wo-s is still there....

[trojandad]

ok, speaking to the elephant in the room, i, obviously, don't see wo-s being the team they would have been should reggie still be with us, but i really appreciated coach in his dealings with the mustangs against kirbyville, on several points.....

1) we've faced them 3 years in a row so i've gotten to see them a few times of late, and coach hooks understood his players were still working to feel things out, not only in emotional stress but just how reggie's absense was going to affect them on the field....coach hooks could have ridden his boys harder and i think he made the right decision to err to the side of not riding the guys hard.....

2) in two years of blowouts from wo-s, one thing was as clear as can be in playing the mustangs, that their offense is an integral part of their defensive scheme....they count on a ball control, methodical offense to allow their defense to get proper rest during a game....on our third meeting, 3 turnovers by the mustangs had their defense on the field more than usual and enabled us to gain a 3 td lead, which we needed all of when reggie started bringing them back in the second half....

the boys were just trying to survive a tough two weeks and, having been thru something similar with our team, you can tell young men how each of them are going to have to do extra to pick up the slack, but they get to see exactly what that means in a game like fri night.....the 4th qtr run of 94 yards to break the game open actually had the rb stopped, but he ran thru many arm tackles from defenders on the field more than they would have expected had reggie been there occupying minutes on the clock.....

i have no way of knowing for sure, but i suspect that monday at practice nobody has to tell THAT defense that things are different without reggie.....i imagine they are telling each other how tired they got on defense against kirbyville and that to make up the difference in a game, the defense is gonna have to run longer and harder to build more stamina....and i'm sure the loss is gonna allow them to see how much slack coach hooks had to cut them for that game adapting back to playing time....

coach hooks didn't make that team what it is by being the dullest knife in the drawer, he no doubt sees 50 times more than i do....i think they just "sacrificed the tail to save the body"....i believe these boys are gonna find their way back, they won't be reggie's team anymore, but they will become a team he's proud of.....

[griff]

trojan, you have been too kind in your remarks toward WO-S - not only with the Reggie Garrett situation, but also since last year's game against Coldspring. Without Reggie, WO-S is not the same team, and I say that purely from a FOOTBALL standpoint. Reggie was on his way to having a dynamite year. At this moment, Kirbyville is a little better than WO-S and they proved it last Saturday. Considering that WO-S did not practice the week before, the emotional drain of losing their leader, and starting a sophomore QB in his first game against an undefeated opponent, it was a very tough but good first step for the team, coaches, and everyone involved.

Our new QB was expected to be our starter next year. He's having to grow up faster than planned. It was encouraging to see his play improve as the game progressed, especially in the 2nd half. We will be challenged by Bridge City and possibly by Silsbee in district, but that's it. I fully believe that by the time our QB has several games under his belt when district play is concluded, he will be ready to lead us into the playoffs (and hopefully a rematch with Kirbyville).

[wimbo_pro]

I hope WOS surprises everyone and wins their region.

[WOS87]

We lost to Jasper in district in 1986 then went on to beat them in the Quarters and won the 4A State Championship... we are not out of this race by any means! Go 'Stangs!!!!

...and if we DO make it that far with a Sophomore QB, the rest of 3A better watch out the next 2 years.

[griff]

Here's to hoping history repeats itself. We have the defense, the running game, and now our kicker is rounding into shape. If Salter can produce a decent passing game (which he did on the subvarsity levels), then we'll be just fine. What he needs most right now is more game experience.

[trojandad]

i hope you guys can rally as well, it would be a wonderful tribute and having been a part of the same thing in 92, it was great to go to the state final game....and i don't think anyone thinks you guys have given up, but as a 50 yr old dad i have paid close attention to your coach's words when he's interviewed about how his team is handling this, and so often he works in the word "patience" in the description......very wise man, i think....

you know, that "boys of fall" video is making the rounds and everyone gets nastalgic about their football memories, and i think thats what a sharp coach like hooks sees, that these guys are going to be men and fathers a lot longer than they are going to be varsity football players, and he wants to make sure their football experience doesn't get in the way of achieving their long term goals....

we had a similar situation my senior year, preseason ranked high in the state, had a death among other things and lost every game but one.....our coach, a decent man, handled the boys hard to separate a game from life....i dont know how one does that, life is not all game, nor vice versa, but they do overlap.....anyway few boys respected him for his harsh ways and years later when he passed, i saw almost no former players at his funeral....it's just too high of a price to forget there are some pretty impressionable minds underneath those helmets.....i really give lots of props to coach hooks, and secondarily to coach bartay for not bothering his boys with his personal hurts and being there for them every day when we all know where his heart and mind is.....

[lulu]

I believe in miracles and wish one for your team and community.;)

[wimbo_pro]

I'm a little surprised WOS doesnt have a back up QB other than a sophomore. Were there other injuries? WOS is known for good QB's...and a couple of em on each team, it seemed.

[setxsports]

Originally posted by trojandad
ok, speaking to the elephant in the room, i, obviously, don't see wo-s being the team they would have been should reggie still be with us, but i really appreciated coach in his dealings with the mustangs against kirbyville, on several points.....

1) we've faced them 3 years in a row so i've gotten to see them a few times of late, and coach hooks understood his players were still working to feel things out, not only in emotional stress but just how reggie's absense was going to affect them on the field....coach hooks could have ridden his boys harder and i think he made the right decision to err to the side of not riding the guys hard.....

2) in two years of blowouts from wo-s, one thing was as clear as can be in playing the mustangs, that their offense is an integral part of their defensive scheme....they count on a ball control, methodical offense to allow their defense to get proper rest during a game....on our third meeting, 3 turnovers by the mustangs had their defense on the field more than usual and enabled us to gain a 3 td lead, which we needed all of when reggie started bringing them back in the second half....

the boys were just trying to survive a tough two weeks and, having been thru something similar with our team, you can tell young men how each of them are going to have to do extra to pick up the slack, but they get to see exactly what that means in a game like fri night.....the 4th qtr run of 94 yards to break the game open actually had the rb stopped, but he ran thru many arm tackles from defenders on the field more than they would have expected had reggie been there occupying minutes on the clock.....

i have no way of knowing for sure, but i suspect that monday at practice nobody has to tell THAT defense that things are different without reggie.....i imagine they are telling each other how tired they got on defense against kirbyville and that to make up the difference in a game, the defense is gonna have to run longer and harder to build more stamina....and i'm sure the loss is gonna allow them to see how much slack coach hooks had to cut them for that game adapting back to playing time....

coach hooks didn't make that team what it is by being the dullest knife in the drawer, he no doubt sees 50 times more than i do....i think they just "sacrificed the tail to save the body"....i believe these boys are gonna find their way back, they won't be reggie's team anymore, but they will become a team he's proud of..... Great post Dad!!! The young Sophomore QB continues to improve each day at practice and will continue to get better. This team has ALOT of talent and with the QB improving each day and week i see the Stangs going along way. I think if WO-S gets a rematch with Kirbyville things will turn out different. THanks again Dad for the nice words.

[trojandad]

for that matter, i'd like another shot at them.....we had a new qb after 3 years of the same young man at qb when facing them the first game of the season....i'm gaining more respect for our game against them the more i see them play.....