HighSchool Fan
08-25-2005, 05:55 PM
By JIM SEIMAS
Santa Cruz Sentinel
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — Running back Tony Lopez and his Scotts Valley High teammates haven’t heard much in the way of positive chatter recently.
Lopez has been told the Falcons football team doesn’t have a chance in hell to win their season-opener in Gainesville, Texas, Friday night. Not only will they lose, he’s been told, they’ll get obliterated.
"All my friends think we’re going to get slaughtered," Lopez said. "I really do think we’re going to win. I just want to shut everyone up."
The Falcons, a sixth-year varsity program that some Scotts Valley coaches are calling the "best yet," have not only taken a step up with their preseason scheduling, they’ve taken an elevator up.
Bing!!! Top floor, Texas.
No more California School for the Deaf or Harker Academy for these Falcons. Bring on powerhouse Gainesville, the Texas 3A state champ in 2003.
The Falcons aren’t scared, they’re elated, giddy beyond belief. They get the opportunity to live "Friday Night Lights." There will be bright lights, a 7,000-seat stadium both teams hope will be full and the allure of playing a heralded Texas opponent. The 7:30 p.m. contest — said to be just the seventh ever pitting a California high school program against one from Texas — even has a name: the "Sizzle Bowl."
Beyond that, though, this non-league game can have lasting mental and physical impacts for the Falcons.
More than an underdog, the Falcons are putting themselves in a situation where key players could be lost for the season to injury. They could suffer a loss so humiliating, players’ confidence will be severely shaken.
"Everyone and their mother is saying ‘What are you doing?’" Falcons coach Louie Walters said. "We’re clearly the underdog."
Walters, who admits his team is an injury or two away from being mediocre, said he isn’t going to think about what-ifs.
"You can’t worry about injuries," Walters said. "That’s part of the game. We could’ve scheduled weaker teams. Is that going to make us a better football team? You need to schedule tough games. ... This is beyond tough."
The positives for the upset-minded Falcons are huge. They will be treated like kings until kickoff. They’ll practice at Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, take in a Rangers baseball game and be treated to a barbecue with city and state officials.
And then there’s the thrill of playing before an anticipated capacity crowd. In the past, Gainesville has essentially shut down for big games. Perhaps Scotts Valley will also if the Falcons win.
"Our kids are going to talk about this game for 100 years," Walters said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Added Falcons tight end Nick Kirkham: "For most of us, this is going to be our big game, the game a lot of us remember. We’re optimistic. Everyone’s in real high spirits."
Gainesville, a school of about 830 students compared to Scotts Valley’s roughly 700, has nine players on this year’s team from the 2003 state championship team. It is ranked third in the state in one Texas preseason poll and has already played two scrimmages.
"I’m sure Louie Walters wouldn’t agree to schedule this game if he didn’t think he could compete," said Leopards coach Jeff Cordell downplaying the possibility of a blowout.
Perhaps the pressure is on Cordell and the Leopards. They’re expected to win.
"You live and learn," said Cordell when asked the town’s possible response to a Gainesville loss. "You can’t go into a game scared about losing. This community is pretty into football. The expectations are to win ball games. I like those expectations. Our players like that challenge."
The teams didn’t exchange game film.
"I haven’t spoken with Louie for a while," Cordell said. "We exchanged rosters. We know they run a spread offense. We pretty much see every style of offense out here, so we’ve pretty much prepared for everything."
The Leopards, with 29 seniors on the team, turn to junior transfer Jacob West as the starting quarterback.
Going 8-4 last year, Gainesville, scored 56 or more points in three games. This season, Cordell said the offense is a little behind schedule with a new quarterback.
The Leopards are athletic and fast and used to playing in humid conditions, Walters said. Leopards running backs Da’Ron Calhoun, Larenzo McBath and Jeremy Franklin are playmakers in the offensive backfield.
The Falcons have remained calm and focused throughout practices thus far, treating it like it was another game.
"Unless my players are fooling me, I think they have no clue to how big this is," Walters said. "I don’t think they understand the magnitude of what high school football is like there, and what we’re getting into. On one hand, it worries me. And on the other hand, I’m OK with them not flipping out on this thing."
The Falcons aren’t flinching.
"It’s not like they have NFL players playing high school," Falcons running back Tommy Erlin said. "They have kids just like we do. It’s just a bigger deal over there. Football over there is life."
Gainesville is highlighted by its defense front. It boasts one of the best linebacker corps in Texas: Jeremy Franklin, Michael Miller and Kolby Kuykendall.
Both Miller and defensive lineman Clint Stoffels received all-state recognition last season. Franklin, listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury, was all-state two years ago as a sophomore. He was injured last year.
Scotts Valley, 7-3 in 2004, returns eight starters to a defense that allowed a Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League-low 203 yards a game last season.
The usually pass-happy Falcons have a new quarterback in junior Isaac Dawid and have put an emphasis on establishing the ground attack this season. Lopez, Erlin and Russell Jenkins will see the bulk of the carries in the Falcons’ pro-set offense.
If they don’t win, a close game may be a mental victory for the Falcons, linebacker Sam Gordon said.
"I’m not sure we’re going to play a better team than the one we (will) face in Texas," he said. "If we hang with them, we can beat anyone. Our players want to prove themselves on the biggest stage in high school — and that’s Texas football."
(Courtesy of the Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Santa Cruz Sentinel
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — Running back Tony Lopez and his Scotts Valley High teammates haven’t heard much in the way of positive chatter recently.
Lopez has been told the Falcons football team doesn’t have a chance in hell to win their season-opener in Gainesville, Texas, Friday night. Not only will they lose, he’s been told, they’ll get obliterated.
"All my friends think we’re going to get slaughtered," Lopez said. "I really do think we’re going to win. I just want to shut everyone up."
The Falcons, a sixth-year varsity program that some Scotts Valley coaches are calling the "best yet," have not only taken a step up with their preseason scheduling, they’ve taken an elevator up.
Bing!!! Top floor, Texas.
No more California School for the Deaf or Harker Academy for these Falcons. Bring on powerhouse Gainesville, the Texas 3A state champ in 2003.
The Falcons aren’t scared, they’re elated, giddy beyond belief. They get the opportunity to live "Friday Night Lights." There will be bright lights, a 7,000-seat stadium both teams hope will be full and the allure of playing a heralded Texas opponent. The 7:30 p.m. contest — said to be just the seventh ever pitting a California high school program against one from Texas — even has a name: the "Sizzle Bowl."
Beyond that, though, this non-league game can have lasting mental and physical impacts for the Falcons.
More than an underdog, the Falcons are putting themselves in a situation where key players could be lost for the season to injury. They could suffer a loss so humiliating, players’ confidence will be severely shaken.
"Everyone and their mother is saying ‘What are you doing?’" Falcons coach Louie Walters said. "We’re clearly the underdog."
Walters, who admits his team is an injury or two away from being mediocre, said he isn’t going to think about what-ifs.
"You can’t worry about injuries," Walters said. "That’s part of the game. We could’ve scheduled weaker teams. Is that going to make us a better football team? You need to schedule tough games. ... This is beyond tough."
The positives for the upset-minded Falcons are huge. They will be treated like kings until kickoff. They’ll practice at Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, take in a Rangers baseball game and be treated to a barbecue with city and state officials.
And then there’s the thrill of playing before an anticipated capacity crowd. In the past, Gainesville has essentially shut down for big games. Perhaps Scotts Valley will also if the Falcons win.
"Our kids are going to talk about this game for 100 years," Walters said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Added Falcons tight end Nick Kirkham: "For most of us, this is going to be our big game, the game a lot of us remember. We’re optimistic. Everyone’s in real high spirits."
Gainesville, a school of about 830 students compared to Scotts Valley’s roughly 700, has nine players on this year’s team from the 2003 state championship team. It is ranked third in the state in one Texas preseason poll and has already played two scrimmages.
"I’m sure Louie Walters wouldn’t agree to schedule this game if he didn’t think he could compete," said Leopards coach Jeff Cordell downplaying the possibility of a blowout.
Perhaps the pressure is on Cordell and the Leopards. They’re expected to win.
"You live and learn," said Cordell when asked the town’s possible response to a Gainesville loss. "You can’t go into a game scared about losing. This community is pretty into football. The expectations are to win ball games. I like those expectations. Our players like that challenge."
The teams didn’t exchange game film.
"I haven’t spoken with Louie for a while," Cordell said. "We exchanged rosters. We know they run a spread offense. We pretty much see every style of offense out here, so we’ve pretty much prepared for everything."
The Leopards, with 29 seniors on the team, turn to junior transfer Jacob West as the starting quarterback.
Going 8-4 last year, Gainesville, scored 56 or more points in three games. This season, Cordell said the offense is a little behind schedule with a new quarterback.
The Leopards are athletic and fast and used to playing in humid conditions, Walters said. Leopards running backs Da’Ron Calhoun, Larenzo McBath and Jeremy Franklin are playmakers in the offensive backfield.
The Falcons have remained calm and focused throughout practices thus far, treating it like it was another game.
"Unless my players are fooling me, I think they have no clue to how big this is," Walters said. "I don’t think they understand the magnitude of what high school football is like there, and what we’re getting into. On one hand, it worries me. And on the other hand, I’m OK with them not flipping out on this thing."
The Falcons aren’t flinching.
"It’s not like they have NFL players playing high school," Falcons running back Tommy Erlin said. "They have kids just like we do. It’s just a bigger deal over there. Football over there is life."
Gainesville is highlighted by its defense front. It boasts one of the best linebacker corps in Texas: Jeremy Franklin, Michael Miller and Kolby Kuykendall.
Both Miller and defensive lineman Clint Stoffels received all-state recognition last season. Franklin, listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury, was all-state two years ago as a sophomore. He was injured last year.
Scotts Valley, 7-3 in 2004, returns eight starters to a defense that allowed a Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League-low 203 yards a game last season.
The usually pass-happy Falcons have a new quarterback in junior Isaac Dawid and have put an emphasis on establishing the ground attack this season. Lopez, Erlin and Russell Jenkins will see the bulk of the carries in the Falcons’ pro-set offense.
If they don’t win, a close game may be a mental victory for the Falcons, linebacker Sam Gordon said.
"I’m not sure we’re going to play a better team than the one we (will) face in Texas," he said. "If we hang with them, we can beat anyone. Our players want to prove themselves on the biggest stage in high school — and that’s Texas football."
(Courtesy of the Santa Cruz Sentinel)