Scoop27
08-26-2019, 03:49 PM
From The Brazosport Facts
SWEENY - Having players on one side of the ball being younger than the other is nothing new to Sweeny Bulldogs head football coach Randy Lynch. He’s seen it enough to understand that with good coaching, the younger unit will catch up.
That includes the 10 sophomores among the 26 underclassmen on this year’s roster.
“Some of them will play for us on Friday nights and some on Thursday,” Lynch said. “The young guys are sophomores and some of them are having to play. … But it is a good young group and our nondistrict schedule is pretty tough, which is good for us because we need to see that type of competition.”
Lynch had 10 sophomores on the football squad just a couple years ago, and they all just graduated in May — having made it to the football playoffs all three seasons.
This year’s underclassmen have some work to do if they want to repeat that record based on last Thursday’s scrimmage.
“It was a rough scrimmage for us against El Campo, who looks very improved from last year and they took it to us,” Lynch said. “They played well and we didn’t play as well as we wanted.
“But I thought the first scrimmage we played well against Bay City and there were some good things we did, and I thought we could grow on that and improve on some weaknesses that we saw from that first week, but we might have taken a few steps back. That is typical when there is a young ball club plus a team that doesn’t have much varsity experience.”
Senior Trey Robbins takes over at quarterback after leading Sweeny to the Texas 7 on 7 Championships at College Station in late June.
“He’s shown some great leadership, is a coach’s kid and has been a gym rat,” Lynch said. “He understands the situation with a lot of young guys in front of him, but he also knows he has some quality skill guys on the outside. He is a high-IQ player when it comes to the game and understands his role.”
Robbins was supposed to have been backed up by Noah Pate, but a season-ending injury to Pate in the Bay City scrimmage made Calon Amey as the understudy.
A large cast will get opportunities in the backfield, including Xavier Wood, Treylan Austin and Jayden Ward playing behind fullbacks Trey Fields, Byron Randan and Pristine Hysten.
“We will have three or four at tailback and three or four at fullback,” Lynch said. “Don’t forget about Xavier Wood; he isn’t that tall but he knows how to create things for himself. I like him a lot. Fields is a tough runner along with Ward.”
At wide receiver, senior Justice Clemons returns to play opposite sophomore Collin Coker. Justin Garner, Randall Forrest and Caden Wilhelm also will get opportunities.
“Justice is a good football player, and when he wants to, he can do some good things because he is explosive,” Lynch said. “He is such a vertical threat, but we need to get him the ball in his hands, whether three or four times or six or seven times, and he knows he will see double coverage. But that is where the other guys step up and play their roles.”
A young, inexperienced offensive line will be counted on to create holes for the running backs and give time for pass plays to develop.
“Right now we are looking at three to four sophomores starting with a couple of juniors,” Lynch said. “We have one senior who is stepping up. These are the guys that we are really focusing in on right now because they are so young. They are eager to learn, but it is our concern right now.”
Projected starters are sophomores Diego Flores at left tackle; Caleb Myers at left guard; right guard Brett Bible; junior center Hogan Ashford; and possibly senior Darren Schuster at right tackle,.
“We’ve talked to our offensive line that when their number is called they have to make some things happen,” Lynch said. “But they are working hard and are highly intelligent kids. They blocked well against Bay City, but against El Campo, they were more physical than we were because they had the experience on us.”
Tight ends have been a source of wealth for Sweeny as junior Mason Taylor takes over this season. Caleb Williams also will see some snaps.
A stable part of the Bulldogs is the defense, led by 2018 all-state team member Fields returning at linebacker and potential all-stater Brooks at nose. Logan Page also returns on the line, and all-district picks Jayden Ward at linebacker and Justice at a cornerback are back. Cayden Wilhelm started every game last year at the other corner.
“Until we put some pieces together on offense, they will have to carry us for a while,” Lynch said. “I will be the first to admit to that. We also have some key skill personnel on the defensive side and all of these key guys will have to be leaders as well.”
Senior Wyatt Fischer will see time on the defensive line as will Jonathan Lewis and Randy Byrd. Pristine Hysten will be at linebacker with Taylor, Alex McGuire, Ward, Randall Forrest, Tyler Mills and Coker serving as reserves.
Amey offers depth at cornerback, and Justin Garner, Wilhelm and Treylan Austin are penciled in at safety.
“We have a lot of kids that we will be rotating in and out to see who is going to be the best fit for us,” Lynch said. “We’ve always emphasized our defense, because I believe you win championships with defense.”
All-district kicker Mason Massey returns and Robbins was an all-district punter last season.
The Bulldogs open the 2019 season Thursday with a trip to Spring to face Grand Oaks.
SWEENY - Having players on one side of the ball being younger than the other is nothing new to Sweeny Bulldogs head football coach Randy Lynch. He’s seen it enough to understand that with good coaching, the younger unit will catch up.
That includes the 10 sophomores among the 26 underclassmen on this year’s roster.
“Some of them will play for us on Friday nights and some on Thursday,” Lynch said. “The young guys are sophomores and some of them are having to play. … But it is a good young group and our nondistrict schedule is pretty tough, which is good for us because we need to see that type of competition.”
Lynch had 10 sophomores on the football squad just a couple years ago, and they all just graduated in May — having made it to the football playoffs all three seasons.
This year’s underclassmen have some work to do if they want to repeat that record based on last Thursday’s scrimmage.
“It was a rough scrimmage for us against El Campo, who looks very improved from last year and they took it to us,” Lynch said. “They played well and we didn’t play as well as we wanted.
“But I thought the first scrimmage we played well against Bay City and there were some good things we did, and I thought we could grow on that and improve on some weaknesses that we saw from that first week, but we might have taken a few steps back. That is typical when there is a young ball club plus a team that doesn’t have much varsity experience.”
Senior Trey Robbins takes over at quarterback after leading Sweeny to the Texas 7 on 7 Championships at College Station in late June.
“He’s shown some great leadership, is a coach’s kid and has been a gym rat,” Lynch said. “He understands the situation with a lot of young guys in front of him, but he also knows he has some quality skill guys on the outside. He is a high-IQ player when it comes to the game and understands his role.”
Robbins was supposed to have been backed up by Noah Pate, but a season-ending injury to Pate in the Bay City scrimmage made Calon Amey as the understudy.
A large cast will get opportunities in the backfield, including Xavier Wood, Treylan Austin and Jayden Ward playing behind fullbacks Trey Fields, Byron Randan and Pristine Hysten.
“We will have three or four at tailback and three or four at fullback,” Lynch said. “Don’t forget about Xavier Wood; he isn’t that tall but he knows how to create things for himself. I like him a lot. Fields is a tough runner along with Ward.”
At wide receiver, senior Justice Clemons returns to play opposite sophomore Collin Coker. Justin Garner, Randall Forrest and Caden Wilhelm also will get opportunities.
“Justice is a good football player, and when he wants to, he can do some good things because he is explosive,” Lynch said. “He is such a vertical threat, but we need to get him the ball in his hands, whether three or four times or six or seven times, and he knows he will see double coverage. But that is where the other guys step up and play their roles.”
A young, inexperienced offensive line will be counted on to create holes for the running backs and give time for pass plays to develop.
“Right now we are looking at three to four sophomores starting with a couple of juniors,” Lynch said. “We have one senior who is stepping up. These are the guys that we are really focusing in on right now because they are so young. They are eager to learn, but it is our concern right now.”
Projected starters are sophomores Diego Flores at left tackle; Caleb Myers at left guard; right guard Brett Bible; junior center Hogan Ashford; and possibly senior Darren Schuster at right tackle,.
“We’ve talked to our offensive line that when their number is called they have to make some things happen,” Lynch said. “But they are working hard and are highly intelligent kids. They blocked well against Bay City, but against El Campo, they were more physical than we were because they had the experience on us.”
Tight ends have been a source of wealth for Sweeny as junior Mason Taylor takes over this season. Caleb Williams also will see some snaps.
A stable part of the Bulldogs is the defense, led by 2018 all-state team member Fields returning at linebacker and potential all-stater Brooks at nose. Logan Page also returns on the line, and all-district picks Jayden Ward at linebacker and Justice at a cornerback are back. Cayden Wilhelm started every game last year at the other corner.
“Until we put some pieces together on offense, they will have to carry us for a while,” Lynch said. “I will be the first to admit to that. We also have some key skill personnel on the defensive side and all of these key guys will have to be leaders as well.”
Senior Wyatt Fischer will see time on the defensive line as will Jonathan Lewis and Randy Byrd. Pristine Hysten will be at linebacker with Taylor, Alex McGuire, Ward, Randall Forrest, Tyler Mills and Coker serving as reserves.
Amey offers depth at cornerback, and Justin Garner, Wilhelm and Treylan Austin are penciled in at safety.
“We have a lot of kids that we will be rotating in and out to see who is going to be the best fit for us,” Lynch said. “We’ve always emphasized our defense, because I believe you win championships with defense.”
All-district kicker Mason Massey returns and Robbins was an all-district punter last season.
The Bulldogs open the 2019 season Thursday with a trip to Spring to face Grand Oaks.