3afan
07-28-2005, 07:58 AM
all SENIORS are going to SOC, not Madison ...
W-H football players say SOC's a good fit
Senior athletes' fears turn into relief with call to South Oak Cliff
12:51 AM CDT on Thursday, July 28, 2005
By DAVE LANCE / The Dallas Morning News
If Xavier Rambo had his choice, he'd still be enrolled at Wilmer-Hutchins.
But with the school closed, the senior football player's second preference was South Oak Cliff, not Madison, an opinion shared by several of his teammates. They got their wish Wednesday, when Dallas ISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa assigned the Wilmer-Hutchins senior class to South Oak Cliff and rejected a proposal that would have sent them to Madison.
The Madison proposal lost steam when, according to the DISD, 61 percent of a group of Wilmer-Hutchins seniors surveyed said they didn't want to attend Madison. The DISD said 62 percent of their parents were against the move.
One reason players preferred South Oak Cliff was because they didn't like the prospect of merging with Madison, a rival power when they attended Wilmer-Hutchins.
Rambo, a wide receiver who has orally committed to Kansas, was so opposed to attending Madison that he and his family had made plans for him to move to another district.
"SOC sounds good," said Rambo. "Madison wasn't one of my choices. I liked playing them ... they're one of our rivals. SOC's got a spread offense. They throw the ball a lot. I figured that'd be a good school for me."
Senior defensive back Frankie Solomon said he looks forward to playing on SOC's 4A state championship basketball team as much as he does football. SOC football practice begins Aug. 8.
"We wanted to go to a good program with good coaches," said Solomon. "They were probably a state-caliber football team without us. Put that with our athletes, that'll make a super team."
Of the 160 Wilmer-Hutchins seniors who will attend SOC, 12 are football players. Their addition improves an already top-ranked team, which Texas Football picked to win District 13-4A. SOC finished 9-3 last season, 4-1 in district (second place), and advanced to the Division II area finals.
"Just the thought of having these young men from Wilmer-Hutchins, I've been playing that scenario in my mind 1,000 times a day," said SOC football coach J.B. Wallace Jr. "This will give us depth, which we've never had, and size, which we've never had.
"It's always our goal to win a state championship. We were going to have a real good club this year, but we were going to be really young, playing a lot of sophomores."
One of the Wilmer-Hutchins seniors likely to start is defensive back Anthony Webb, who has committed to Kansas. His mother, Daphne, was afraid her son and other W-H transfers would find trouble at Madison.
"The only people we got into it with is Madison and Roosevelt," Daphne said. "We got into fights with them. I told my son he could go anywhere he wanted. This is his senior year, and I want him to be happy. Because if he's happy, he'll do better academically. I think they should've stayed at Hutch, but they messed the money up. South Oak Cliff is a good second option."
Madison coach Ronald Johnson said he'll have a good team with or without Wilmer-Hutchins players. Johnson, whose team finished 9-4 last season and made the playoffs for the first time since 1991, said losing out on the Wilmer-Hutchins seniors will be used as motivation to his players.
"Every time people talk about Wilmer-Hutchins, they kept saying how much they were going to enhance our program," Johnson said. "That's fuel on our fire. People seem to forget, we built a program at Madison. I think we're going to win without Wilmer-Hutchins' kids."
Football coaches in SOC's district said Wednesday's news has no effect on their programs.
"I don't have a problem with it," Kimball coach Darrell Jordan said. "The superintendent is my boss. That's why they pay him the money they do – to make these decisions. I've got to get my team ready to play."
Said Pinkston coach James Argenti: "The only concern I have is Pinkston. I'm going 100 mph at Pinkston. When the time comes to play South Oak Cliff, I've got to play 'em. I'm not going to worry about other people's kids."
E-mail dlance@dallasnews.com
W-H football players say SOC's a good fit
Senior athletes' fears turn into relief with call to South Oak Cliff
12:51 AM CDT on Thursday, July 28, 2005
By DAVE LANCE / The Dallas Morning News
If Xavier Rambo had his choice, he'd still be enrolled at Wilmer-Hutchins.
But with the school closed, the senior football player's second preference was South Oak Cliff, not Madison, an opinion shared by several of his teammates. They got their wish Wednesday, when Dallas ISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa assigned the Wilmer-Hutchins senior class to South Oak Cliff and rejected a proposal that would have sent them to Madison.
The Madison proposal lost steam when, according to the DISD, 61 percent of a group of Wilmer-Hutchins seniors surveyed said they didn't want to attend Madison. The DISD said 62 percent of their parents were against the move.
One reason players preferred South Oak Cliff was because they didn't like the prospect of merging with Madison, a rival power when they attended Wilmer-Hutchins.
Rambo, a wide receiver who has orally committed to Kansas, was so opposed to attending Madison that he and his family had made plans for him to move to another district.
"SOC sounds good," said Rambo. "Madison wasn't one of my choices. I liked playing them ... they're one of our rivals. SOC's got a spread offense. They throw the ball a lot. I figured that'd be a good school for me."
Senior defensive back Frankie Solomon said he looks forward to playing on SOC's 4A state championship basketball team as much as he does football. SOC football practice begins Aug. 8.
"We wanted to go to a good program with good coaches," said Solomon. "They were probably a state-caliber football team without us. Put that with our athletes, that'll make a super team."
Of the 160 Wilmer-Hutchins seniors who will attend SOC, 12 are football players. Their addition improves an already top-ranked team, which Texas Football picked to win District 13-4A. SOC finished 9-3 last season, 4-1 in district (second place), and advanced to the Division II area finals.
"Just the thought of having these young men from Wilmer-Hutchins, I've been playing that scenario in my mind 1,000 times a day," said SOC football coach J.B. Wallace Jr. "This will give us depth, which we've never had, and size, which we've never had.
"It's always our goal to win a state championship. We were going to have a real good club this year, but we were going to be really young, playing a lot of sophomores."
One of the Wilmer-Hutchins seniors likely to start is defensive back Anthony Webb, who has committed to Kansas. His mother, Daphne, was afraid her son and other W-H transfers would find trouble at Madison.
"The only people we got into it with is Madison and Roosevelt," Daphne said. "We got into fights with them. I told my son he could go anywhere he wanted. This is his senior year, and I want him to be happy. Because if he's happy, he'll do better academically. I think they should've stayed at Hutch, but they messed the money up. South Oak Cliff is a good second option."
Madison coach Ronald Johnson said he'll have a good team with or without Wilmer-Hutchins players. Johnson, whose team finished 9-4 last season and made the playoffs for the first time since 1991, said losing out on the Wilmer-Hutchins seniors will be used as motivation to his players.
"Every time people talk about Wilmer-Hutchins, they kept saying how much they were going to enhance our program," Johnson said. "That's fuel on our fire. People seem to forget, we built a program at Madison. I think we're going to win without Wilmer-Hutchins' kids."
Football coaches in SOC's district said Wednesday's news has no effect on their programs.
"I don't have a problem with it," Kimball coach Darrell Jordan said. "The superintendent is my boss. That's why they pay him the money they do – to make these decisions. I've got to get my team ready to play."
Said Pinkston coach James Argenti: "The only concern I have is Pinkston. I'm going 100 mph at Pinkston. When the time comes to play South Oak Cliff, I've got to play 'em. I'm not going to worry about other people's kids."
E-mail dlance@dallasnews.com