Sports and Outdoors

Thursday, November 4, 2010

 Lake Info

Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is: 319.58 Water Temperature:
71  degrees - top
70 degrees - bottom

’Jackets have slim shot at playoffs
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
KEMP–The Kemp Yellowjackets had to beat the North Forney Falcons last Friday night to have a shot at the playoffs.
They did that, breaking a six-game losing streak with a 35-32 District 13-3A victory.
“We needed that,” Kemp head coach Greg Anderson said Monday morning.
If they can defeat the hosting Kaufman Lions in the season finale this Friday, they have a shot at the playoffs – but only if the Falcons can rebound and knock off Mabank (see related story).
“There’s still that (playoff) opportunity out there, and something to play for,” Anderson said.
The ’Jackets (3-6, 1-3) exposed the Falcons’ weakness up the middle, as senior Brandon Smith pounded out 250 yards in 41 carries to enable Kemp to control the pace of the contest.
“We put some things together that we hadn’t been doing, and we cleaned up some mistakes,” Anderson said.
“(Smith) was tired Saturday morning. Anytime you can have a night like that, it’s outstanding,” he added. “Anytime you have those kind of stats, the offensive line has to be doing an outstanding job.”
Tackles Cody Parker and James Forrest, guards Ryan Emfinger and Colton Gaddis and sophomore center Blake Watkins were joined at times by extra tackle Ben Dillon (who played the first six games of the year on the junior varsity) in an unbalanced-line look that put the Falcons’ split defense into a bind.
“We put numbers to one side, and overloaded. That kept (the Falcons) off-balance,” Anderson said.
To be precise, that’s a cobbled-together offensive line. Gaddis spent most of the year at tight end and Emfinger at split end, Anderson pointed out.
“When we had some kids get hurt, we had to move them inside, and they’ve responded real well,” he said.
While the Yellowjacket coaching staff probably wouldn’t mind some folks cheering for North Forney Friday night, Anderson said the ’Jackets will have their hands full with the Lions, who were the pre-season favorite to win the district.
“We have to approach it (as a playoff game),” Anderson said. “I know coach (Todd) York will approach it that way. They’ll be prepared and ready to go.”
Anderson said the Lions (also 3-6 and 1-3) probably feel they’ve let a couple of winnable games – Mabank and North Forney come to mind – get away from them.
The Lions run a Wing-I attack, with a couple of different tailbacks (Joe Posigian and Jimikal Jobe) handling the ball-toting chores.
“We’ll have to prepare for both (runners),” Anderson said. “We’ve got to be sound at what we do up front, and do a good job tackling. With their speed, we’ll have to do a good job containing things at the line of scrimmage.”
Defensively, the Lions use a 4-3, which is a good matchup for the ’Jackets, who have had some success against even-front defenses.
“What they do reminds me of the old Dallas Cowboys ‘flex’ defense, where they play a little farther off the line, read headgear and attack,” Anderson noted. “They’re very good defensively.”
One positive note is the ’Jackets may get a couple of key players back from injury, senior linebacker Johnny Kilgore and junior linebacker Jared Lane.
“If we’re lucky enough to have that happen, it would be a big help,” Anderson said.
“We can’t afford mistakes against these guys,” Anderson added. “If we go over there and turn it over three or four times, and give up two or three big plays, our chances of success will go way down.”

MHS faces first playoff test at Forney
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Reports
MABANK–Turnovers played a crucial role in last Friday night’s loss to Crandall, and the Mabank Panthers can’t afford any turnovers in the regular season finale against North Forney this Friday night.
“Crandall probably played their best game all year,” Mabank head coach Jimmy Cantrell said Monday. “We would have been right there with them without those turnovers.
“Defensively, we played a pretty good game, with the exception of a couple of pass plays,” he said. “They capitalized on the turnovers they got, and we didn’t.”
By beating the Panthers, the Pirates (6-3, 3-1) set themselves up to claim at least a share of the District 13-3A championship when they host front-runner Ferris (6-3, 4-0) in the season finale.
The Panthers’ goal of making the playoffs is still out there, however.
“If we win Friday night, we’re in,” Cantrell said. “So, we’re already in the playoffs. If we lose, we go home, and if we win, we get to keep playing.”
Now 2-7 on the season and 2-2 in District 13-3A play, the Panthers will be facing a North Forney Falcons team who fell to Kemp 35-32 last Friday night, dropping to 1-8 in their first varsity season and 1-3 in district play.
That one district win came against pre-season favorite Kaufman, however.
“There ain’t anybody over here taking them lightly,” Cantrell said. “They’re a new school, and they’re all juniors. They’re seasoned now, as far as that goes, but they haven’t been in these situations, and we have.”
North Forney has a lot of speed and an outstanding quarterback running a spread offense. Defensively, the Falcons go with a split defense – five on one side and five on the other, with a deep free safety.
“They’ve got good size – big, physical linemen on both sides of the ball,” Cantrell said. “Their biggest problems have been inexperience and youth, but we’re young, too.”
The Falcons do throw the ball a lot, because they haven’t been able to establish a consistent running game (something the Panthers know all about), and Kemp’s win last week proved they are vulnerable to the run, especially inside.
“Their passing game has racked up some yards, and they’re throwing to some athletes,” Cantrell pointed out.
North Forney probably has more students than Mabank now, even though Mabank will automatically be shunted into the big-school playoff division, and no one expects the Falcons to stay in 3A in the next realignment (February, 2012).
“It’s going to be a good game,” Cantrell said. “We’ve got to win the war in the trenches – that will be a huge factor. Our backs need just a little crease, and Crandall’s defensive line played really well against us. We need to be able to run right at them.”

Bulldogs seek playoff berth
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
EUSTACE–Win and in.
It’s just that simple for the Eustace Bulldogs this Friday night as they travel to Dallas for the final regular-season game against the Dallas Life Oak Cliff Lions.
As beat up as the Bulldogs are – and have been – it’s really pretty amazing they’re actually in a position to secure a playoff berth.
Eustace coach Doug Wendel admits it’s a shame the Bulldogs weren’t anywhere close to full strength when they faced the top two teams in the district, Grandview (Oct. 22) and Maypearl (last Friday).
Grandview and Maypearl will meet in Maypearl this week to settle first and second place in District 6-2A, and Wendel is confident Grandview will take the title.
“Maypearl is a good team. I would have liked to play them at full strength,” Wendel said Monday morning. “Second place is set up pretty well in our area, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them go three or four rounds deep (in the playoffs).”
Wendel said he made a mistake when he allowed starting quarterback Jacob McCarter to try and play with a separated shoulder, which lasted until the first serious hit.
“I appreciate his toughness, willingness and desire, but it was poor planning on my part,” Wendel said. “I should have come up with an alternate plan, knowing (sophomore backup John) Bradburn was out (concussion).
“We still played poorly,” he added. “We had four turnovers in the first half, and a bloop kickoff, and they scored 35 points. We didn’t put our defense in a position to be successful.
“Our offensive line didn’t play well, and that was disappointing to me,” he said.
Dallas Life Oak Cliff (DLOC) is about the only 6-2A team the Bulldogs know fairly well, as they’ve played the Lions to one-point games (one in overtime) each of the last two years.
“They’ve got speed all over the field,” Wendel said. “They’ve got several kids who run a legit 4.4.”
The Lions are a spread team, and try to split run and pass about 50/50, he said. They also run a 4-3 defense, which the Bulldogs haven’t seen a lot this year.
The key to winning against DLOC, who improved to 3-6 on the season and 1-3 in district play with a 35-7 whipping of Sunnyvale last Friday night, starts with hanging on to the football.
“Obviously, we can’t turn the ball over,” Wendel said. “We’ve got to control the clock and hold onto the ball. On the defensive side, teams with that kind of speed have big plays, and we’ve got to limit those.”
On offense, “we’ve got to make sure our best athletes touch the ball, so we’re going to have to think outside the box a little bit,” Wendel said.
For a change, the Bulldogs might be getting some players back in the lineup this week.
“We’re hoping Bradburn will be back this week, and that will help our offense some,” Wendel said. “(Senior fullback Jacob) Petillo is not 100 percent, but he didn’t reaggravate his hamstring (against Maypearl). Also, (Tyler) Folsom will be back.”
The Bulldogs did lose two linemen in the Maypearl game, tackle/placekicker Kyle Purselley (bruised knee), who is probable for Friday’s game, and Caleb Wonhas (shoulder), who is doubtful.
“We’ve moved five JV kids up, and all five have been playing a lot,” Wendel said. “Still, we’re fortunate to be playing in November and in total control over our own destiny. A lot of folks would like to be in our shoes.”