Early Thoughts on Region 3

[Matthew328]

Well most people think in Division 1 that everyone should just hang up the pads and give it Jasper...j/k however I do think Jasper is the class of Region 3....who has the best chance of beating Jasper...Bridge City comes to mind having won the region last year but BC struggled in their 2 "statement" games losing to Newton 32-0 and Sinton in the state semis 38-0...BC has to prove they can knock out elite competition..keep an eye on Elgin and Gatesville though..both could be tough..in D2 LaGrange is definatley a team to keep an eye on as well as Newton who is loaded year in and year out..but my pick is Marlin...they return a ton of talent and if they can get through non-district in one piece it will give them confidnece....keep an eye on Mexia in D1 and Diboll in D2..they always have tons of talent..as well as Bellville who moves into Region 3...

[Old Cardinal]

Matt, Don't look for Bridge City, Jasper, Sinton or a dozen others, with new Coaches to overwhelm in preseason. New Coaches with new offenses and tactics, etc, can slow you up at first. However, the skill positions are all well staffed on many preputuals that now have new Coaches. In Bridge City's case, they happen to be facing 3 good preseason opponents. LCM should have the best team they have had in 4A in eight years. Liberty a prepetual playoff team is quite well staffed! And of course BC and Newton are now one-and-one in the two times they have played for the Dist 21-3A Championship. Coach Barbay could make it real tough on a team trying to learn a whole new system. Jasper will be learning new tactics and that should adversely affect their preseason, also. I look for Bridge City and Jasper to sail through their respective Districts and then meet on up the bracket progression with two outstanding and confident teams. I would say the sleeper is Splendora, they are very well coached. Sweeny and Cleveland should bounce back very well this year. I really think Gatesville is lacking in too many skill positions to make much noise.

[yoefan2002]

the cameron yoeman will be in the hunt skill people are back and yes marlin will be good if they can keep up there grades

[duckbutter]

I think the D1 and D2 state champs will be from region 3: Jasper and Marlin.

[Matthew328]

I agree the coaching changes may make BC and Jasper look a little sluggush at the start....but I think by the second game all the potnetial kinks should be worked out..however don't underestimate Gatesville...like Marlin they were very young last year and still managed to get to the 2nd round..the reason why they seemed to be lacking at the skill spots is that they were mainly sophmores and a couple of freshman that were out there getting thrown to the wolves..and yes Yoe should be strong they are another sleeper...Pittman is a great QB who makes things happen..gonna be fun to check out Yoe and Marlin in district...I dunno about Cleveland they always have talent..but numbers there are way down...and they have a ton of off-field issues from what I have heard...Splendora surprised me last year..dunno if they can repeat teams will be gunnin for them this year...and Sweeny moved over to Region 4...they are a team to keep an eye on in 28-3A

[Old Cardinal]

You are so right, Sweeny moved south. That Bellville team should do very well in the District setting that they are now at. Liberty and Hardin-Jefferson could be real tough if things fall together for them. They both have good preseason Senior skill advantage-its a matter of if they can develop seasoned depth through the year as players are slowed by injury. Newton will be great for the first half on the season. The question is can Curtis Barbay season a bunch of youth into solid backup depth to sustain them in the post season level of play. Most years, faced with this same situation, he has been able to be durable and effective in post season play: with many kids that started the year as novice players...... I think that it takes 4 games for a team to adjust to new coaching- especially if triple-option is involved in the new scheme.

[Matthew328]

Bellville will be tough in 24-3A but that district could be tough...Sealy and Columbus are both tough...and Navasota comin down from 4A make that district a tough one..also LaGrange in 23-3A could be worth watching and I have also heard good things about Elgin the state's largest 3A school...as for Newton they will be young but man those guys always seem to be tough...they gave Jasper fits last year..

[Swarm 51]

Have to agree with Matthew 328 to not count Gatesville out of the hunt. They lost only 8 seniors, two were not starters. Will be replacing two allstate linemen, one of which made allstate both his junior and senior year. Their defense will be intact. Losing the quarterback, but his replacement is going to be great. Has a good arm and foot work. Secondary will also be in good shape. Backup quarterback, who will be a sophomore, is the grandson of Cotton Davidson who set records as a quarterback at Baylor U. in the late 40's and early 50's. Grandson is going to have an arm on him just like his granddad. Nope, can't count out the Hornets. And, I am sure it will be a dog fight in 17AAA as it usually is.

[yoefan2002]

sept 13 cameron vs gatesville at yoe field should be a good game

[Swarm 51]

Originally posted by yoefan2002:
sept 13 cameron vs gatesville at yoe field should be a good game

Have to agree with you YoeFan. Should be another great battle between two superb teams. This will be your quarterback's last year so I know he will want to go out in the winner's bracket.

[RBARKER]

Don't count out Barbers Hill they are in 22-3A along with Splendora and Clevland. BH Should have a much improved defense from last year along with a good running back that is returning from last years team.

[QBKilla]

That is very true. Barbers Hill is in a District where the talent level is a little better or better spread around anyways. They return 4 all-district players on defense and some very talented new comers to fill in the holes. The offense will still be very good as they return an excellent tailback and a very talented receiver as well as some other key parts to succuess. The district will be very competitive with many talented teams including Liberty, Splendora, Cleveland and whats appears to be a much improved Huffman team. You never know though until the pads start popping.

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[This message has been edited by QBKilla (edited June 07, 2002).]

[tk1]

Look for Elgin in the mix.The defense is going to be a wall.And watch a lot of speed.

[sinton66]

I think Bellville will represent R3 next year. They were the toughest opponent Sinton faced last year besides Everman. Bellville is well coached, and they will be loaded with Senior talent looking to make a statement.

[rwhite]

I'm glad to see that a few people here actually do belive that Bellville will do some damage in region 3. And over the summer I can tell yall that the work outs will help increase our possibility to become one of the states best in all sports. I wont be the first to say it but i will say it Bellville is looking to shock other 3A schools even though we lost a good number of seniors we still have a new senior class which is strong and a jr. class with some amazing alth. and also maybe a few soph. will help out this year also.

[BellvilleDude]

russel boy u beat me too it. yep back to region 3. after a good stint in region 4. thanks to the sinton fan who posted that appreciate that alot. makes you feel proud. bellville will be playing alot of new teams this year and should be a contender again.

[BellvilleDude]

yoe vs bellville going to be a good one, first time the play in a long time

[yoefan2002]

bellville dude cant wait to come to yalls town it should be a heck of a ball game see you there its been a long time

[BellvilleDude]

ill be on the bench or on the field. dont know my number yet but ill be there. i think last time we played each other was in the 80's during playoffs

[Bulldog92]

This year is gonna be fun. I'm a Jasper alumus and really excited to have found a board that is all about 3A football. Does anyone have any thoughts on district 20-3A? I know about Newton, but how good are the other teams in the district? Obviously, it's been a while since we've played these teams. Take care...

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Kenny

[Matthew328]

Jasper should win 20-3A...but there are some good teams in the mix.....of course Newton will be Jasper's main challenge in district...the Eagles have played Jasper and played em tough...also don't take your eyes off Diboll...the Lumberjacks are always talented they just haven't been able to put things together...they were 10-0 in 2000 an the number one team in the state..but they had a Rd 1 flameout...also I hear Kirbyville could be much improved...rumor has it that they got a stud TB move-in from Lousiana....look for things to finish Jasper, Newton, Diboll...

[duckbutter]

20-3A is gonna be fun to watch this year.

[Bulldog92]

What does Newton have coming back this year?

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Kenny

[duckbutter]

Newton should be okay this yr, don't think we will be as good as last yr because we will be thin on the OL. Have a lot soph and some freshmen that will see some play. Defense will be strong and QUICK. We are gonna try our best to put Jasper in the #2 spot in district.