Keith7
10-07-2004, 06:08 PM
Leopards ready to start district play
GHS football preview
By DARIN ALLRED
Register Sports Editor
Sometimes in sports, it's good to have amnesia.
You don't want the kind that comes after a concussion. Instead, you need selective amnesia -- the kind that allows you to forget about tough losses.
The Gainesville Leopards need a little bit of amnesia as they head into their District 6-3A opener against Sanger this week. Instead of thinking about losing three of their past four games, the Leopards need to think of themselves as a team with an 0-0 record, just like every other team in the district.
Forgetting the past few weeks will be difficult, especially the last two losses to Royse City and Iowa Park. This past Friday, Iowa Park spoiled Gainesville's Homecoming with a 27-3 win. The Hawks held the Gainesville offense to just 92 total yards including just 16 on the ground.
So now, the Leopards head into district play with a 2-3 record. No one is thinking about last season's 15-0 record and a state championship. Instead, the players and coaches are trying to focus on the next five weeks.
"We knew going into this thing that with the number of seniors we lost from last year (23) we could have some trying times in regards to our non-district schedule," GHS head coach Jeff Cordell said. "We knew we had a tough non-district schedule with the likes of Decatur, Forney, Royse City and Iowa Park and we knew there was a chance we could take it on the chin in a couple of those games. Now that it's said and done, we took it on the chin three times.
"But the positive thing that has come out of it is that our kids have matured and got a lot of valuable experience out of these five games, whether they be wins or losses," the coach added. "We have been able to find out where we need to put people in regards to our personnel. It will make us a better football team."
During last season's state championship run, the Leopards were lucky enough to go the entire year without any major injuries. This season hasn't been like that.
Before the season even started, Gainesville lost All-State linebacker Jeremy Franklin with a broken foot. He has not played in a game yet this season and won't return to the field until Oct. 15 at the earliest. Defensive lineman Phillip Culbertson injured his shoulder against Forney three weeks ago and hasn't played since. He may return this week, but it will be as a quarterback and punter, not as a lineman.
Also this past week, the Leopards learned they would be without All-State running back Terrius Purvey and linebacker D'Terrius Goree for three weeks.
So after a relatively problem-free season in 2003, are the Leopards snake-bit in 2004?
"Every year you go into this thing and you never know what is going to happen," Cordell said. "You don't know when injuries are going to happen, you don't know when you are going to lose a casualty to grades or whatever it may be. It happens at every level, whether it be high school, college or pros. Sometimes you have them and sometimes you don't. It just seems that this year we have had plenty of them. It seems to be even more evident because we have lost two straight."
This year's Leopard team features mostly young players who are seeing their first action on varsity. Of the 11 offensive and defensive players who started for GHS this past Friday against Iowa Park, only 3 on offense and 2 on defense ever started a game before this year.
So even though GHS coaches remind the players daily that what happened last year has no bearing on what happens this year, these young players are feeling the pressure of living up to the success the 2003 team enjoyed.
That pressure might be building as some GHS fans seem to be jumping off their bandwagon after back-to-back losses. Fans could be seen leaving Leeper Stadium early in the third quarter against Iowa Park despite the fact it was Homecoming and the Leopards only trailed 20-3. Don't think the players didn't notice that.
"One of the concerns of our football team is they feel they have lost the support of our community," Cordell said. "I told the team that they don't play for the community. You don't play for the town of Gainesville, you play for the guys in that locker room. It's hard when you lose back-to-back ballgames and one of them is your Homecoming. The kids feel that pressure and there is already enough pressure as it is.
"One of the positives through all this is that some of our guys are starting to step up and be leaders," the coach said. "They are starting to rally around one another. They still believe in each other. What I am more concerned with is whether they lose confidence in us as a coaching staff. It's easy to coach when you are winning ballgames, but how good of a coach are you when you are losing ballgames."
Now, the Leopards will move into District 6-3A play against teams like Sanger, Pilot Point, Whitesboro, Pottsboro and Bowie. It's time to forget about the non-district games and focus on the games that really matter.
"We are approaching things as if that (non-district schedule) was season one, and now we are entering season two which is our district schedule," Cordell said. "Hopefully we will be in season three which is the playoffs. This is a whole new season. We don't dwell in the past. We didn't dwell on our state championship when this season started and we're not going to dwell on our non-district schedule. Our minds are on the Sanger Indians, just 15 miles down the road. They are looking to win a district championship and we are looking to win a district championship. Quite possibly, the district championship could be decided on Friday night."
Sanger comes into Friday's game with a 4-1 record. Their only loss was to Bonham (36-35). Indian head coach David Hughes has his team playing well in his first year as coach at Sanger.
"Coach Hughes is a new coach there in his first year as head coach at Sanger," Cordell said. "I wasn't sure how they were going to handle that change over there but Coach Hughes has done a great job. They possibly could be 5-0 right now. They got behind early in the Bonham game and almost came back and won it."
The Indians will feature the same spread offense that Gainesville runs. Quarterback Chris Higgs passes for 1,550 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. He also rushed 142 times for 860 yards and 10 more TDs. Their running back is Nathan Pegues, who is just a sophomore.
"The Higgs kid is the one that makes Sanger go," Cordell said. "He is a very proficient passer and has the ability to run the football. You've got Pegues back there at tailback and he is a very good runner. Reminds me a lot of (former Leopard) L.J. Searcy in his ability to see holes and run. Defensively, they are not very big with their defensive line and linebackers, but they are tenacious and they know how to find the football."
LEOPARD NOTES: Gainesville is 19-1 in their last 20 district games. Their only loss came to Celina in 2002 ... The Leopards are 8-3-1 all-time against Sanger. Gainesville has won the last two meetings. Before that, Sanger had won the previous two. In 2001, the Leopards defeated the Indians 42-26 ... The Leopards have won their past seven district openers. Their last loss in a district-opener came in 1996 when they lost to Sanger 42-6 ... GHS senior Jerome Hewitt is the Leopards' leading rusher on the season with 431 yards in five games. That is an average of 86.2 yards per game. Quarterback Travis Sutton has thrown for 340 yards (68.0 ypg average) and 3 touchdowns. Sergio Rodriguez is the leading Gainesville receiver with 176 yards (35.2 ypg average). Terrius Purvey leads the team in touchdowns scored with 6, 5 of which came in the Leopards' first game of the season against Antonian Prep of San Antonio. The Leopards are averaging 26.8 points per game, while they allow26.0 points per game. On offense, they are averaging 282.6 yards per game (215.4 rushing and 67.2 passing). On defense, they allow 331.4 yards per game (147.2 rushing and 184.2 passing) ... Gainesville will go back on the road Oct. 15 to face the Pilot Point Bearcats at 7:30 p.m. Their next home game will be Oct. 22 against the Whitesboro Bearcats.
GHS football preview
By DARIN ALLRED
Register Sports Editor
Sometimes in sports, it's good to have amnesia.
You don't want the kind that comes after a concussion. Instead, you need selective amnesia -- the kind that allows you to forget about tough losses.
The Gainesville Leopards need a little bit of amnesia as they head into their District 6-3A opener against Sanger this week. Instead of thinking about losing three of their past four games, the Leopards need to think of themselves as a team with an 0-0 record, just like every other team in the district.
Forgetting the past few weeks will be difficult, especially the last two losses to Royse City and Iowa Park. This past Friday, Iowa Park spoiled Gainesville's Homecoming with a 27-3 win. The Hawks held the Gainesville offense to just 92 total yards including just 16 on the ground.
So now, the Leopards head into district play with a 2-3 record. No one is thinking about last season's 15-0 record and a state championship. Instead, the players and coaches are trying to focus on the next five weeks.
"We knew going into this thing that with the number of seniors we lost from last year (23) we could have some trying times in regards to our non-district schedule," GHS head coach Jeff Cordell said. "We knew we had a tough non-district schedule with the likes of Decatur, Forney, Royse City and Iowa Park and we knew there was a chance we could take it on the chin in a couple of those games. Now that it's said and done, we took it on the chin three times.
"But the positive thing that has come out of it is that our kids have matured and got a lot of valuable experience out of these five games, whether they be wins or losses," the coach added. "We have been able to find out where we need to put people in regards to our personnel. It will make us a better football team."
During last season's state championship run, the Leopards were lucky enough to go the entire year without any major injuries. This season hasn't been like that.
Before the season even started, Gainesville lost All-State linebacker Jeremy Franklin with a broken foot. He has not played in a game yet this season and won't return to the field until Oct. 15 at the earliest. Defensive lineman Phillip Culbertson injured his shoulder against Forney three weeks ago and hasn't played since. He may return this week, but it will be as a quarterback and punter, not as a lineman.
Also this past week, the Leopards learned they would be without All-State running back Terrius Purvey and linebacker D'Terrius Goree for three weeks.
So after a relatively problem-free season in 2003, are the Leopards snake-bit in 2004?
"Every year you go into this thing and you never know what is going to happen," Cordell said. "You don't know when injuries are going to happen, you don't know when you are going to lose a casualty to grades or whatever it may be. It happens at every level, whether it be high school, college or pros. Sometimes you have them and sometimes you don't. It just seems that this year we have had plenty of them. It seems to be even more evident because we have lost two straight."
This year's Leopard team features mostly young players who are seeing their first action on varsity. Of the 11 offensive and defensive players who started for GHS this past Friday against Iowa Park, only 3 on offense and 2 on defense ever started a game before this year.
So even though GHS coaches remind the players daily that what happened last year has no bearing on what happens this year, these young players are feeling the pressure of living up to the success the 2003 team enjoyed.
That pressure might be building as some GHS fans seem to be jumping off their bandwagon after back-to-back losses. Fans could be seen leaving Leeper Stadium early in the third quarter against Iowa Park despite the fact it was Homecoming and the Leopards only trailed 20-3. Don't think the players didn't notice that.
"One of the concerns of our football team is they feel they have lost the support of our community," Cordell said. "I told the team that they don't play for the community. You don't play for the town of Gainesville, you play for the guys in that locker room. It's hard when you lose back-to-back ballgames and one of them is your Homecoming. The kids feel that pressure and there is already enough pressure as it is.
"One of the positives through all this is that some of our guys are starting to step up and be leaders," the coach said. "They are starting to rally around one another. They still believe in each other. What I am more concerned with is whether they lose confidence in us as a coaching staff. It's easy to coach when you are winning ballgames, but how good of a coach are you when you are losing ballgames."
Now, the Leopards will move into District 6-3A play against teams like Sanger, Pilot Point, Whitesboro, Pottsboro and Bowie. It's time to forget about the non-district games and focus on the games that really matter.
"We are approaching things as if that (non-district schedule) was season one, and now we are entering season two which is our district schedule," Cordell said. "Hopefully we will be in season three which is the playoffs. This is a whole new season. We don't dwell in the past. We didn't dwell on our state championship when this season started and we're not going to dwell on our non-district schedule. Our minds are on the Sanger Indians, just 15 miles down the road. They are looking to win a district championship and we are looking to win a district championship. Quite possibly, the district championship could be decided on Friday night."
Sanger comes into Friday's game with a 4-1 record. Their only loss was to Bonham (36-35). Indian head coach David Hughes has his team playing well in his first year as coach at Sanger.
"Coach Hughes is a new coach there in his first year as head coach at Sanger," Cordell said. "I wasn't sure how they were going to handle that change over there but Coach Hughes has done a great job. They possibly could be 5-0 right now. They got behind early in the Bonham game and almost came back and won it."
The Indians will feature the same spread offense that Gainesville runs. Quarterback Chris Higgs passes for 1,550 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. He also rushed 142 times for 860 yards and 10 more TDs. Their running back is Nathan Pegues, who is just a sophomore.
"The Higgs kid is the one that makes Sanger go," Cordell said. "He is a very proficient passer and has the ability to run the football. You've got Pegues back there at tailback and he is a very good runner. Reminds me a lot of (former Leopard) L.J. Searcy in his ability to see holes and run. Defensively, they are not very big with their defensive line and linebackers, but they are tenacious and they know how to find the football."
LEOPARD NOTES: Gainesville is 19-1 in their last 20 district games. Their only loss came to Celina in 2002 ... The Leopards are 8-3-1 all-time against Sanger. Gainesville has won the last two meetings. Before that, Sanger had won the previous two. In 2001, the Leopards defeated the Indians 42-26 ... The Leopards have won their past seven district openers. Their last loss in a district-opener came in 1996 when they lost to Sanger 42-6 ... GHS senior Jerome Hewitt is the Leopards' leading rusher on the season with 431 yards in five games. That is an average of 86.2 yards per game. Quarterback Travis Sutton has thrown for 340 yards (68.0 ypg average) and 3 touchdowns. Sergio Rodriguez is the leading Gainesville receiver with 176 yards (35.2 ypg average). Terrius Purvey leads the team in touchdowns scored with 6, 5 of which came in the Leopards' first game of the season against Antonian Prep of San Antonio. The Leopards are averaging 26.8 points per game, while they allow26.0 points per game. On offense, they are averaging 282.6 yards per game (215.4 rushing and 67.2 passing). On defense, they allow 331.4 yards per game (147.2 rushing and 184.2 passing) ... Gainesville will go back on the road Oct. 15 to face the Pilot Point Bearcats at 7:30 p.m. Their next home game will be Oct. 22 against the Whitesboro Bearcats.