Navasota....

[Bullaholic]

Obviously, Navasota has it together this season---somebody tell me the strengths of the Rattlers.

[OldBison75]

All state QB with over 2000 yards passing already.
Two receivers with almost over 800 yards receiving already.
Averaging over 400 ypg offense.
Defense giving up less than 200 yards per game.
Defense giving up about 8 points per game.
Lots of speed. Not great size though.
Great special teams play.
Good field goal kicker from 40 yards or closer.
Good return man.
Good depth--lost all state senior linebacker for the year--his replacement has led team in tackles the next two games.

[Hendo]

Who have they played this year?

[toddg]

All state QB with over 2000 yards passing already.
Two receivers with almost over 800 yards receiving already.
Averaging over 400 ypg offense.
Defense giving up less than 200 yards per game.
Defense giving up about 8 points per game.
Lots of speed. Not great size though.
Great special teams play.
Good field goal kicker from 40 yards or closer.
Good return man.
Good depth--lost all state senior linebacker for the year--his replacement has led team in tackles the next two games.

deep into the playoffs..that is a monster +!!!

[HEMOTOXIC]

Who have they played this year?


@ Willis W 42-0
Coldspring W 36-8
Houston Sterling W 49-6
Lexington W 45-13
@ Fairfield W 41-7
Austin McCallum W 57-9

Remaining District Games
@ Madisonville
Rockdale
@ Caldwell
Taylor

*The way things are looking, if Rockdale doesn't turn it around, looks like Taylor will go division I and we will be going division II.

Not the toughest of schedules, but, the Rattlers still look very impressive.

[ctown81]

@ Willis W 42-0
Coldspring W 36-8
Houston Sterling W 49-6
Lexington W 45-13
@ Fairfield W 41-7
Austin McCallum W 57-9

Remaining District Games
@ Madisonville
Rockdale
@ Caldwell
Taylor

*The way things are looking, if Rockdale doesn't turn it around, looks like Taylor will go division I and we will be going division II.

Not the toughest of schedules, but, the Rattlers still look very impressive.

You're right, not the toughest schedule but that Coldspring victory is a very good one.

[HEMOTOXIC]

You're right, not the toughest schedule but that Coldspring victory is a very good one.


True. Hopefully, we will be ready come playoff time.

[hollywood]

Hemo, how'd Sota play Fairfield? The only common opponent Stephenville can relate to Sota is Glen Rose vs Fairfield and this weeks Glen Rose vs Stephenville.

[OldBison75]

This was the newspaper write up on the Navasota-Fairfield game. I will say that the Rattlers were freely subbing on both sides of the ball most of the second half.

Top-ranked Rattlers roll Fairfield 41-7

By SCOTT CLENDENIN
Special to The Eagle
Posted: Saturday, September 29, 2012 12:37 a.m.
Text size: A A A

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FAIRFIELD — Back on the road for the first time since the season opener, top-ranked Navasota (5-0) shut down Fairfield’s ground game for a 41-7 victory.

Navasota’s Kadarius Baker picked apart the Eagle secondary, throwing for 309 yards on 17-of-27 passing.

Austin Collins led all receivers with 10 receptions for 208 yards and three touchdowns. Solomon McGinty caught five for 61 yards and one TD, the first of the game.

Fairfield (3-2), which had its regular-season 23-game winning streak snapped last week, answered on the ensuing drive with a methodical march down the field. It took 18 plays and two fourth-down conversions before Fairfield scored on Cody Sell’s 2-yard dive. The drive took 9 minutes.

On the next Navasota possession, Baker hit Xavier Creeks on a screen pass. Creeks cut back to the Rattler sideline and rumbled 71 yards to the Eagle 5 before being forced out of bounds.

Two plays later, he scored from the 1.

Deionnte Taylor got the ball back for the Rattlers with an interception, and later Coy Imhoff jumped in front of another Cain pass for his first career interception.

A penalty took a touchdown off the board for Navasota, but Michel Martinez connected from 35 yards out for a 24-7 advantage.

Baker stood tall in the pocket and found a wide open Collins behind the Eagle secondary for a 41-yard strike that pushed the lead to 31-7.

Baker had a 14-yard touchdown to Collins in the third quarter and Martinez capped the scoring with a 32-yard field goal in the final stanza.

After giving up 70 yards on the first Fairfield drive, the Navasota defense allowed just 78 yards on the Eagles’ last 35 plays.

[HEMOTOXIC]

Hemo, how'd Sota play Fairfield? The only common opponent Stephenville can relate to Sota is Glen Rose vs Fairfield and this weeks Glen Rose vs Stephenville.

Besides Fairfield's first drive, the game wasn't close. The way that Navasota dominated, it was if the score was 60-0, inwhich, it should / could very well have been. I do believe that we scored on every possession in the first half going up 31-7. We scored 10 points in the second half. The second half was used to work on our run game, which as been a small issue besides our offensive line play. Back ups where in by mid 3rd Q.

Speaking of the offensive line, they are starting to gel somewhat. I guess time will tell as far as how much they have improved.

[HEMOTOXIC]

http://www.freestonecountytimesonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3876:eagles-bitten-by-1-rattlers-41-7&catid=51:sports

The Fairfield Eagles have taken on excellent teams this season and Friday welcomed in the top ranked Navasota Rattlers. Navasota then built a 31-7 halftime lead en route to a 41-7 dominating win over the Eagles.

Fairfield was held to 152 yards of total offense and the defense allowed 442 by Navasota. Andre Welch, who had 46 carries last week, had only 21 carries for 56 yards. Larry Rose carried 12 times for 68 yards. Senior quarterback Aaron Cain completed two of ten passing for 14 yards and 13 of those went to fellow classmate Cooper Cole on one catch.

The Rattlers took the opening kickoff and scored easily and quickly, which they have done to opponents all year. Senior quarterback Kadarius Baker tossed a 25 yard pass to Solomon McGinty for the score only 47 seconds into the contest. Michel Martinez kicked the point after for the early 7-0 lead.


Fairfield was not to be outdone. The Eagles took the kickoff and with the daunting ground attack, methodically drove down the field. The scoring drive took ten minutes off of the game clock and finished with fullback Cody Sell scoring on a two yard run. Jacob Judd kicked the extra point and the score was tied with only 1:41 to go in the first quarter.



Navasota struck just like their nickname and regained the lead. Xavier Creeks scored on a one yard run and the extra point gave the Rattlers a touchdown lead that would stand for the rest of the game. There were still 16 seconds left in the first quarter.

After a Fairfield turnover, the Rattlers went back to work. Baker tossed a pass to his favorite receiver Austin Collins for a 13 yard touchdown. Again the point after was good and the lead grew to 21-7 with 8:39 to go in the first half.

The Navasota defense picked off another Fairfield pass and made quick work to put more points on the scoreboard. Coy Imhoff picked off Aaron Cain and returned it into Eagle territory at the 35 yard line. The drive stalled and Martinez stepped up for the 35 yard field goal attempt. The try was good and the lead stretched to 24-7.

Baker found Collins again for his third touchdown pass of the night. This was big play by the big play offense and covered 41 yards and the Rattlers built a 31-7 halftime lead.

In the second half, Baker completed another pass for the score to Collins. The 14 yard scoring pass was the fourth for Baker and the third by Collins to extend the lead to 31-7.

The Eagle defense had a bright spot in the second half when Chris Lide pounced on a Navasota fumble but the drive stalled midway through the third quarter.


The Rattlers closed out the scoring with a second Martinez field goal, this one from 33 yards out with 3:02 remaining in the game.


The Eagles (3-2) will have another tough contest on the road and will travel to Glen Rose to take on the very talented Tigers. Game time is 7:30pm.

[hookandladder]

@ Willis W 42-0
Coldspring W 36-8
Houston Sterling W 49-6
Lexington W 45-13
@ Fairfield W 41-7
Austin McCallum W 57-9

Remaining District Games
@ Madisonville
Rockdale
@ Caldwell
Taylor

*The way things are looking, if Rockdale doesn't turn it around, looks like Taylor will go division I and we will be going division II.

Not the toughest of schedules, but, the Rattlers still look very impressive.

Not taking anything away from Navasota but that is one weak District, Wow.

[hollywood]

Thanks Sota posters for the reports. Here's Glen Rose's recap.

The Glen Rose Tigers have played some quality football games this season, but Friday night’s homecoming effort took the cake.

Glen Rose (6-0) took a 31-0 lead into halftime over the Fairfield Eagles (3-3) on the way to a 45-6 victory. The Tigers led 45-0 before the starters came out early in the fourth quarter. Glen Rose actually beat Fairfield worse than No. 1 Navasota did a week earlier (41-7).

Fairfield had just six first downs and 136 total yards through three quarters.

“People have been saying the teams we play aren’t that good, but they need to start saying the Glen Rose Tigers are a pretty dang good football team,” said coach Tommy Dunn. “The talent was upgraded quite a bit from some of our other opponents and you worry about distractions on homecoming, so thank goodness we had the big lead at halftime and didn’t have to worry about not having some of our guys in the locker room.”

The Tigers lost the turnover battle 1-0, but Glen Rose starters didn’t turn the ball over. Glen Rose tallied seven penalties, compared to five for Fairfield.

Colton Bretton delivered his strongest game of the season, completing 19 of 24 passes for 362 yards and five touchdowns with 20 rushing yards.

“The receivers are running great routes, and Colton is doing a good job,” Dunn said. “He’s progressing reading the defense; it’s hard not to get locked onto (Justin) Weatherley and (Cody) Burtscher, but we want to expand the number of players catching the ball. (The Eagles) do a good job against the run; we knew we were going to have to throw the ball. They tried to keep eight men in the box and we exposed that early.”

Glen Rose ran the ball 32 times for 165 yards, led by Cody Burtscher (15-114). He also caught five passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

“Fairfield is a really good team; we just haven’t been challenged (since China Spring) and I have no idea how good we actually are,” Burtscher said. “We were just really explosive and they couldn’t stop us.”

Burtscher came up with a backbreaking 49-yard touchdown reception with just 23 seconds left in the first half, as he caught the ball in double coverage and escaped the clutches of both safeties.

“Cody never goes down easy, and that was just a dagger,” Dunn said. “Up by 24 is a huge lead, but when you’re down 31 your hopes are out the window. We were very happy to get that last (first-half) TD.”

Jensen Nash ran three times for 28 yards and also managed to catch two passes for 75 yards – including a 59-yard touchdown.

“The free safety left me wide open for an easy touchdown,” Nash said. “Colton made great passes on both of my catches. I enjoy getting to run the ball and hopefully I’ll get it some more.”

Justin Weatherley (8-112) and Hayden Holder (3-27, 1 TD) were also notable pass catchers.

With the red offense doing literally anything it pleased, Dunn gave the trench Tigers high marks.

“Coach (Terry) Harlin is doing a great job with the offensive line,” Dunn said. “Any (defensive) look we see now at this point in the season, they’ve seen it before and they’re playing great together.”

Martin De Los Santos made a 26-yard field goal, all six of his extra points and he had a touchdown-saving tackle on a first-quarter Fairfield kick return.

“That (field goal) was big to get points out of that drive, because you don’t know how the rest of the game is going to go,” Dunn said. “It’s nice to have a good kicker. Martin is a safety at heart, but he’s not the biggest guy and he’s very valuable to us kicking, so we don’t let him do that.”

Logan Douglas tallied 1.5 tackles for loss.

“Logan has done a good job all year; it’s good to see him show out like that,” Dunn said.

Jared Thames shared one of the Douglas tackles for loss and he also rushed for a one-yard touchdown.

“Their O-line was really big, but their feet weren’t that good and kind of slow,” Thames said. “Our D-line isn’t the biggest, but we’re pretty quick. Logan was able to get through there and get a hold of him, then I came in a little late to help finish him off.”

When Fairfield went for a fake punt in the first quarter, a Blake Eschbach tackle brought a turnover on downs.

“That was great awareness and a huge play to keep them from getting any momentum and give us great field position,” Dunn said.

When Fairfield went for it on fourth-and-inches in the second quarter, Burtscher and Kyle Cauble combined to get a stop for no gain.

“That was awesome,” Burtscher said. “We really had a good push up front that forced the running back to bounce it outside. Cauble came up and got him, then I put a hit on him to stop him from the first down.”

When Fairfield finally got on the board with 4:08 to play via a four-yard touchdown run, the ensuing conversion pass failed when Carter Brandt hit the quarterback as he threw. On the final play of the game, Shane Strealy and Ryan Lamb combined on a sack.

“I hope their quarterback wasn’t hurt seriously right there, but our guys were relentless with their rush,” Dunn said.

While Fairfield used a trick play to complete a 35-yard pass on its first play, starting quarterback Aaron Cain struggled in completing four of 11 passes for 40 yards. The Eagles ran 29 times for 156 yards, paced by Andre Welch (18-79) and Larry Rose (7-76, 1 TD).

First quarter

Fairfield opened the game with a receiver deep pass off a reverse for a 35-yard gain, but the Tigers were eventually able to force a punt.

“We weren’t expecting that trick play early, but after that we knew we had to stop them,” Thames said. “We stepped up.”

The Tigers completed a seven-play, 97-yard drive with a 35-yard touchdown pass to a waiting Burtscher in the end zone (7-0, De Los Santos kick).

“I just had a good fake on (the safety) and blew right past him,” Burtscher said.

After De Los Santos make a tackle on the kick return at the Tiger 45, Eschbach killed the drive with a tackle on the fake punt.

Second quarter

An 11-play, 60-yard Tiger drive ended with the 26-yard De Los Santos field goal (10-0). The next Tiger possession covered 69 yards in six plays, as Nash made a diving catch and eventually Burtscher got behind the defense on an 18-yard touchdown reception (17-0, De Los Santos kick).

“That was the same exact play as my first touchdown, but on the opposite side,” Burtscher said. “That time it was a linebacker covering.”

The Tigers needed just two plays to go 62 yards for their next score, as Bretton went deep to Nash and he sped to the end zone on a 59-yard touchdown (24-0, De Los Santos kick).

“Jensen has tremendous speed to get over the top in a hurry,” Dunn said. “He provides a big boost.”

It was the Eagle possession that followed where Burtscher and Cauble made the fourth down stop at the Tiger 33.

“Our defense is doing a great job penetrating and blowing up blocks; they’re being very physical,” Dunn said.

The final Tiger drive of the half covered 67 yards in four plays. Bretton went deep to Burtscher, who made the catch in double coverage and narrowly managed to keep his footing after shedding the Eagles to head on to the end zone from 49 yards out (31-0, De Los Santos kick).

“(The safety) tipped it, but I had good concentration on the ball and managed to catch it,” Burtscher said. “It was just determination and I knew the clock was running down; I didn’t want to be brought down (by the other safety) and I happened to make it out.”

Third quarter

Glen Rose kept the pedal to the metal coming out of halftime with a nine-play, 66-yard drive. The touchdown came when Bretton got the ball to Holder short and he ran wide into the end zone from 15 yards out (38-0, De Los Santos kick).

“We take what the defense gives us,” Dunn said. “It helps when our defense is playing so good, then we don’t have to play from behind.”

Fourth quarter

Glen Rose completed an 11-play, 87-yard drive early in the fourth when Thames bulled his way across the goal line from a yard out (45-0, De Los Santos kick). Burtscher made a diving 32-yard catch on the first play of the quarter.

“I saw Coach Dunn call the play, and then I pretty much walked in,” Thames said. “It feels good to get (a touchdown on homecoming).”

The Tiger offensive starters were on the sidelines for the next Glen Rose drive, and new quarterback Holder threw a deep interception on the fifth play. Fairfield’s Rose got outside on the next play for a 62-yard gain before he was brought down by Lamb at the Tiger 4. Rose scored on the next play, but Brandt prevented the conversion pass (45-6).

The Eagles made it as far as the Glen Rose 25 in the final seconds before the Strealy-Lamb sack.

Glen Rose will now prepare for its showdown on Friday at No. 3 Stephenville. The Yellowjackets are coming off a bye.

“It feels awesome to be playing like this, but I think we can even improve some more (for Stephenville) coming off our best game yet,” Burtscher said.

Dunn hopes to see the Tigers’ A-game in Stephenville.

“It’s our first district game, but also a pride game where we want to play well and win,” he said. “We’re going to play better than we played this week.”

[HEMOTOXIC]

Not taking anything away from Navasota but that is one weak District, Wow.

It is.

[venomous tat2]

Not taking anything away from Navasota but that is one weak District, Wow.

Got UIL to thanks for that , last years dist was a lot better . Weak districts don't help you get ready down the road JMO

[hollywood]

Glen Rose actually beat Fairfield worse than No. 1 Navasota did a week earlier (41-7).

QB Colton Bretton delivered his strongest game of the season, completing 19 of 24 passes for 362 yards and five touchdowns with 20 rushing yards.

[HEMOTOXIC]

Glen Rose actually beat Fairfield worse than No. 1 Navasota did a week earlier (41-7).

QB Colton Bretton delivered his strongest game of the season, completing 19 of 24 passes for 362 yards and five touchdowns with 20 rushing yards.

Where are you going with this?

[hollywood]

Where are you going with this?

What we touched on earlier. There are some teams not on the radar that are good and just because they aren't ranked in the top 10 in the polls doesn't disqualify them as being contenders. Nothing against Navasota whatsoever. Just a shout out for Glen Rose and what Dist 7 has this season. ;)

[HEMOTOXIC]

What we touched on earlier. There are some teams not on the radar that are good and just because they aren't ranked in the top 10 in the polls doesn't disqualify them as being contenders. Nothing against Navasota whatsoever. Just a shout out for Glen Rose and what Dist 7 has this season. ;)

Oh, trust me, I agree 100%. GR, sure looks good. I wish that I were in the position to see them and SV this week.

[OldBison75]

Hollywood, its like I have said over and over this year--there several teams playing well enough right now to lay claim to a top five ranking
The next two weeks will clear up the playoffs for Stephenville-Glen Rose-Alvarado. All are top ten programs in my opinion and can beat anybody on any given night. Glen Rose and Navasota have teams that are alot alike in style of play and athletes. What will make them harder to beat this year is that they believe they can play with and beat anybody. They have something to prove and that can be dangerous to other good teams.

[HEMOTOXIC]

My Biggest Concern:

Ideally, you schedule teams that you know will give you some to type of benefit. So far, every game has been just about a blowout. Yes, one can say, well, the competition isn't that good. I will have to agree. After seeing Houston Sterling and Austin McCallum, you have to ask yourself if that was the best Coach Fedora could do? If anything, I guess it gives Navasota time to work on their offensive line before the playoffs start.

In the other arguement, maybe Navasota is just that good. Afterall, good teams can make the opposition look pathetic at times.

4A @ Willis Wildkats 2-4 record with their most recent loss to Brenham 45-7. Navasota beat the Wildkats 42-0
3A Coldspring Trojans 4-2 record with their biggest win coming over then #1 La Marque. Navasota beat the Trojans 36-8. The score could have been a lot worse.
3A Houston Sterling who has a 1-5 record.
2A #9 Lexington 3-2 (Don't let the classification fool ya); Not a Coldspring, but, IMO, played Navasota tough until the second half.
3A @ Fairfield Eagles with a 3-3 record. Another blow out victory yet Glen Rose beats the Eagles 45-6. Yes, I know games are about the matchups.
4A Austin McCallum with a 3-3 record. Another blow out victory

Thus Far, Opponents Record 16-19 record

Coldspring was by far Navasota's biggest test. Still Navasota out played the Trojans in a game that wasn't that close.

DISTRICT
Madisonville- Sort of a rilvary game, Nothing close to a Navasota/Brenham matchup, so I expect Madisonville to play the Rattlers close as usual.
Rockdale- The Tigers have tons of injuries. This should be an easy win for the Rattlers @ the Pit.
Caldwell- Winless on the season, yet another blow out.
Taylor-2-4 on the season. This game is the last game of the year for the Rattlers. Look for another blow out.

I will say it now, I pray that this schedule does not cost Navasota in the future. Last year, we lost to Willis, before winning the remaining games going 9-1 on the regular season. District play was a lot stiffer with the likes of Giddings, La Grange, Smithville, and a better Rockdale Tiger team.

So far, this team, compared to the last 5 seasons, IMO, is the best team that Navasota has produced. The defense is definitely the best that I've seen and the offense is very efficient. That has been the key so far. The efficiency of the offense and the defensive play.

I guess time will tell.