ILS1
11-24-2005, 09:11 AM
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, November 24, 2005
HUTTO — The Hippos are still standing.
Take your best shot. Throw your best effort their way. They can handle it.
Andrew Price
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
The Hippos have been through worse. They've been through it all in the past year, through personal losses, through deaths and injuries and even boils. Yes, boils.
The Hippos dealt with all of that last year, when seven players were sidelined by the infection that is best known for being one of the 10 plagues. Two more starters went out with anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Two others suffered broken wrists. One player's mother died.
That was last year.
This year has been harder.
Two players this season have dealt with deaths in the family. In October, receiver Josh Swain lost his 12-year-old sister in a parade accident. Later that month, fullback Shiloh Wampler lost his father to a heart attack.
"I don't know if it's made us more mentally tough, but people talk about football teams being families. This team definitely has bonded together like brothers. We had to," said Hutto Coach Lee Penland.
"When you see two of your teammates, your friends, your peers really hurting, really struggling, you come to their side," Penland said. "And we've been by each others' sides since then."
But that's what you do at Hutto, where everybody knows everybody and players have spent years playing together.
"I think we've only had two move-ins since seventh grade," said linebacker Ricky Gessner. "We've all played together since then. We see each other every day. We see each other every night. When somebody has their tragedy, we're there for each other."
Perhaps that's one of the reasons the Hippos were able to upset Marlin — a faster, more athletic team — last week in their 29-22, Class 3A Division II victory. That made this year's Hippos the first team in school history to advance to the third round of the playoffs.
Perhaps that's why, despite the school's lack of past postseason success, the Hippos sound confident about Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup with Bridge City (9-1) in Klein's Memorial Stadium.
"I don't think that there's a closer team than us in the state," Wampler said. "These guys have been here for me, helped me get through some tough times. Of course I'm going to be there for them, doing whatever I can to help us win. And everybody else feels the same way."
When Wampler was switched from a fullback to more of a halfback role last week, the Junior rushed for more than 100 yards.
When the Hippos switched their offensive game plan and changed their defense to deal with Marlin's speed, everybody adjusted and Hutto (10-2) played its best overall game of the season. The Hippos finally are focusing on football and only football. They're relatively healthy. And they're not surprised at their success.
"This was the goal the entire time," said quarterback Jeremy Kerley. "It started last year against Cameron Yoe. We beat those guys in overtime, and that's when we knew we could be really good."
But this season, the Hippos have flown under the radar. They dropped a shootout to Liberty Hill, 49-40. That cost them an unbeaten season. Then, in the final week of the regular season, the Hippos lost 17-13 to Yoe, ending their District 19-3A title hopes.
The Hippos would like more than anything to get a chance to repay those teams while accomplishing the one goal they have left: winning a state title.
A victory this week could pit them next week against Yoe, which plays Kirbyville (8-3) on Saturday. And Liberty Hill still is alive in Region IV.
"That would be the best-case scenario," Kerley said. "We would love to be able to face those teams again. We came so close against both of them. And we're a different team now. We've got a lot of weapons on offense."
The biggest weapon could be a mammoth offensive line that includes Lee Gonzalez (6-foot-4-inch, 285 pounds), Jess Thomison (6-1, 245), Kash Kaufman (6-0, 190), Cody Almquist (6-3, 260), Matt Tomlinson (6-1, 270) and Cody Reid (5-11, 260).
"Those guys, man, I lean on them all the time and they always back me up," Wampler said. "They are just huge, and they wear on the defense. That was the key to our beating Marlin."
The key to beating Bridge City might be different.
"It's going to be a good game," Penland said. "Watching them reminds me a lot of our football team. We really look alike on paper and on film."
But one thing that doesn't show up on paper or film is heart. And the Hippos' hearts, after all they've been through, are stronger than ever.
:D
Thursday, November 24, 2005
HUTTO — The Hippos are still standing.
Take your best shot. Throw your best effort their way. They can handle it.
Andrew Price
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
The Hippos have been through worse. They've been through it all in the past year, through personal losses, through deaths and injuries and even boils. Yes, boils.
The Hippos dealt with all of that last year, when seven players were sidelined by the infection that is best known for being one of the 10 plagues. Two more starters went out with anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Two others suffered broken wrists. One player's mother died.
That was last year.
This year has been harder.
Two players this season have dealt with deaths in the family. In October, receiver Josh Swain lost his 12-year-old sister in a parade accident. Later that month, fullback Shiloh Wampler lost his father to a heart attack.
"I don't know if it's made us more mentally tough, but people talk about football teams being families. This team definitely has bonded together like brothers. We had to," said Hutto Coach Lee Penland.
"When you see two of your teammates, your friends, your peers really hurting, really struggling, you come to their side," Penland said. "And we've been by each others' sides since then."
But that's what you do at Hutto, where everybody knows everybody and players have spent years playing together.
"I think we've only had two move-ins since seventh grade," said linebacker Ricky Gessner. "We've all played together since then. We see each other every day. We see each other every night. When somebody has their tragedy, we're there for each other."
Perhaps that's one of the reasons the Hippos were able to upset Marlin — a faster, more athletic team — last week in their 29-22, Class 3A Division II victory. That made this year's Hippos the first team in school history to advance to the third round of the playoffs.
Perhaps that's why, despite the school's lack of past postseason success, the Hippos sound confident about Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup with Bridge City (9-1) in Klein's Memorial Stadium.
"I don't think that there's a closer team than us in the state," Wampler said. "These guys have been here for me, helped me get through some tough times. Of course I'm going to be there for them, doing whatever I can to help us win. And everybody else feels the same way."
When Wampler was switched from a fullback to more of a halfback role last week, the Junior rushed for more than 100 yards.
When the Hippos switched their offensive game plan and changed their defense to deal with Marlin's speed, everybody adjusted and Hutto (10-2) played its best overall game of the season. The Hippos finally are focusing on football and only football. They're relatively healthy. And they're not surprised at their success.
"This was the goal the entire time," said quarterback Jeremy Kerley. "It started last year against Cameron Yoe. We beat those guys in overtime, and that's when we knew we could be really good."
But this season, the Hippos have flown under the radar. They dropped a shootout to Liberty Hill, 49-40. That cost them an unbeaten season. Then, in the final week of the regular season, the Hippos lost 17-13 to Yoe, ending their District 19-3A title hopes.
The Hippos would like more than anything to get a chance to repay those teams while accomplishing the one goal they have left: winning a state title.
A victory this week could pit them next week against Yoe, which plays Kirbyville (8-3) on Saturday. And Liberty Hill still is alive in Region IV.
"That would be the best-case scenario," Kerley said. "We would love to be able to face those teams again. We came so close against both of them. And we're a different team now. We've got a lot of weapons on offense."
The biggest weapon could be a mammoth offensive line that includes Lee Gonzalez (6-foot-4-inch, 285 pounds), Jess Thomison (6-1, 245), Kash Kaufman (6-0, 190), Cody Almquist (6-3, 260), Matt Tomlinson (6-1, 270) and Cody Reid (5-11, 260).
"Those guys, man, I lean on them all the time and they always back me up," Wampler said. "They are just huge, and they wear on the defense. That was the key to our beating Marlin."
The key to beating Bridge City might be different.
"It's going to be a good game," Penland said. "Watching them reminds me a lot of our football team. We really look alike on paper and on film."
But one thing that doesn't show up on paper or film is heart. And the Hippos' hearts, after all they've been through, are stronger than ever.
:D