bulldog65
12-25-2002, 06:30 AM
Dallas Morning News article by Rachel Cohen:
A look back at the best
12/24/2002
Still catching your breath after six weeks of the UIL football playoffs? Here's a look back:
Best game: Converse Judson 33, Midland 32, 5A Division I final – Midland led 13-0 before Judson scored 24 unanswered points. Midland regained the lead, then Judson hit a field goal that looked like it might be the game-winner with 1:10 left. But Midland quickly drove 66 yards for another apparent game-winning score, a touchdown with 22 seconds to go. The true game-winner was the most improbable play of all: a 76-yard touchdown pass on Judson's next play.
Best playoff performances: Tre Sellari, WR, Southlake Carroll – Sellari was Carroll's third-leading receiver in the regular season, which in that offense still means impressive numbers. But he upped his averages in the playoffs, catching nearly as many passes in six postseason games as he did in 10 regular-season contests.
• Charlie Jefferson, DB, Denton Ryan – Jefferson had an interception and a fumble return for a touchdown against Stephenville, caught the game-winning touchdown against Aledo, intercepted two passes against Ennis and one more against Brenham.
• Everman defense – Think it's hard to improve on allowing 9.5 points per game in the regular season? Everman gave up an average of 7.6 in the playoffs, never letting an opponent score more than 14 points.
Biggest upset: Daingerfield 21, Celina 20, 3A Division II area round – No disrespect to Daingerfield, an excellent team that reached the state semifinals. But Celina losing any game–especially a playoff game–is a stunner. The numbers, again: Celina had a state-record 68 straight wins, 25 straight playoff wins and four straight state titles.
Best story: Midland. It's frustrating enough for a school to miss the playoffs 50 straight seasons. But to do it when your cross-town rival is a power that won three straight state titles from 1998-2000? Ouch. It was amazing enough that Midland beat Lee and made the playoffs this year. Then it knocks off foe after foe to reach the state title game, only to lose on a stunning, last-second play.
• Runner-up: Cisco goes 2-8 in 2001, then wins its first 15 games this season before losing in the state title game.
Biggest surprise: Brownwood finished in third place in District 8-4A with a 6-4 regular-season record. Then it advanced to the 4A Division I semifinal with wins over Denton and Wolfforth Frenship.
Most dominant playoff team: Class 4A Division I champ Texarkana High won its five playoff games by an average score of 38-8. Its smallest margin of victory was 14 points.
Best 90 minutes of football spread across three cities: In quick succession, three games at three different sites concluded with thrilling finishes on Dec. 14. Converse Judson-Midland, Denton Ryan-Ennis and Southlake Carroll-Lufkin all featured rousing comebacks.
Best streak: Southlake Carroll has the state's longest active win streak with its 16-0 record. It was the state's only undefeated state champion this season.
Best reason why the Division I-Division II setup is so confusing: In general, the teams in the Division I bracket have larger enrollments than those in the Division II playoffs. But not always.
This year's 2A Division I champ, Corrigan-Camden, had a smaller enrollment (320) than Division II winner Rosebud-Lott (337). That's not too glaring, but check out the 4A numbers. Division I champ Texarkana Texas High: 1,351 students. Division II champ Denton Ryan: 1,874.
Merry Christmas everybody!
A look back at the best
12/24/2002
Still catching your breath after six weeks of the UIL football playoffs? Here's a look back:
Best game: Converse Judson 33, Midland 32, 5A Division I final – Midland led 13-0 before Judson scored 24 unanswered points. Midland regained the lead, then Judson hit a field goal that looked like it might be the game-winner with 1:10 left. But Midland quickly drove 66 yards for another apparent game-winning score, a touchdown with 22 seconds to go. The true game-winner was the most improbable play of all: a 76-yard touchdown pass on Judson's next play.
Best playoff performances: Tre Sellari, WR, Southlake Carroll – Sellari was Carroll's third-leading receiver in the regular season, which in that offense still means impressive numbers. But he upped his averages in the playoffs, catching nearly as many passes in six postseason games as he did in 10 regular-season contests.
• Charlie Jefferson, DB, Denton Ryan – Jefferson had an interception and a fumble return for a touchdown against Stephenville, caught the game-winning touchdown against Aledo, intercepted two passes against Ennis and one more against Brenham.
• Everman defense – Think it's hard to improve on allowing 9.5 points per game in the regular season? Everman gave up an average of 7.6 in the playoffs, never letting an opponent score more than 14 points.
Biggest upset: Daingerfield 21, Celina 20, 3A Division II area round – No disrespect to Daingerfield, an excellent team that reached the state semifinals. But Celina losing any game–especially a playoff game–is a stunner. The numbers, again: Celina had a state-record 68 straight wins, 25 straight playoff wins and four straight state titles.
Best story: Midland. It's frustrating enough for a school to miss the playoffs 50 straight seasons. But to do it when your cross-town rival is a power that won three straight state titles from 1998-2000? Ouch. It was amazing enough that Midland beat Lee and made the playoffs this year. Then it knocks off foe after foe to reach the state title game, only to lose on a stunning, last-second play.
• Runner-up: Cisco goes 2-8 in 2001, then wins its first 15 games this season before losing in the state title game.
Biggest surprise: Brownwood finished in third place in District 8-4A with a 6-4 regular-season record. Then it advanced to the 4A Division I semifinal with wins over Denton and Wolfforth Frenship.
Most dominant playoff team: Class 4A Division I champ Texarkana High won its five playoff games by an average score of 38-8. Its smallest margin of victory was 14 points.
Best 90 minutes of football spread across three cities: In quick succession, three games at three different sites concluded with thrilling finishes on Dec. 14. Converse Judson-Midland, Denton Ryan-Ennis and Southlake Carroll-Lufkin all featured rousing comebacks.
Best streak: Southlake Carroll has the state's longest active win streak with its 16-0 record. It was the state's only undefeated state champion this season.
Best reason why the Division I-Division II setup is so confusing: In general, the teams in the Division I bracket have larger enrollments than those in the Division II playoffs. But not always.
This year's 2A Division I champ, Corrigan-Camden, had a smaller enrollment (320) than Division II winner Rosebud-Lott (337). That's not too glaring, but check out the 4A numbers. Division I champ Texarkana Texas High: 1,351 students. Division II champ Denton Ryan: 1,874.
Merry Christmas everybody!