Kennedale - 34 Iowa Park - 21 (FINAL)

[Ranger Mom]

Iowa Park QB knocked unconsious (however the heck you spell it) at the last of the game. Was giving smelling salts and got up, but was in the ambulance when Bleedgreen called. Hope the young man is OK!

[wildstangs]

Alright Knightmoon, post the Merkel - Kennedale info when you get it please!

[Knightmoon]

Will do Wildstangs. I am not sure where it will be at this point. Originally was told that if Iowa Park won, it was a toss between Wichita Falls and Shotwell Stadium. Kennedale kind of rained on that parade. I will update you when I know for certain.

[vet93]

Kennedale will try to get you guys on turf somewhere because they feel it will give them a speed advantage...the old stuff not the field turf that is at Sweetwater and Abilene.

[Knightmoon]

Where would be the logical place to play the game?? I have been trying to figure that one out all night.

[vet93]

Knightmoon...I was thinking either Brownwood or Stephenville. Kennedale probably won't want to play at either place because Stephenville has natural turf and Brownwood has the field turf. I think that they will try to get you guys at one of the astroturf fields like HEB in the metroplex or Waco ISD.

<small>[ November 22, 2003, 09:26 PM: Message edited by: vet93 ]</small>

[ktownLB84]

i think it is at Whichita Falls ISD stadium saturday at 7 p.m., but i could be wrong

[Stu Pidass]

As of last night after the game on the field from the coaching staff it will be held in Wichita Falls (which is turf grass like at Boswell field). Just to burst a few bubbles though, we play all our games on natural surface (grass) and we have only been on turf this last couple of weeks. To displel some myths here, even if they try to slow Kennedale down on natural surface, doesn't that make Merkel proportionally slow? Think about it, if Kennedale is fast on turf, Kennedale will be fast on grass. If Kennedale slow on turf Kennedale will be slow on grass. It's a relative measurement.

[vet93]

Stu...can I call you stu? Most coaches will tell you that your statement is not true. Coaches that have very fast teams usually feel that their speed is even more a factor when played on astroturf-like fields. Playing on natural turf certainly doesn't take away a speed advantage but most feel that it benefits the team without speed. This may only be a miniscule advantage but in the playoffs coaches look for any angle possible. Many have expressed this same sentiment on this board and you will find many site negotiations will revolve around this issue.

[CatsDen]

First of all, I hope that Swenson is okay. It was a little scary seeing him lay there and not moving. I'm glad to see that he got up, but it didn't look good. Brian Love is the real deal! That kid ran like an animal! I understand that there are several colleges showing interest. Good luck Brian.
Kennedale once again focused it's gameplan on the wheels of Rex Harper. Rex accounted for 47.5% of the plays called and all but 92 of Kennedale's 385 total offensive yards (that's a little more than 76%!). Rex finished with 208 yards rushing and 85 yards receiving along with 2 touchdowns. Bryan only had 5 pass attempts for the entire game, but he made those stand out with 120 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a 22 yard touchdown. Chris Morris, Kennedale's standout Receiver, only caught the ball once for 10 yards. David Collins was limited to playing mostly on defense, and never had a ball thrown to him. Giorgio Bostice, one of the top 5 Tight Ends in Class 3A, was only given an opportunity to catch a 2-pt. conversion (which was a very nice catch in the back of the endzone). Weldon Brooks carried the ball 7 times for 28 yards, and caught 2 passes for 25 yards, including a TD catch and another 2-pt. conversion catch. Kennedale ran the ball 35 times for 265 yards, and threw the ball only 5 times for 4 completions and 120 yards. The success of the running game and lack of passing was a bit of a suprise, considering that Iowa Park had no deep coverage with all 11 defenders moved up to within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. They played man-to-man pass coverage and loaded up the box against the run. Rex was just too fast around the edges with the flips and sweeps.
Defensively, Marcos Ramirez and Daniel Hemphill seemed to standout. Hemphill was always around the ball and in on the tackle. Marcos returned an interception for a touchdown and made several key defensive plays in the secondary. Chris Morris and Tommy Nickerson each had an interception. Kennedale was obviously prepared to defend against the spread/shotgun.

The Kennedale-Merkel game will be played on 11/29 at 6:00pm in Witchita Falls.

[Z motion 10 out on 2]

The Wichita Falls stadium is very nice. Lots of seats and nice field.