Bubba-Joe
11-18-2005, 11:26 AM
Monahans prepares for another job
By SAM WALLER
Odessa American
PLAINVIEW In a perfect world, the Monahans Loboes could have spent this week basking in the glow of a big accomplishment, enjoying the feeling that came with their 28-21 bi-district win last week over ninth-ranked Snyder.
The reality is that Monahans has another game to play, facing Perryton at 7:30 tonight at Bulldog Stadium in a Class 3A Division II area game.
“Our work isn’t over,” Monahans head coach Mickey Owens said. “We’ve got five ballgames to go, hopefully, and we’re taking them one at a time. We’re not patting ourselves on the back for what we did last week. If we do, we’ll get our tails beat this week.”
There wasn’t much of hangover in the first place. Instead of exultation, this week has seen Monahans (11-0) back at the grind in another effort to postpone the end of the season.
“We have a pretty experienced group,” Owens said of his players. “It really wasn’t a problem. They’re pretty well focused.
“Now, they were very excited Friday night. They were excited Saturday. But they have a whole lot of confidence in themselves, and Monday seemed like just another day at the office. They’re getting ready to go again.”
Of course, such a win didn’t go unnoticed, especially by Perryton.
“That district that Snyder came out of, at one time they had three teams in the top five,” Perry ton head coach Gary Newcomb said. “That’s a feather in (the Loboes’) cap. They’re an awfully well coached team and disciplined. I have a lot of respect for Mickey and the type of team he puts on the field.
“They’re tougher than Chinese arithmetic. I told our kids it’s going to be like watching a game in the ’50s and ’60s. You’re going to line up in a two-back set and run the ball.”
In District 1-3A runnerup Perryton (7-4), Monahans faces a team that is getting hot at the right time, Owens said. The Rangers have won six of their last eight, including last week’s 41-22 bi-district win over Muleshoe.
“They’re probably hotter, improvement-wise, over the last three games than Snyder was,” Owens said. “The last three games, they have really started playing well.”
Newcomb basically agreed but with one caveat.
“The past three or four ballgames, we’ve played pretty good,” he said. “Whether we’ve played the quality of teams that Monahans has played is another story. Of course, when you get to this time of year, you’d better be playing pretty good because the quality of competition gets better each week.”
An intriguing factor in the matchup is that the teams run similar schemes with the wing-T offense and split-6 defense. That makes putting together scouting reports and game plans a little easier, but Owens said Perryton takes a pretty simple approach.
“They don’t do anything to try to trick you. It’s more smash-mouth football,” he said. “Any time somebody just lines up and runs at you, you never know if you’re good enough to stop that until you get in the game and see how you match up.
“They’re just a real physical team. They’re not going to finesse you. They’re going to come at you with their best game. We’re going to know when we leave the stadium that we’ve been hit, win or lose.”
By SAM WALLER
Odessa American
PLAINVIEW In a perfect world, the Monahans Loboes could have spent this week basking in the glow of a big accomplishment, enjoying the feeling that came with their 28-21 bi-district win last week over ninth-ranked Snyder.
The reality is that Monahans has another game to play, facing Perryton at 7:30 tonight at Bulldog Stadium in a Class 3A Division II area game.
“Our work isn’t over,” Monahans head coach Mickey Owens said. “We’ve got five ballgames to go, hopefully, and we’re taking them one at a time. We’re not patting ourselves on the back for what we did last week. If we do, we’ll get our tails beat this week.”
There wasn’t much of hangover in the first place. Instead of exultation, this week has seen Monahans (11-0) back at the grind in another effort to postpone the end of the season.
“We have a pretty experienced group,” Owens said of his players. “It really wasn’t a problem. They’re pretty well focused.
“Now, they were very excited Friday night. They were excited Saturday. But they have a whole lot of confidence in themselves, and Monday seemed like just another day at the office. They’re getting ready to go again.”
Of course, such a win didn’t go unnoticed, especially by Perryton.
“That district that Snyder came out of, at one time they had three teams in the top five,” Perry ton head coach Gary Newcomb said. “That’s a feather in (the Loboes’) cap. They’re an awfully well coached team and disciplined. I have a lot of respect for Mickey and the type of team he puts on the field.
“They’re tougher than Chinese arithmetic. I told our kids it’s going to be like watching a game in the ’50s and ’60s. You’re going to line up in a two-back set and run the ball.”
In District 1-3A runnerup Perryton (7-4), Monahans faces a team that is getting hot at the right time, Owens said. The Rangers have won six of their last eight, including last week’s 41-22 bi-district win over Muleshoe.
“They’re probably hotter, improvement-wise, over the last three games than Snyder was,” Owens said. “The last three games, they have really started playing well.”
Newcomb basically agreed but with one caveat.
“The past three or four ballgames, we’ve played pretty good,” he said. “Whether we’ve played the quality of teams that Monahans has played is another story. Of course, when you get to this time of year, you’d better be playing pretty good because the quality of competition gets better each week.”
An intriguing factor in the matchup is that the teams run similar schemes with the wing-T offense and split-6 defense. That makes putting together scouting reports and game plans a little easier, but Owens said Perryton takes a pretty simple approach.
“They don’t do anything to try to trick you. It’s more smash-mouth football,” he said. “Any time somebody just lines up and runs at you, you never know if you’re good enough to stop that until you get in the game and see how you match up.
“They’re just a real physical team. They’re not going to finesse you. They’re going to come at you with their best game. We’re going to know when we leave the stadium that we’ve been hit, win or lose.”