Palestine vs. Huffman-Hargrave

[texasjeremy]

Round 2

[esphs]

I've never really heard of Hargrave... does anyone know anything about them? What kind of team are they or what their record is? Just wondering!

[Hupernikomen]

good, big and very strong, fast back, great kicker, solid defense...all around complete team.

[Buckeye80]

Good enough to beat WOS!! That sounds pretty darn good to me.

[tigerettedad]

don't know anything about huffman (they have to be pretty decent to beat wo-s) but palastine is for real they have great speed on both sides of the ball, and they bring the riddell's they will knock snot from you!! they looked very impressive against us (silsbee) friday night. this should be a good one!!!! where is the game being played at and is it on friday or saturday?

[Pball]

Originally posted by tigerettedad
don't know anything about huffman (they have to be pretty decent to beat wo-s) but palastine is for real they have great speed on both sides of the ball, and they bring the riddell's they will knock snot from you!! they looked very impressive against us (silsbee) friday night. this should be a good one!!!! where is the game being played at and is it on friday or saturday?

The game is being played on the same field in Conroe this Friday at 7:30 pm.

[texasjeremy]

POINTS SCORED PER GAME
Palestine - 34.5
Huffman - 28.7

POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME
Palestine - 16.3
Huffman - 20.3

AVERAGE MARGIN OF VICTORY
Palestine +18.2
Huffman +8.5

OPPONENTS COMBINED RECORDS
Palestine 61-53 (.535)
Huffman 55-57 (.491)

Texpreps.com Rating
Palestine - 100.81
Huffman - 96.17

AVERAGE RATING OF OPP. (using texpreps.com ratings)
Palestine - 87.09
Huffman - 83.95

BEST TEAMS PLAYED
opponents (record) - texpreps rating ----- result
HUFFMAN
1. West Orange-Stark (7-3) - 102.94 ----- WIN 30-28
2. Barber's Hill (9-2) - 100.20 ----- WIN 7-6
3. (4A) Santa Fe (6-4) - 94.40 ----- LOSS 36-20
4. Hardin-Jefferson (5-6) - 85.71 ----- WIN 28-26
5. Liberty (5-6) - 85.53 ----- LOSS 26-15
6. (4A) Conroe Caney Creek (5-5) - 84.38 ----- WIN 18-12
7. Hamshire-Fannett (5-5) - 82.97 ----- WIN 36-22
8. Needville (4-6) - 76.34 ----- WIN 43-28
9. Cleveland Tarkington (5-5) - 72.91 ----- WIN 51-14
10.Cleveland (2-7) - 71.02 ----- WIN 38-13
11.Splendora (2-8) - 67.07 ----- WIN 30-12

PALESTINE
1. (4A) Jacksonville (9-2) - 111.90 ----- LOSS 23-7
2. Silsbee (9-1) - 108.26 ----- WIN 34-9
3. Tatum (10-1) - 101.83 ----- WIN 27-24
4. Diboll (6-5) - 89.90 ----- WIN 21-12
5. Carthage (6-4) - 89.83 ----- WIN 42-31
6. (4A) Henderson (5-5) - 89.60 ----- WIN 49-28
7. Rusk (7-4) - 88.15 ----- LOSS 14-13
8. (4A) Whitehouse (3-7) - 82.47 ----- WIN 27-6
9. Crockett (3-7) - 72.52 ----- WIN 61-14
10.Palestine Westwood (2-8) - 67.75 ----- WIN 51-18
11.Huntington (1-9) - 55.79 ----- WIN 47-0

[Port_town_texas]

Palestine will take this game.

[GreenMonster]

wanted

[falcons79]

Don't count Huffman out yet, we were picked to lose to wos by 38 points, that didn't happen. Our o-line is ready, they are big and will knock the snot out of them....

[Hupernikomen]

If palestine lost to rusk they can lose to huffman. at this stage anyone can win. huffman will win the line of scrimmage against most teams and that is where most games are won and lost.

[AggieJohn]

Originally posted by texasjeremy
POINTS SCORED PER GAME
Palestine - 34.5
Huffman - 28.7

POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME
Palestine - 16.3
Huffman - 20.3

AVERAGE MARGIN OF VICTORY
Palestine +18.2
Huffman +8.5

OPPONENTS COMBINED RECORDS
Palestine 61-53 (.535)
Huffman 55-57 (.491)

Texpreps.com Rating
Palestine - 100.81
Huffman - 96.17

AVERAGE RATING OF OPP. (using texpreps.com ratings)
Palestine - 87.09
Huffman - 83.95

BEST TEAMS PLAYED
opponents (record) - texpreps rating ----- result
HUFFMAN
1. West Orange-Stark (7-3) - 102.94 ----- WIN 30-28
2. Barber's Hill (9-2) - 100.20 ----- WIN 7-6
3. (4A) Santa Fe (6-4) - 94.40 ----- LOSS 36-20
4. Hardin-Jefferson (5-6) - 85.71 ----- WIN 28-26
5. Liberty (5-6) - 85.53 ----- LOSS 26-15
6. (4A) Conroe Caney Creek (5-5) - 84.38 ----- WIN 18-12
7. Hamshire-Fannett (5-5) - 82.97 ----- WIN 36-22
8. Needville (4-6) - 76.34 ----- WIN 43-28
9. Cleveland Tarkington (5-5) - 72.91 ----- WIN 51-14
10.Cleveland (2-7) - 71.02 ----- WIN 38-13
11.Splendora (2-8) - 67.07 ----- WIN 30-12

PALESTINE
1. (4A) Jacksonville (9-2) - 111.90 ----- LOSS 23-7
2. Silsbee (9-1) - 108.26 ----- WIN 34-9
3. Tatum (10-1) - 101.83 ----- WIN 27-24
4. Diboll (6-5) - 89.90 ----- WIN 21-12
5. Carthage (6-4) - 89.83 ----- WIN 42-31
6. (4A) Henderson (5-5) - 89.60 ----- WIN 49-28
7. Rusk (7-4) - 88.15 ----- LOSS 14-13
8. (4A) Whitehouse (3-7) - 82.47 ----- WIN 27-6
9. Crockett (3-7) - 72.52 ----- WIN 61-14
10.Palestine Westwood (2-8) - 67.75 ----- WIN 51-18
11.Huntington (1-9) - 55.79 ----- WIN 47-0

post the same thing for liberty/jasper

[texasjeremy]

Originally posted by Hupernikomen
If palestine lost to rusk they can lose to huffman. at this stage anyone can win. huffman will win the line of scrimmage against most teams and that is where most games are won and lost.

The battle in the trenches will be good, apparently these2 schools have some of the better lines in the state. Thats how Palestine was able to dominate Silsbee because the O-line just blew Silsbee off the ball and the D-line collapsed the pocked immediatly.

[Hupernikomen]

Huffman has 3 on the o-line that go over 300 and I understand that 2 are D-1 prospects...

[GS#17]

Huffman has a big, strong line and a good running game; but, their weakness is team speed, particularly on defense. They play fundamentally strong and don't make many mistakes.

[texasjeremy]

Palestine has a dominate O-line, but their major strength is overall team speed, Palestine may be the fastest 3A team in the state.

[texasjeremy]

Palestine dominated for three quarters in Friday's win

11-14-04
By Scott Tyler
H-P Sports Editor


For one quarter of play Friday night, the Silsbee Tigers had Palestine's number in the Class 3A, Division I bi-district playoff game at Conroe's Moorhead Stadium.

As for the other three quarters of play, it was all Palestine, who defeated Silsbee 34-9.

Here is a quarter-by-quarter glance of Friday night's game and how the momentum swung into Palestine's direction and how the Wildcats held on to it for the rest of the game.

First Quarter

Silsbee came out of the gate early, getting a quick start on its first possession.


The Tigers took the opening kickoff and four plays later found the end zone on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Quintin Porter to Desmond Doss. The pass was a jump ball which Porter caught over the Palestine defender and then walked into the end zone.

The key play on the drive came from Porter's ability to run. Palestine looked to have Silsbee stopped on a third and 10, but after bobbling the snap, Porter took off around the edge and picked up 16 yards for a first down.

The Palestine Wildcats could not match Silsbee's first-quarter intensity, as the Wildcats turned the ball over on their fifth play of the game, giving Silsbee the ball on the Palestine 36-yard line.

The Tigers converted a pair of third downs before finally having to settle for a 25-yard field goal.

Silsbee did have a second and goal from the 2-yard line but Palestine came up with two stops to force fourth down. It was the first sign of the game that the Palestine defense could get into the backfield against Silsbee's offensive line.

"All week, coach (Glen) Tunstall hammered to the kids that if mistakes were made, to forget about it and go to the next play," Palestine offensive coordinator Tommy Allison said. "The ability for this team to stay focused after falling down 9-0 showed the character of the kids."

Silsbee finished the first half with a 9-0 lead as the Tigers picked up 107 yards (75 percent of their total offense for the night).

Palestine ran nine plays in the first quarter for 17 yards.

Second Quarter

The second quarter was when the momentum shift started to swing as the Wildcat defense completely shutdown the Silsbee offense and the Palestine offense found a way to run the football.

The second quarter started with Silsbee going three and out.

Palestine got the ball and put together its first drive of the game, resulting in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Fred Williams to Leon Mickens.

The key to the drive was Nigel Cooper's 25-yard run on a third down where he was forced to reverse field in the backfield for the long run.

Palestine again shutdown Silsbee on its next possession, as the Tigers again went three and out and were forced to punt.

In the second quarter, Silsbee gained only 1 yard and had the ball for just over three minutes, while Palestine held onto the football for over eight minutes.

"The second quarter was big for us," Allison said. "The defense did a great job making them go three and out and our offense put two great drives together."

Palestine's second drive of the quarter was for four minutes and resulted in another Williams to Mickens touchdown.

Cameron Jones extended the drive when he converted a third down with a 10-yard run.

Mickens touchdown catch gave Palestine a 13-9 lead going into halftime as Palestine gained 130 yards in the second quarter.

"When Leon came down with the second touchdown catch, I think the momentum started to swing," Allison said. "When we went into halftime, we knew we had something special going that night."

Third Quarter

The third quarter may have been the back breaker for Silsbee as Palestine held on to the ball for eight minutes and 44 seconds, not giving the Tigers much of a chance to try to put points of the board.

Jones started the third quarter with a 58-yard kickoff return to put Palestine deep in Silsbee territory.

Four plays later, Williams came up with the biggest play of the drive when he converted on a fourth and 3 play with an 18-yard run. Jones finished the drive on the next play with a 4-yard TD run.

Silsbee had the ball twice in the third quarter, but ran only 11 plays as the Tigers gained one first down on a 37-yard pass, which was their only positive gain of the quarter.

While Palestine only scored once in the third quarter, they did not allow Silsbee to get anything going as the Wildcats led 20-9 going into the final frame of play.

Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter completely belonged to Palestine as the offense and defense seemed to feed off each other.

Palestine had the ball to start the fourth quarter and on the first play, Cooper rushed for 46 yards, to give Palestine a first and goal at the 5-yard line. Three plays later and Williams scored on a 2-yard keeper to give Palestine at 27-9 lead with 10 minutes to play.

Then it was the Palestine's defense turn to shine. Silsbee got to midfield as the Tigers were looking to make a late charge. But on a third and three play, Cole Snider tripped up Porter in the backfield to force a fourth down.

Then Ronald Brown, on a blitz, came untouched through the middle of the line and slammed Porter into the ground for the sack. Silsbee was then called for a 15-yard unsportmanlike penalty, giving Palestine the ball on the Tigers' 26-yard line.

Palestine ran seven plays and were unable to score, but the Wildcats took over four minutes off the clock, putting the game out of the reach of Silsbee.

The Tigers did get the ball back with 3:31 to play, but immediately gave it right back when Gerald Singleton Jr. made an acrobatic interception at the line of scrimmage on a wide receiver screen pass.

"Our defense was big for us and the offense feed off that enthusiasm," Allison said.

Trevlyn Reed put the stamp on the game when he scored on a 15-yard run late in the fourth quarter.

In the final three quarters of play, Palestine outgained Silsbee 302 to 73 yards as Palestine had control of the football for 24 minutes and 32 seconds.

[texasjeremy]

Defensive line does dirty work to get job done

11-16-04
By Scott Tyler
H-P Sports Editor


They are the ones who do the dirty work.

They are the first line of defense which goes up against players twice as big.

They are the ones who make it possible for others to get the headlines.

They are the Palestine defensive line of Cole Snider, Michael Thatcher and J.D. Delprincipe.

"Through hard work and dedication, these three players have gotten better every day and are a great run stopping unit," Palestine defensive coordinator Booker Bowie said.


The three-man Palestine defensive line has been the starting point to Palestine's run defense which has allowed an average of 52.4 rushing yards in the last five games.

"Our job is to control the line of scrimmage," Snider said. "Since the Diboll game, when their scouting report said we were the best part of the defense, it has made us work that much harder to make it true."

Delprincipe added, "We do not let the big boys on the offensive line get to our linebackers."

All three players know they do not play a glory position, but it does not matter.

"We do not mind it at all, we love playing the position," Thatcher said.

Palestine's three defensive linemen do not look like what would normally be seen going up against offensive lines. Palestine does not have the common size expected to be seen on the defensive line as all three players are under 200 pounds.

First-year defensive line coach Sam Wells knew he was seeing something different when he first saw what he had.

"It was not your typical defensive fronts but I knew they could run and they were athletes," Wells said.

Both Bowie and Wells call the Palestine defensive line possibly the smallest in Class 3A in Texas.

"They are the perfect example of the saying, 'It is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog'," Bowie said. "They give 100 percent on every play and do not stay blocked."

Wells said the reason his small defensive line has had so much success is because of their speed and their work mentality.

"They are the quickest defensive line I have seen and they are all coachable," Wells said. "Those three guys motors never stop and they go as hard as they can for four quarters."

With their smaller stature than the offensive lines they face, the key for the line is leverage.

"Regardless of size, leverage is the key in football," Bowie said. "We get lower than they do and make them chase us and get them out of their comfort zone."

Friday night, the Palestine defensive line will be going against a Huffman Hargrave team which boasts two offensive linemen over 300 pounds.

"We take it as a personal challenge and we will do what we can," Delprincipe said.

In Palestine's bi-district win against Silsbee, the defensive line helped the Wildcats hold the Tigers to 29 rushing yards on 28 carries.

Snider made a key play in the fourth quarter when he ran down the Tigers' quick quarterback Quintin Porter for a loss of three yards on a third and three play.

"They did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage," Bowie said. "They were controlling the double teams and if they were not being double teamed, they were making big plays."

The Palestine defensive line has been seeing more and more double teams as the season has progressed.

"Getting double team has made us a better football team because it allows our linebackers to make plays," Thatcher said.

While the goal of the defensive line is to cause havoc and piles at the line of scrimmage, when given the chance each player has the ability to make big plays on their own.

On the season, Thatcher is third on the team with 66 tackles, to go along with a half sack. He even has an interception, which was against Crockett on a deflection off a helmet which went right back to him and he made the catch.

"Overall, Michael is the fastest player on the defensive line and he makes plays all over the field," Wells said.

Snider is fourth on the team with 62 tackles three and a half sacks.

"Cole is very smart and probably watches the most film of anyone on our defense," Wells said. "He knows what to expect and is extremely tough."

Delprincipe has 26 tackles on the season to go along with one and a half sacks.

"J.D. is a warrior," Wells said. "He is the lightest of the three but he gets after it like something else. He goes 100 miles per hour every snap."

Coming into the season, Thatcher was the only one with experience on the offensive line, as he was a starter last year. Snider and Delprincipe did not see anytime at that position last year.

"They got better and better each week and we stuck with them even through the hard times," Bowie said. "They have developed a lot more self confidence in the last three weeks.

"They are really close and feed off each other and they are helping us get back to the status of a wrecking crew."

[texasjeremy]

Palestine offensive line key to offensive success

11-17-04
By Scott Tyler
H-P Sports Editor


The Palestine offensive line does the ultimate dirty work.

They are the ones who battle in the trenches. They do not get their names into the paper and if their picture is printed, it is usually just a partial shot where the main focus is on the running back or quarterback.

But it has been that offensive line which is the backbone of a Palestine offense that has rushed for 253.6 yards a game and has thrown for an average of 113 yards.

"We came into the season with the offensive line being one of the biggest question marks," Palestine offensive coordinator Tommy Allison said. "They are the most improved part of our team and they became the best offensive line in the district."

The Palestine offensive line consists of Joseph George, Sylrorey Swain, Maurice Lanclos, Cliff Richardson, Jared Hudson and Eldrick Birdow, who has played an important role as a substitute at four of the five offensive line positions.


"In my six years here, they may be the best offensive line we have had," Palestine head coach Glen Tunstall said. "They play very well as a unit and they all do their individual job."

Coming into the season, Palestine had question marks at the offensive line because of a lack of experience and a new coach in David Wilbanks, who came from Corsicana.

"A lot of credit goes to coach Wilbanks and what he has done this year," Tunstall said. "The kids have really adjusted to him and really play hard for him."

Palestine entered the 2004 season with only one returning starter from the year before.

"Coming into this year, with most of the players not having much playing time we were worried about what we were able to do," Wilbanks said. "But they have shown continued improvement throughout the year."

Hudson added, "I wanted to prove that we could do it."

All five of the starting lineman are seniors, which Wilbanks said may have balanced the inexperience factor.

"I think they sensed the urgency," Wilbanks said. "This was their senior year and they accepted the role to do what they could to win."

George was the only returning starter from a season before and is Palestine's left tackle.

"Joseph is the kind of football player everyone wants to have," Wilbanks said. "He is quick, but he leads by example, always getting the job done."

Lanclos, who played as a tight end last year, was moved to the center position.

"Maurice has done a great job with the snaps out of the shot gun sets and in pass protection," Wilbanks said.

Richardson and Hudson are the right guard and tackle for Palestine.

"Cliff is a great kid who plays at 110 percent on every snap," Wilbanks said. "Jared's work ethic surpasses anyone on the team."

Swain was slated as a starter during two-a-day practices, but he has suffered a couple of injuries throughout the season.

"Sylrorey has handled the injuries really well," Wilbanks said. "He is not getting back to where he was in two-a-days."

Filling in for Swain, and other linemen during the season, has been Birdow.

"I cannot say enough about Eldrick," Wilbanks said. "He has been a real key for us."

The Palestine linemen do not care about the glory, knowing their job on the field is what makes the offense successful.

"We get respect from the team and that is all that matters," Richardson said.

Swain added, "As long as we get the win we are all right."

The offensive line has been one of the main reasons why Palestine has been winning and finds itself in the Class 3A regional playoff game against Huffman-Hargrave.

In the bi-district win against Silsbee, Palestine rushed for 328 yards behind the offensive line.

"They dominated the ball game against Silsbee," Allison said. "They gave our running backs lanes to run through and it really set the tone for us."

Of the 46 running plays, only three went for no yardage or negative yardage.

Before the game, Palestine was issued a challenge from Wilbanks.

"Before the game, coach Wilbanks was upset because of all the attention Silsbee's offensive line was getting," Lanclos said. "He took it personal and challenged us."

Wilbanks said of the challenge, "I put some fire under them and they performed above my expectations."

On the season, Palestine has rushed for over 100 yards in all but one game. The Wildcats have rushed for over 200 yards in nine of the 11 games and have reached the 300 plateau four times.

"They take a lot of pride in what they do," Allison said of the offensive line. "They work really hard during the week and are well prepared for Friday nights."

The offensive linemen are familiar with the Palestine blocking scheme as the Wildcats have run the zone blocking for three years now.

"We have been doing it so much it is a habit now," Hudson said. "It is our bread and butter."

Allison said the offensive line's ability to zone block makes the team better.

"Using this type of scheme allows the running back the ability to find the hole he wants to run through and we are able to block any type of defensive front," Allison said. "It is a philosophy we brought in and the kids believe in it."