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“Goals for the season? Be 1-0. You take it a game at a time and the goal is to win that game and every week win that game.” — Willis
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Countdown to kickoff: Stout defense has Richland talking playoffs
Richland
District 7-6A
Last season: 3-7 (2-4 in District 7-6A)
Key players: QB Jordan Wiley (6-1, 200), RB Avieon Shanklin (5-6, 160), DT Cole Burgess (6-2, 234), DT Cason Clark (6-1, 248), OL Scout Lyons (6-1, 249), DE Will Allen (6-2, 205), WR Aaron Denson (6-0, 180), OL Rafael Ramirez ( 6-3, 270)
The big picture: In the three seasons under coach Ged Kates, Richland has not been timid in scheduling stiff competition before the district slate. The Rebels will again take on Arlington Lamar, Lewisville, Irving MacArthur and Grand Prairie before they tangle with District 7-6A foes including Southlake Carroll, Euless Trinity and Colleyville Heritage. “We’ve scheduled a tough slate in order to be ready to play,” Kates said. This season should yield better results than last year’s disappointing 3-7.
The offense is senior-laden and includes a formidable offensive line anchored by center Scout Lyons and tackle Rafael Ramirez. New at quarterback is Jordan Wiley, a starter on defense the past two years. Kates said Wiley is dual-threat QB with a prime target in receiver Aaron Denson. Behind the experience of returning offensive linemen, the ground game will be centered on sophomore running back Avieon Shanklin. Riley Johnson will spell Shanklin.
Richland might be more excited about the potential of the defense, especially up front. Defensive tackles Cole Burgess and Cason Clark will “wreak some serious havoc,” according to Kates. To make it even tougher for offenses, the tackles will be supported by defensive end Will Allen. The secondary will see some returning starters, also. The ability of the Rebels’ experienced players will have to bridge the gap for the younger players. “We have a lot of young talent but the skilled positions can sustain us while the young players figure it out,” Kates said.
Quotable
“Our district is unprecedented but we’ll be ready to play because of who we play early. We’re at a point in our program where we can beat anybody and it’s fun to be in the conversation with the heavy hitters now.” — Coach Ged Kates
“A playoff spot is coming for the Rebels. It’s not just me talking. We know what we can bring to the table and we’re bringing it in 2015. With the kids we have right now, we’re the strongest [in the weight room] team in the state of Texas. We have a chip on our shoulder and swagger.” — DT Cole Burgess
“We can adapt to the situation and make it work for what we have going on offense. We have the experience and the potential to get things done and to get things done as a unit, with a lot of seniors on offense. If we work together and stay focused, we can reach our goals.” — Center Scout Lyons
Notable: Projected starting quarterback Jordan Wiley was an all-district selection at linebacker his sophomore and junior seasons.
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Nice honor for three 7-6A players named to the DMN pre-season first team!! Congrats and best wishes for great seasons to Trinity's DL Chris Daniels, SLC's DB Obi Eboh and Kicker Jake Oldroyd.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/hig...tball-team.eceComment
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Countdown to Kickoff
Euless Trinity
District 7-6A
Last season: 12-2 (5-1 District 7-6A; state quarterfinals)
Key players: QB Tyler Natee (6-0, 220), RB Ja’Ron Wilson (5-10, 185), RB De’Jaun Garrett (5-8, 180), TE Caleb Cumbie (6-1, 230), OL Latu Kata (5-8, 260), DE Chris Daniels (6-4, 290), DL Ben Kautai (6-2, 285), DL Leland Brown (6-1, 245), LB Elijah Tasini (6-1, 205), LB Justus Gregg (5-9, 185).
The big picture: The Chris Jensen era is off and running as the Trojans get set to take on national powerhouse Concord (Calif.) De La Salle on Saturday night at Newsom Stadium on ESPN2. Jensen takes over as coach after the retirement of Steve Lineweaver, who won three state titles at Trinity (2005, 2007, 2009), was runner-up in 2010 and won almost 86 percent of his games (175-29). Jensen was a longtime offensive coordinator for Lineweaver, even when the pair was at Commerce, where Jensen spent seven of 10 seasons with the legendary coach.
But nothing has changed as Trinity’s game plan and goals remain the same. The Trojans came up one game shy of a district title, losing 10-6 to Southlake Carroll in October — in one of the toughest districts in the state. Predicted to last two rounds, Trinity made it to the state quarterfinals, where a late field goal pushed eventual state champ Allen past the Trojans.
Senior Tyler Natee is in his second season under center after producing 2,335 yards (1,400 rushing) and fellow senior Ja’Ron Wilson is another weapon out of the backfield with his 1,791 yards — both earning a spot on first team all-district. “Tyler has come along even though he has only played one year under center. He’s shown a lot of improvement — learning the knowledge of the game,” Jensen said. Wilson is also a threat in the pass game and Caleb Cumbie will add size and blocking experience for the Trojans. The offense will also get a boost with De’Jaun Garrett, who missed time last season due to injury. On the defensive front, Chris Daniels (first team), who’s getting interest from more than 20 colleges, will headline this unit alongside Ben Kautai and Leland Brown. Linebackers will also be a strong suit with Elijah Tasini and Justus Gregg (second team).
Quotable “We want to improve strength, speed, timing, accuracy, our physical goals, but the main things we talked about is developing team unity. If we can get that done, and we will, we’ll unify as a team.” — Coach Chris Jensen
“Coach Jensen is a great coach and I believe and trust in him a lot. He has a great mind and you can expect a lot of new things this year.” — RB De’Jaun Garrett
“We’re all working our tails off toward a common goal. We’re focused on De La Salle.”
— TE Caleb Cumbie
“Chris Daniels is a great player, great speed and has good work ethic. He will be the anchor of our defense and expectations are high with him.” — Linebackers coach John Thompson
“We never set win goals or title goals, never talked about winning state or championships, we just want to give our best effort, let the chips fall where they may.” — Jensen
Notable: Trinity is 6-2 against out-of-state opponents since 2008, including a 41-32 victory over Elkton (Md.) Eastern Christian Academy in last season’s opener.
— Brian GossetComment
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Countdown to kickoff: Southlake Carroll’s inexperience is new challenge
By Travis L. Brown, Special to the Star-Telegram
Southlake Carroll
District 7-6A
Last season: 13-1 (7-0 in District 7-6A)
Key players DB Obi Eboh (6-1, 172), RB Lil’Jordan Humphrey (6-4, 195), QB Montana Murphy (6-3, 195), WR Zach Farrar (6-4, 208), DB Robert Barnes (6-2, 190), QB Mason Holmes (6-1, 180), K/P Jake Oldroyd (6-0, 175), OL Lucas Tribble (6-5, 265)
The big picture: Southlake Carroll has been one of the most consistent teams in Texas for years. This season could challenge that consistency with the amount of players Carroll lost to graduation from last season. Coach Hal Wasson returns just one starter on defense, defensive back Obi Eboh, after linebacker and returning tackles leader Jake Copeland moved away before the season. Wasson must also replace graduated quarterback Ryan Agnew.
The race for the starting quarterback position is running strong between senior Montana Murphy and junior Mason Holmes, and Wasson said until one separates himself with the “it” factor, they could go with a dual quarterback system the entire season. Carroll returns one of the best running backs in North Texas in senior Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who ran for 1,830 yards and 29 touchdowns last season. Look for Humphrey to also be utilized more at receiver as Carroll will do whatever it can to get the ball in its best playmaker’s hands. On defense, it’s all up to Eboh to lead a squad full of first-year starters. While that looks bleak on paper, Eboh said a majority of those moving up saw varsity action at some point last season. Special teams might be Carroll’s most experienced phase, returning kicker/punter Jake Oldroyd who went 8 for 8 on field goals last season.
Quotable: “I know for me and our coaches, we’re really excited about this because this is going to be a huge challenge with a new quarterback, 10 new starters on defense, four new players on offense, an undersized team, a team that’s in a very tough league and will play an unbelievable preseason. Am I looking forward to it? You’re doggone right I am.” — Coach Hal Wasson
“Carroll can’t really fly under the radar. You look at some of the reports and what people are saying about us — it’s true that we’re pretty young and not a lot of guys are returning and there are a lot of question marks about our team, but as a competitor, you kind of like having that target on your back, and you kind of like having that chip on your shoulder.” — DB Obi Eboh
Notable: The last seven starting quarterbacks at Carroll accepted Division I scholarships out of high school — Ryan Agnew (San Diego State), Kenny Hill (Texas A&M), David Piland (Houston), Kyle Padron (SMU), Riley Dodge (UNT), Greg McElroy (Alabama) and Chase Daniel (Missouri). Daxx Garman, who transferred to Carroll for his senior year but was ruled ineligible, signed with Arizona after graduating from Carroll. Both McElroy and Daniel went on to play in the NFL.
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This weeks rankings
Trinity
Coppell
Southlake
Haltom
Richland
Bell
HeritageComment
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Please! Heritage is better than Bell, Richland and Haltom at the very least. Until proven otherwise.
I would rank them more like this after the first games results.
1. Trinity 1-0 - Big win over very solid team. I think DLS and Trinity would be a serious contender in Texas.
2. Carroll 0-1 - Yeah, they lost. Yes. They will lose again this week to start off the season 0-2. However, they are better than anyone not named Trinity in this district.
3. Coppell 1-0 - I think Coppell takes another small step down this year, but I will wait until Heritage beats them to actually move them down. Hebron is not that good.
4. Heritage 0-1 - Abilene is a good team. They have a new HC but they didn't switch staffs and systems. With not much time to get things going, an opening L against a quality opponent is not surprising.
5. Bell 0-1 - Now suddenly Bell can really run the ball. They need to fix the passing game and work to improve their defense, but losing 34-31 is an improvement over last season's 48-35 loss. Bell is gonna give the weaker teams headaches with their run game.
6. Richland 0-1 - What did I take out of the almost upset win over Lamar? Answer: It wouldn't have been that big an upset. Lamar is Ohh-ver-rated! (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap)
7. Haltom 1-0 - Grand Prairie sucks. THIS YEAR, maybe Haltom sucks slightly less.
i am going to have to see more game results before jumping up Bell and for now Heritage. I still have a pretty good feeling about Heritage though.Super BComment
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This week's games:
Colleyville Heritage (0-1) @ Grapevine (1-0)
Bell (0-1) @ Rockwall Heath (1-0)
Richland(0-1) @ Lewisville (0-1)
Haltom (1-0) @ Terrell (1-0)
SLC (0-1) @ Tulsa Union (0-0)
McKinney Boyd (1-0) @ Coppell (1-0)
Rockwall (0-1) @ Trinity (1-0)Comment
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Wow, that's almost exactly as I see it too, Super B........should I be worried??
Switching into my green eyeshades, I wouldn't be too surprised if the Dragons depart Tulsa at 1-1. I did a little reading on Union and find out they graduated 18 starters from last season so while we are young they will be younger. Couple that with the fact that this is Union's 1st game, should give the Dragons some advantages to help overcome the obvious home field advantage.
Now we may still get "OKie'd", but I don't think that a Dragon loss should be the foregone conclusion for this game.Comment
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No. It's absolutely not a foregone conclusion. I am mainly going on how close the game was last season and that it is in their home stadium. 10,000 capacity, but I expect an overflow crowd. I also expect it to be a really big deal to them. They know SLC is a storied program from big bad Texas. Should be tons of media coverage as well. It will be one of the few OOS teams that can match the atmosphere we have in Texas. They also are the 2nd largest HS in OK. Nearly 5K student body, so they should have plenty of depth. Tyler Adkins returns as their RB. Last season he had 189 yards and four TD's at AT&T. They will reload elsewhere. All that in addition to the 270 mile trip. Once you get out of TX, you get to experience the poor roads in OK. Unless you go I-35 through OKC (the long way), most of the trip will be on US Highways (stoplights and speed zones), not Interstate (freeways).
Wow, that's almost exactly as I see it too, Super B........should I be worried??
Switching into my green eyeshades, I wouldn't be too surprised if the Dragons depart Tulsa at 1-1. I did a little reading on Union and find out they graduated 18 starters from last season so while we are young they will be younger. Couple that with the fact that this is Union's 1st game, should give the Dragons some advantages to help overcome the obvious home field advantage.
Now we may still get "OKie'd", but I don't think that a Dragon loss should be the foregone conclusion for this game.
You going?Super BComment
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There's no doubt that the home field and revenge factor are big items in Union's favor. I also have no doubt that they will reload, but don't discount the Dragon's advantage of having already played a game. In last year's game, an experienced Union team still made many 1st game mistakes. Adkins is a great RB but he still needs help. Last year he got it from a 3 year starter at QB who threw for about 250 yds. Will he qet the same this year from a QB starting his 1st game?? Who knows, but I do like the Dragon's chances if Adkins turns out to be a one man show.
Unfortunately, we have a family commitment so we won't be going. I will be forced to listen to radio broadcast.Comment
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If any Dragon fans are reading this and driving up, DO NOT speed on the strip between Tushka and Savanna. Nearly every little town and the entire stretch of highway between the two is a speed trap. I've unfortunately donated a lot of money to their police departments/highway patrol.Comment
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Hoping my Panthers can move up a slot this week, but those Mustangs.......Comment
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