Point, Van and Eustace,” Anderson said. “We’ve lost to Van and Eustace by a total of four points.
“If we beat Mineola and Canton, it will certainly be frustrating to see them going (to the playoffs),” he added.
It’ll be Yellowjackets against Yellowjackets this Friday night, as Mineola comes to Kemp.
“They’re 0-3 as well,” Anderson said. “Like us, they’ve been in every ballgame, including two shoot-outs (losing 42-40 to Canton last Friday night).
“They’ve played fairly well – they just haven’t had the breaks there at the end of the game,” he added. “To score 40 points and still lose. And, against Van, they had them at 13-7 going into the fourth quarter.”
Mineola has a lot of kids playing on both sides of the ball, indicating fatigue may be a factor late in the game.
Senior Tyler Drennan has been the starter at quarterback for Mineola.
He was knocked out of the Eustace contest and replaced by sophomore Erik Galaz, but has returned to quarterback, with Galaz playing more on defense, Anderson said.
“Drennan does a good job,” he added. “Their running back, Alex Kirby, has good speed.”
While Mineola had Galaz run a spread offense against Eustace, in the last couple of games, they’ve gone back to a more traditional I-back set, with Colt Bickerstaff (one of the district’s best athletes) at fullback, leading Kirby, Anderson said.
“Drennan was under center about 95 percent of the time,” he added.
“Defensively, they’re big up front,” Anderson said. “Montana Duncan (6-2, 275) anchors a humongus defensive line.
“Their secondary has good speed, and the Galaz kid makes a lot of plays for them,” he added. “It’ll be a good test for us.”
With Mineola in an I-back set, that’s going to limit the number of possessions each team has available during the game.
“It’ll be like last Friday – every possession will be important,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to focus on eliminating penalties and turnovers.
“You don’t want to give away any possessions, because you won’t have that many,” he added.

Loop crown on the line for Bulldogs against Van
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
EUSTACE–Don’t let anybody kid you – last Friday’s 21-20 win by the Eustace Bulldogs over the visiting Kemp Yellowjackets was a lot closer than even the score indicated.
“We were fortunate to win,” Eustace head coach Doug Wendel said Monday.
“Three turnovers in the second half is just unacceptable,” he added. “I was very impressed with how hard they (Kemp) played. The difference between winning and losing was very, very small.”
How small? How ’bout a foot? That’s how close Kemp kicker Michael Scott came to making his third PAT kick, which would have tied the score at 21 with 3:17 to play in regulation.
In turn, Eustace’s Jacob McCarter hit all his point-after kicks.
“Making three PATs was huge, obviously,” Wendel said.
Both teams have had their difficulties making point-after kicks this year, and the Bulldogs often go for a two-point conversion. They only tried one PAT kick during their 68-53 shoot-out win over Canton, for example.
“We didn’t feel we could count on making those (conversions) against a quality defense,” Wendel said.
Kemp’s defense gave up two long runs to the Bulldogs in the first half – a 51-yard scamper by JoJo Bradburn and an 81-yard gallop by Trevan Johnson, sandwiched around a one-yard sneak by Kemp quarterback Jeremy Quick.
In turn, the Bulldog defense made the Yellowjackets drive the ball, giving up only one big scoring play, a 52-yard gallop by Cris Murray on a screen pass.
Thanks to those long runs in the first half, the Bulldogs wound up averaging almost 11 yards per carry in 38 attempts against the Yellowjackets, who averaged right at 4.5 yards per carry on 53 attempts.
“Having Cord Bailey back on defense really made a difference,” Wendel said.
It was an expensive win for the Bulldogs, however. Johnson, a two-way standout, is doubtful for this week’s contest at Wills Point with a sprained knee, and may not be able to return before the end of the regular season.
“He had a lot of pain, but no swelling, Saturday,” Wendel said.
In addition to being an outside running threat, Johnson is also an outstanding downfield blocker for Bradburn, and contributes 12 to 15 tackles a game on defense.
“We struggled the other night without him,” Wendel said. “But it is what it is. We have a plan to compensate for him (being out) on defense.”
The Bulldogs likely will need all their weapons when they go up against the hosting Tigers, who finished at 1-9 last year but lead the league with a 7-1 mark this year.
Both teams come into Friday’s contest at Wills Point at 3-0 in District 14-3A play, meaning the winner of the game will have an inside shot at the district championship.
The Tigers beat Van 15-2 last Friday night, “which says something about Van’s defense,” Wendel said. Van’s offense didn’t score against the Tigers – their two points came on a blocked extra point kick returned all the way.
“I feel they have a bigger, stronger defense than Kemp, but I don’t know if they are as quick,” he added. “They’ve given up 18 points in three district games (all scored by Canton in the loop opener), so they’re pretty good.
“That’s six points a game. It’s going to take a lot more than six to beat them,” he said.
The Tigers’ spread offense is keyed by two players – a returning first-team all-district selection in junior quarterback Trent Jurica, along with running back Brandon Morris, who won the district 100-meter dash last spring and clearly will be the fastest guy on the field.
“I think they’re both fantastic,” Wendel said. “They are very athletic, and they’ve only got one or two kids who go both ways. That’s an advantage in this district. I think they’re a team who can do some damage in the playoffs.
“We’re right where we wanted to be – playing for the district championship,” Wendel added. “We’ll have to control the ball and control the clock.
“I think we’ll have to move the ball a little bit, to keep their offense off the field,” he pointed out.

Panthers do-or-die at Lancaster Friday
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
MABANK–While last Friday’s loss to Forney doesn’t end Mabank’s playoff hopes, they’ll need to win their last two games and get some help from other teams.
To do that, though, the Panthers will have to generate a running game somehow, Mabank head coach Jimmy Cantrell said Monday.
“We’ve got to find a way to get three or four yards a pop consistently,” he said. “When you don’t run, that makes the pass easier to defend, because everybody drops off (into coverage). That makes it tough.”
What has hurt the Panthers (4-3, 1-3 District 15-4A) is the inability to consistently generate positive yards on first down by running the ball, Cantrell said.
“We need to look at where we can get into a manageable second-and-five or second-and-four, not second-and-10,” he said. “(Quarterback) Jordan (Featherston) is a good leader and a tough kid, but he’s paying a heavy toll for those four-yard gains.”
Featherston has had adequate protection in the pocket, Cantrell added, “but it’s hard to throw the ball when people don’t respect your running game.
“The bottom line is we’ve got to take care of ourselves in the next two weeks,” he said. “We’re still looking for a playoff spot.”
This Friday night, the Panthers will visit the Lancaster Tigers (3-5, 1-3) for what figures to be a critical road game. A loss would definitely end their playoff hopes, while a win would set up the Nov. 6 season finale against visiting West Mesquite as a win-and-in contest.
West Mesquite is open this Friday night.
Last Friday, West Mesquite hammered the Tigers, 42-29, to improve to 6-3 on the season and 4-1 in district play, one loss behind unbeaten Red Oak, who was idle.
Red Oak and Forney probably will make the playoffs, Cantrell said. They play at Red Oak in the season finale, most likely to settle first and second place.
Red Oak faces 1-8 Mesquite Poteet this Friday night in Poteet’s final game of the season. Right now, Poteet is the only team definitely out of the playoffs, Cantrell said.
This week’s other key matchup will be at Forney, as the 3-1 Jackrabbits hope to take the 2-2 Terrell Tigers out of the playoff picture. Terrell will host Lancaster in the final game.
“Looking back at the film, I think Forney is the best team in the district,” Cantrell said. “Their quarterback (Blake Branton) is a very tough competitor (29 carries, 216 yards, three touchdowns against Mabank), but that’s what he’s been doing to everybody all year.”
Cantrell said the Panthers actually defended Branton fairly well, until he broke a 61-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
“I was proud of our kids – they never gave up,” Cantrell said.
The Tigers mostly use a spread offense, “but they’ll also get in a wishbone and run option at you,” Cantrell said.
“They’re very good defensively, with a lot of speed on the field,” he added. “You can’t outrun them to the edge – you have to go right at them.”
The Tigers’ defensive secondary is probably not as talented as they were last year, having lost players to Oklahoma and Baylor, but they are still very talented, Cantrell said.
“We’re going to have to get off the line and get open,” he said. “Their defensive line is big and they run to the ball well.
“We’ve got to be patient with our short passing game,” Cantrell added. “If we can upset Lancaster, we’ll be sitting pretty.”
Editor’s note: Friday night’s game against Lancaster will be reported in the Thursday, Nov. 5, issue of The Monitor.

 

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