Palestine @ Henderson

[esphs]

Any predictions or thoughts on the Palestine/Henderson game? They both beat Carthage but Palestine had the larger win, so what do you think will be the outcome between these two?

[OldBrahma04]

Palestine in a close one

[texasjeremy]

Henderson is one of those teams Palestine always struggles against. Last year, Palestine was the much better team, but only managed a 7-6 win. Palestine hasn't won in Henderson since 1967. All that said, Palestine by 10.

[texasjeremy]

Palestine's passing game opens up the run

9-5-04
By Scott Tyler
H-P Sports Editor


The Palestine Wildcats ran wild over Carthage Friday night at Wildcat Stadium, and the biggest reason for Palestine's ground success may have come from the Wildcats' performance a week before.

In Palestine's season opener at Whitehouse, the Wildcats were able to throw the ball for over 200 yards, so coming into Friday night's game, Carthage's defensive game plan looked to be to take away the pass.

"We came in expecting Carthage to do the same thing they did against Henderson and we expected to throw the football," Palestine offensive coordinator Tommy Allison said. "From the first play of the game we could tell they were dedicated to stopping the pass and that never changed in the first half."

Palestine's first play was going to be a pass, but because of the defense, quarterback Fred Williams changed the play to a run. The next three of four plays for Palestine were passes

but then the Wildcats ran the ball seven straight times, including a 12-yard score by Cameron Jones.


"We just continued to take what they were giving us," Palestine head coach Glenn Tunstall said. "Our offensive coaching staff did a real good job in the play calling and not trying to force something."

Palestine scored three of its four first-half touchdowns on the ground as the Wildcats ran 28 times in the first half while attempting 13 passes.

In a 13-play drive, which lasted 5 minutes, 33 seconds and resulted a tying touchdown, Palestine ran the ball nine straight times, with four different rushers, for 57 yards.

Cameron Jones had 98 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the first half and finished the game with 156 ground yards.

In the first two games, Williams has become a threat with his arm and legs. He rushed for 102 yards Friday night while throwing for 91 yards. He scored two rushing touchdowns and threw for another.

"Fred has stepped up these first two games and been a tremendous leader," Allison said. "He is making great reads and is running the ball real well."

Allison credits the Palestine wide receivers for their jobs blocking, allowing the Wildcat running backs to get to the outside.

"After Whitehouse we were disappointed with how we were blocking on the edges," Allison said. "They worked real hard in practice and really stepped up and made a difference."

The Palestine offensive coaching staff hopes because the Wildcats have proven they can pass and run the football, it will make it more difficult for opponents to prepare for Palestine.

"Our ability to be multidimensional is what our team is based on for success," Allison said. "Our opponents have to respect all aspects of our game."

[texasjeremy]

Adjustments play key role in Palestine's defensive turnaround

9-5-04
By Scott Tyler
H-P Sports Editor


In football games, wins and losses come down to who can make the biggest adjustments at halftime.

Friday night at Wildcat Stadium, that adjustment came from Palestine defensive coordinator Booker Bowie. The Palestine defense allowed 262 yards and four touchdowns in the first half but after some halftime adjustments by Bowie and the defensive staff, the Wildcats held Carthage to 43 second-half yards and one field goal, allowing Palestine to rally for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the win.

"The kids really showed a lot of heart and character," Palestine head coach Glen Tunstall said. "At halftime we told them this is the kind of game we wanted and the defense stepped up in a big way."

The first half for Carthage belongs to Karlidarius Beechum, who rushed for 217 yards and four scores in the first half.

Bowie said when Beechum broke free on the opening play of the game for a 77-yard touchdown, it put the Palestine defense on its heels.


"After he broke that first run it got us thinking too much and not being aggressive," Bowie said. "We were not reading our keys."

Bowie said his team knew how good Beechum was but he may have been a little faster than what the Wildcats expected.

Because of Palestine's offense, the game was tied at 28-all going into halftime, giving the Palestine defense a chance to make some changes.

"We moved people around in different positions to try and get more people outside to penetrate the line," Bowie said. "We also added another lineman to the front in the second half."

The changes were immediately seen as Beechum was stopped for 3 yards or less in his first eight carries of the second half.

The biggest stop for the Palestine defense came with the score tied late in the third quarter when Carthage had a first down on Palestine's 11-yard line. Carthage gained only three yards on three running plays, forcing the Bulldogs to kick a field goal.

"We had to rise to the occasion and we showed a lot of heart," Bowie said. "This was a good game to play and win early in the season."

Saturday morning, after watching film, Bowie gave a lot of credit to the Palestine defensive line. Cole Snyder, Jeremy Hawkins, John Delprincipe, Michael Thatcher, Clint Naismith and Lee Marshall all saw time on the defensive line.

"The defensive front blew up Carthage's big linemen and wore down their offensive line," Bowie said. "They did a great job staying low and key their leverage against a bigger line."

Ronald Brown, who Bowie said gave an inspirational halftime speech, led Palestine with 16 tackles, two caused fumbles and a fumble recovery. One of the caused fumbles came in the fourth quarter with Palestine trailing by three points. LaSean Hunt recovered the fumble and returned it to the Carthage 48-yard line. Five plays later and Palestine was in the end zone with the winning score.

Hunt finished with 11 tackles and one sack while Ben Beckworth also had 11 tackles and Lucky Henry had six tackles and a sack.