CTS
08-07-2013, 06:32 AM
The Top 5
1. La Marque Cougars
2. Navasota Rattlers
3. Coldspring Trojans
4. El Campo Ricebirds
5. Splendora WIldcats
Will Class 3A Titles Come Through Greater Houston?
By Neal Farmer
Last year, the de facto, small-school state championship game in Class 3A was when Navasota defeated La Marque in the third-round of the state playoffs, 31-20. Navasota went on to beat the remaining three teams, allowing only 17 aggregate points in games that weren’t that close.
Look for Navasota to vie for another state championship this year, but look for La Marque to do the same. The reason? Class 3A is expanding from three teams per district into the playoffs to four squads, with large schools going into one division and small schools going into a second playoff grouping. If everything goes as expected, Navasota will be in the big-school playoffs, and La Marque will be in the small-school playoffs.
Houston-area teams should enjoy a deep playoff run until local schools run into the likes of 3A powers Carthage, Gilmer, Stephenville, Argyle, Kilgore, West Orange-Stark, Silsbee and Graham among others.
Coach Lee Fedora of Navasota has been asked plenty of times whether the Rattlers will be as good as or better than last year.
“I don’t know how you can be better than 16-0,” Fedora said. “I would love to be the same, but we lost great athletes and great team chemistry. That is going to be the challenge for our staff to make sure that the chemistry is still there and our kids are working hard.”
Leading the spread, no-huddle offense will be offensive linemen Bo Meece and Michael Coffey. Even with a no-huddle set, however, the Rattlers ran the ball 438 times last year and passed 428. Leading the running game should be fullback Hunter Sparkman, a returning starter.
The 4-3 defense returns five starters, and will expect great things from tackle Jordan Wells and defensive back Jerbrell Lipscomb.
“I think every year we come into the season with high expectations,” Fedora said. “The kids understand what we have accomplished in the last six years – five quarterfinal appearances and a state championship. Our junior varsity was 9-1 last year and we had a lot of juniors who had playing time. We feel we will be very competitive, but there is still a lot up in the air.”
So optimists could expect the Cougars to add to the state championships they earned in 1995-96-97-03-06. Other area teams expecting to be in the hunt are Coldspring, Bellville and El Campo.
A reason for the optimism in La Marque is that the Cougars return eight starters on offense and four on defense. And the Cougars have enough players for complete teams on defense and separate teams on offense – a luxury for schools with small enrollments that put them in Class 3A.
On offense, La Marque runs a hybrid, hurry-up offense that will not sacrifice the run at the expense of the passing game. Since their tempo is so fast with a physical running style, the kids have named the offense Ore-Bama – a cross between the constant motion of the University of Oregon and the bruising running game of the University of Alabama.
“We like Oregon’s pace and being up-tempo,” said La Marque coach Dr. Mike Jackson, “but we want to mimic Alabama in that we are not a passing-finesse group when we spread the field, we try to establish a physical toughness and will play-action a lot. We want to beat the heck out of you physically and mentally to wear you down.”
On offense, the Cougars are moving their tailback to quarterback, as Ladarrian Ellis-Jones as a sophomore rushed for 1,148 yards and 14 TDs.
“Our biggest attribute on offense is that four of our five starting linemen are back, led by 6-6, 340-pound Michael Smither.” Jackson added.
On defense, the Cougars likely will be led by linebacker Val Allen, who boasted a team-leading 119 tackles in 2013 and was first-team all-district 24-3A. Strong safety Reggie Franklin is another leader on that side of the ball.
Coldspring brings back two starters on offense and six on defense, said coach Bryan Barbay. But since a lot of players play on both sides of the ball, there is a lot of experience on the field.
The starters on the multiple-wing offense are center Brady Barbay and running back Patrick Gibbens, who were both first-team all-district. Gibbens rushed for 914 yards and also had 108 tackles at linebacker, which helped him also win the district’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Leading the multiple 3-4 defensive set should be six returning starters, including Gibbens. Leadership should come from Alec Dunham (first-team all-district on defense as a LB and second team as a RB), end Vyrne Baggett and safety Douglas Johnson.
Coldspring was 9-3 last year, as they were defeated in the second-round by La Marque, but expectations are high with the seniors and their records of 14-2 and 14-1 in the previous two years.
“What we’ve got is a lot of guys back who have won a lot of games,” Barbay said. “We have a senior group with kids who know how to win. We normally score a lot of points, and defensively we have gotten better over the last four years. We are to the point now that we go out and expect to win every time we play.”
El Campo High School enthralled the Ricebird Nation last season as coach Bob Gillis and quarterback Bryce Brandl led their squad to a Class 3A state championship appearance against Stephenville. El Campo fell 70-35, but it was a magical season for the community.
The Birds will be hit drastically by graduation, but extending their season by five weeks does wonders for a high school football program.
Leading the multiple wing offense is fullback B.J. Flagg, who rushed for 650 yards and scored seven times, and opening holes for him will be center Zeke Tsika.
The 4-2-5 defense returns two starters with safety Koy Kresta and Flagg at linebacker. Also shining should be defenders Ryan Drapela and Clayton Harp.
“I can honestly say that we are going to be young,” said Gillis. “Maybe not in age, but in experience. We had a really good offseason and these kids around here don’t know much about reloading. They just know how to play hard. Hopefully we will have a chance.”
Other contenders vying for Class 3A bragging rights will be Silsbee and West Orange-Stark from District 21-3A, Splendora from District 22-3A, Yates and Booker T. Washington from 23-3A, Stafford and West Columbia from District 24-3A and Bellville from District 25-3A.
West Orange-Stark is loaded with athletes headlined by Deionte Thompson, a junior defensive back verbally committed to Alabama, while running back Jay Bradford will be a Class 3A headline stealer from Splendora. Bradford holds offers from Texas and Baylor.
1. La Marque Cougars
2. Navasota Rattlers
3. Coldspring Trojans
4. El Campo Ricebirds
5. Splendora WIldcats
Will Class 3A Titles Come Through Greater Houston?
By Neal Farmer
Last year, the de facto, small-school state championship game in Class 3A was when Navasota defeated La Marque in the third-round of the state playoffs, 31-20. Navasota went on to beat the remaining three teams, allowing only 17 aggregate points in games that weren’t that close.
Look for Navasota to vie for another state championship this year, but look for La Marque to do the same. The reason? Class 3A is expanding from three teams per district into the playoffs to four squads, with large schools going into one division and small schools going into a second playoff grouping. If everything goes as expected, Navasota will be in the big-school playoffs, and La Marque will be in the small-school playoffs.
Houston-area teams should enjoy a deep playoff run until local schools run into the likes of 3A powers Carthage, Gilmer, Stephenville, Argyle, Kilgore, West Orange-Stark, Silsbee and Graham among others.
Coach Lee Fedora of Navasota has been asked plenty of times whether the Rattlers will be as good as or better than last year.
“I don’t know how you can be better than 16-0,” Fedora said. “I would love to be the same, but we lost great athletes and great team chemistry. That is going to be the challenge for our staff to make sure that the chemistry is still there and our kids are working hard.”
Leading the spread, no-huddle offense will be offensive linemen Bo Meece and Michael Coffey. Even with a no-huddle set, however, the Rattlers ran the ball 438 times last year and passed 428. Leading the running game should be fullback Hunter Sparkman, a returning starter.
The 4-3 defense returns five starters, and will expect great things from tackle Jordan Wells and defensive back Jerbrell Lipscomb.
“I think every year we come into the season with high expectations,” Fedora said. “The kids understand what we have accomplished in the last six years – five quarterfinal appearances and a state championship. Our junior varsity was 9-1 last year and we had a lot of juniors who had playing time. We feel we will be very competitive, but there is still a lot up in the air.”
So optimists could expect the Cougars to add to the state championships they earned in 1995-96-97-03-06. Other area teams expecting to be in the hunt are Coldspring, Bellville and El Campo.
A reason for the optimism in La Marque is that the Cougars return eight starters on offense and four on defense. And the Cougars have enough players for complete teams on defense and separate teams on offense – a luxury for schools with small enrollments that put them in Class 3A.
On offense, La Marque runs a hybrid, hurry-up offense that will not sacrifice the run at the expense of the passing game. Since their tempo is so fast with a physical running style, the kids have named the offense Ore-Bama – a cross between the constant motion of the University of Oregon and the bruising running game of the University of Alabama.
“We like Oregon’s pace and being up-tempo,” said La Marque coach Dr. Mike Jackson, “but we want to mimic Alabama in that we are not a passing-finesse group when we spread the field, we try to establish a physical toughness and will play-action a lot. We want to beat the heck out of you physically and mentally to wear you down.”
On offense, the Cougars are moving their tailback to quarterback, as Ladarrian Ellis-Jones as a sophomore rushed for 1,148 yards and 14 TDs.
“Our biggest attribute on offense is that four of our five starting linemen are back, led by 6-6, 340-pound Michael Smither.” Jackson added.
On defense, the Cougars likely will be led by linebacker Val Allen, who boasted a team-leading 119 tackles in 2013 and was first-team all-district 24-3A. Strong safety Reggie Franklin is another leader on that side of the ball.
Coldspring brings back two starters on offense and six on defense, said coach Bryan Barbay. But since a lot of players play on both sides of the ball, there is a lot of experience on the field.
The starters on the multiple-wing offense are center Brady Barbay and running back Patrick Gibbens, who were both first-team all-district. Gibbens rushed for 914 yards and also had 108 tackles at linebacker, which helped him also win the district’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Leading the multiple 3-4 defensive set should be six returning starters, including Gibbens. Leadership should come from Alec Dunham (first-team all-district on defense as a LB and second team as a RB), end Vyrne Baggett and safety Douglas Johnson.
Coldspring was 9-3 last year, as they were defeated in the second-round by La Marque, but expectations are high with the seniors and their records of 14-2 and 14-1 in the previous two years.
“What we’ve got is a lot of guys back who have won a lot of games,” Barbay said. “We have a senior group with kids who know how to win. We normally score a lot of points, and defensively we have gotten better over the last four years. We are to the point now that we go out and expect to win every time we play.”
El Campo High School enthralled the Ricebird Nation last season as coach Bob Gillis and quarterback Bryce Brandl led their squad to a Class 3A state championship appearance against Stephenville. El Campo fell 70-35, but it was a magical season for the community.
The Birds will be hit drastically by graduation, but extending their season by five weeks does wonders for a high school football program.
Leading the multiple wing offense is fullback B.J. Flagg, who rushed for 650 yards and scored seven times, and opening holes for him will be center Zeke Tsika.
The 4-2-5 defense returns two starters with safety Koy Kresta and Flagg at linebacker. Also shining should be defenders Ryan Drapela and Clayton Harp.
“I can honestly say that we are going to be young,” said Gillis. “Maybe not in age, but in experience. We had a really good offseason and these kids around here don’t know much about reloading. They just know how to play hard. Hopefully we will have a chance.”
Other contenders vying for Class 3A bragging rights will be Silsbee and West Orange-Stark from District 21-3A, Splendora from District 22-3A, Yates and Booker T. Washington from 23-3A, Stafford and West Columbia from District 24-3A and Bellville from District 25-3A.
West Orange-Stark is loaded with athletes headlined by Deionte Thompson, a junior defensive back verbally committed to Alabama, while running back Jay Bradford will be a Class 3A headline stealer from Splendora. Bradford holds offers from Texas and Baylor.