Pigskin Preview 2009 Issue

Sabine Cardinals
They say that a turnaround takes time. A long time.
The Sabine Cardinals know what it means to have to
wait.
It has been 23 years since the Cardinals tasted a
district title, and recent seasons stuck at the bottom
of the district may have Sabine fans wondering if their
time will ever come. Their time, just might be 2009,
the second year of the Jerry Baker era.
“We have got to get a better work ethic. People are
used to Sabine being a losing program, but I am here
to believe otherwise. Our kids need to believe that
they can win, and I think we may be turning the corner
to that belief.”
To win, the ‘Cards will put it up, a lot.
With Baker at the helm, comes a second year of the
spread offense, an attack that Baker says can level
the playing field.
“It is about mismatches. If we can create them, then
we can exploit them, and that is what the spread will
help us do.”
Quan Boyd is tabbed as the man to pull the trigger for
Union Grove Lions
Forty years ago, the Union Grove Lions won the
district title. It hasn’t happened since. Will 2009 mark
the end of that streak
“We return a lot of people,” said Union Grove head
coach Marty Moore, “in this case, we return the best
player from what we had last year.”
Moore has reason to believe that 40 years of frustration
will come to an end.
“The district is tough, no doubt, but we think we are
going to be a team with a shot.”
It doesn’t hurt that the Lions return a slew of athletes
on the offensive side, set on winning that district title.
Four year starter Dalton Mellon will return for his
senior year at quarterback, and alongside him, 1,000
+ yard rusher Richard Pittman will “Dot the I” in the
Union Grove backfield.
“With both Richard and Dalton coming back, it is so
much easier to know that the offense is with guys that
know what they are doing, and those guys have been
in some tough situations in the past and can show the
younger guys what it takes to win.”
White Oak Roughnecks
When asked how he felt about being the district favorite,
White Oak head coach Tracy Blankenship put it mildly,
“We may be the favorite, but there are at least three
teams that are as good as we are. On paper we might
be the favorite, but when the ball is snapped, anything
happens.”
District 18-2A
Sabine, and with returning weapons Laramy Barber
and Jarray Todd, the offense may be tough to handle.
“The spot at quarterback, I believe, is in good hands
with Quan, now we just need to play the position and
get used to the speed of the game, and if we put him in
a position to do well, that is what he will do.”
Returning corner Marc Cunningham will anchor the
Sabine defense, and a fast riser in Terrence Daniels
may provide some unexpected skill on defense.
“Terrence has worked harder than anyone that I have
seen, and he is going to be a great asset to us, both
offensively and especially defensively.”
Now it is time for the Cardinals to prove they can
play. Baker says those district goals are not that
farfetched.
“It takes time for a program to grow, and we are
growing fast, we will get there.”
Players to Watch
Quan Boyd Senior QB/S
Laramy Barber Senior WR/S
Marc Cunningham Senior C
Jarray Todd Senior RB/LB
Both Pittman and Mellon can lean on the broad
shoulders of Colton Woodfin, a unanimous First-Team
All-District selection at tackle.
Defensively, look no farther than the man in the middle,
as the Lions leading tackler is back.
“Caylor Haggard is a stopper, and to know we have
that kind of person in the middle, and with him leading
the team in nearly every defensive category, we know
that he is someone that we can build our defense
around.”
But Moore and his coaching staff will have a tough
task ahead of them; the numbers game can often be a
greatly overlooked disadvantage.
“We have some depth issues; we may only suit up
20 or 21 guys on the varsity, so we cannot afford any
injuries. We are going to have several guys that are
going to have to go both ways, and we are going to
lean heavily on guys that played only one way last
year that are going to have to go both ways for us.”
Players to Watch
Richard Pittman Senior TB/LB
Dalton Melton Senior QB
Colton Woodfin Senior OL
Blankenship has reason to believe that his team is the
best, and he needs to look no further than his backfield
for all the reassurance that he needs.
“We are lucky, we bring back two guys that can go the
distance from anywhere on the field and that makes
coaching so much easier.”
His two guys are Jackson McCurdy (1,150 yards and
11 Td’s) and Junior Hamilton (1,179 yards and 14 Td’s).
Mascot:
Cardinals
Student Enrollment: 390
Superintendent: Stacey Byrce
Head Coach:
Jerry Baker
Returning Offensive Starters 7
Returning Defensive Starters 5
Schedule
8/28 Redwater Home 7:30
9/4 Troup Away 7:30
9/11 OPEN
9/18 Beckville Home 7:30
9/25 Union Grove* Away 7:30
10/2 Winona* Here 7:30
10/9 Harleton* Away 7:30
10/16 Harmony* Home 7:30
10/23 Elysian Fields* Away 7:30
10/30 New Diana* Home 7:30
11/6 White Oak* Home 7:30
*district games
Mascot:
Lions
Student Enrollment: 230
Superintendent: Brian Gray
Head Coach:
Marty Moore
Returning Offensive Starters 7
Returning Defensive Starters 7
Schedule
8/28 Beckville Home 7:30
9/4 Overton Away 7:30
9/11 T.K. Gorman Home 7:30
9/18 OPEN
9/25 Sabine* Home 7:30
10/2 White Oak* Away 7:30
10/9 Winona* Away 7:30
10/16 Harleton* Home 7:30
10/23 Harmony* Away 7:30
10/30 Elysian Fields* Home 7:30
11/6 New Diana* Away 7:30
*district games
They are back to man the running back spots in the
White Oak slot-t, and make the Roughneck offense one
of the best in the district.
Combine that with Austin Tubbs back at quarterback
for a fourth season and the vaunted White Oak
running game should be running on all cylinders.
cont.
White Oak Roughnecks
“It gives our kids confidence to see that we have those
two senior running backs that can take control of the
game at any time, and that when we need the yards,
they are going to get them for us.”
The combo back will help the ‘Necks replace Orlando
Humble and his 1,400 yards and 24 Td’s, who is now
running the ball at Navarro JC.
Speaking of combo’s the White Oak defense has one
of the best.
Adam Thompson will return to the defensive side,
where he led the team in tackles last year with 128. He’ll
be joined by defensive end Skylar Barnes, who brings
back his 73 tackles, whopping 18 of those for losses.
Toss in Logan King and his 78 tackles coming back at
linebacker, and White Oak has a potent defense.
“We can stop people, and with Skylar and Adam back,
we should be ok on defense. Josh (Spedowski) will
help us shut down those that think they can go deep
on us.”
The Roughnecks don’t just have returners at the skill
spots, the line positions are in good hands as Ben
Adams and Brandon Heim return to anchor down the
Winona Wildcats
**Just prior to printing, Wildcat head coach Mike
Sorenson stepped down as Winona’s head coach. No
head coach had been hired prior to our deadline. The
following is our conversation with Coach Sorenson
before he stepped down.
The Wildcats may be the hardest team to get a feel for
in 2009.
Head coach Mike Sorenson has seen nothing but
progress since he took over in Winona, building his
team into contenders.
“We had to teach the kids how to compete when I first
got here. Now we know how to do that, we just have
to get the kids to believe that we can win here, and last
season was an indication that we are almost around
that corner.”
A 6-4 record in 2008, left the Wildcats in the middle
of the pack, but with six starters coming back on both
sides, the potential is there.
The Winona run to a possible playoff spot will start with
Jacob Wheeler. The defensive back and running back
was an Honorable Mention All-State selection in ‘08 and
will be looked to for the big plays this upcoming year.
The combination of James Williams and Clay Hendon
anchor a returning group of offensive linemen, that will
plow the road in the Winona run-based offense.
“This is the best offensive line that we have had since
I have been here,” said Sorenson, “we bring back 3 of
the 5 guys from last year, and if you have experience
like that, in the offense that we run, than we are in good
shape.”
The offense may also see a rising star in Josh Timmons,
who Sorenson tabs as having “big time potential” and
could be “our workhorse this year.”
District 18-2A
offensive and defensive lines.
White Oak will get a good test to their team in the
opening week of the district season. As the other
district favorite, Harmony will play host to White Oak
in a showdown that could set the stage for a big run by
White Oak to a possible repeat to their district crown.
Players to Watch
Jackson McCurdy Senior RB
Junior Hamilton Senior RB
Adam Thompson Senior LB
Skylar Barnes Senior DE
Austin Tubbs Senior QB
Logan King Senior LB
Ben Adams Senior OL
Brandon Heim Senior OL
Josh Spedowski Junior DB
Taylor Goll Junior WR
Mascot:
Roughnecks
Student Enrollment: 398
Superintendent: Mike Gilbert
Head Coach: Tracy Blankenship
Defensively, the horse is already in the barn, as Clay
Walker returns to man the middle.
The Honorable Mention All-East Texas selection is
dubbed as the stalwart of the Wildcat defense and
should provide the spark on D for Winona alongside
Jordan Jett at nose guard.
Winona has started to build a winning tradition, a
tradition that Sorenson says will help this year’s team,
especially with the help they will get from the lower
ranks.
“We have gotten better each year I have been here,
and our JV squad was 9-1 last year and with those guys
coming up and the guys we have back, we expect to be
a force within the district.”
Players to Watch
Jacob Wheeler Senior RB/DB
Clay Walker Senior LB/RB
Josh Timmons Senior RB
Jordan Jett Senior NG
James WIlliams Senior OL
Clay Hendon Senior OL
Mascot:
Wildcats
Student Enrollment: 268
Superintendent: Wylie Vonner
Head Coach: Mike Sorenson
Returning Offensive Starters 6
Returning Defensive Starters 6
Returning Offensive Starters 5
Returning Defensive Starters 5
Schedule
8/28 Joaquin Away 7:30
9/4 Spring Hill Home 7:30
9/11 Rains Home 7:30
9/18 OPEN
9/25 Harmony* Away 7:30
10/2 Union Grove* Home 7:30
10/9 Elysian Fields* Home 7:30
10/16 Winona* Away 7:30
10/23 New Diana* Home 7:30
10/30 Harleton* Away 7:30
11/6 Sabine* Home 7:30
*district games
Schedule
8/28 Waskom Home 7:30
9/4 Malakoff Away 7:30
9/11 Hawkins Away 7:30
9/18 OPEN
9/25 New Diana* Home 7:30
10/2 Sabine* Away
7:30
10/9 Union Grove* Home 7:30
10/16 White Oak* Home 7:30
10/23 Harleton* Away 7:30
10/30 Harmoy* Home 7:30
11/6 Elysian Fields* Away 7:30
*district games
18 2-A Pre-Season
Coaches’ Poll
1. White Oak
2. Harmony
3. New Diana
4. Winona
5. Harleton
6. Elysian Fields
7. Union Grove
8. Sabine
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