Teams developing defenses since the beginning of the season

[Old Cardinal]

I will kick this thread off by saying that Bridge City had the worst defense at the first of the year; when a number of Postseason returnee players from the previous season did not return to the gridiron this season...That was coupled with the fact that only 6 or 7 of the JV decided to play football, this fall...Well what was left, to field a team, should be complimented; in that by their first District game they had made some real progress! In fact, in the first half of play against Hamshire-Fannett 19 of the 26 points score, were the direct results of aggressive defensive play. More over, 25 of the 35 points scored, of the ballgame, were defense sponsored! Most folks that know H-F football, know that they charge ahead like big Water Buffaloes-- for significant ground yardage. Well I can't remember when a team held them to 78 rushing yards, much less a crew in a serious rebuilding stage. I would just like to compliment the young Sophomores, the seven Seniors who did not quit, and the 2nd and 3rd stringers that returned for saying- I WILL TAKE THAT VARSITY SPOT THAT HAS BEEN VACATED, and I will do the best I can to make this group click as a team. Defense is pure teamwork and it take a certain type of group to excel: at their own top efficiency, at that task... Yes this bunch still make a few raw mistakes, but they are getting a little more confidence each week....

WOULD YOU TELL US OF THE PROGRESS OF YOUR TEAM SINCE THE SEASON STARTED?.....that is one of the major components of this great 3A Down Low Board

[MASH4077]

Happy to reply. I'm from Decatur and our belief was we could outscore our oppponents.......Until we played 0-3 Mineral Wells and they lit it up and beat us 47-41. Before that game we were strictley platoon football even though I didnt think we had enough players to do so. Our coaches must agree and when we Played a very tough Springtown team 3 offensive players also played Defense. We beat them 23-15 and played great Defense. I hope we continue the trend.

[bhillfan]

not to put down BC but i just looked at statistics from the BH game and we held H-F to 52 rushing yards, i mean i wont say that we are a rebuilding defensive team but we have had to fill in some pretty important positions that we lost last year

[Pudlugger]

La Grange's Defense is improving since the Yoakum
openner. The secondary is much tighter making it hard for receivers to get open and making multiple interceptions (7 in past two games). The MLBs are looking sharp with #68 Krause freed up from center and concentrating just on D and #24 Welch showing real ability to go to the ball and making punishing tackles. The D is smaller than in years past but they make up for it in speed and agility. :)

<small>[ September 29, 2003, 08:34 PM: Message edited by: Pudlugger ]</small>

[Old Cardinal]

To MASH: That overall Decatur HS looks pretty impressive each year-good football, good softball, good girls and boys Cross Country and competitive baseball etc: I think that a Mineral Wells comes along and wakes us all up every once in a while. Yes Platoon is good, but I would rather see all the boys that you can possibly win with rotating both on Offense and Defense. By doing that, you are much more prepared to win, when everyone is nurseing an injury or two, when in the all important Playoff games....To BHillfan--I agree that BH has a good defense; would you give us a number of how many of the points were scored by the defense, of the total score in that contest?

[Old Cardinal]

To Pudlugger: La Grange is in a little different situation; in than they have to play their very best to win a Playoff berth in that balanced District. BC and BH have a few nights scheduled where in all likely-hood they can rest their running backs, getting them ready for Post season. Example, Gauthier carried only 13 times for approximately 100 yards and John Landry only carried 4 times(one a TD)-that's the two proven fastest accu-tron timed boys that I know of. Gauthier has only carried 52 times in 4 ballgames; and Landry only 10 or 11 times. But watch their output when they meet stiff District and Post competition. Your District, does not give your team the luxury to allow a good running back to get cured from being banged up a bit. Best of luck to La Grange, I would love to see several of the games that you have scheduled in your District..

[crzyjournalist03]

Forney's defense was supposed to be a big question mark coming into this season. So far, they've shut down some pretty good teams in Aledo, Commerce, and Crandall. Forney's defense should be fine this year, and although it may not be quite as dominant as last year, the offense has improved thanks to shotgun formations, and that should make up for anything that has been lost on D.

[bhillfan]

well Old Card, you do have BH on points scored by the defense, our kickoff team is not the best and leads the D to defend fairly close to the other teams goal line which doesnt give much room to score, the D hasnt scored any points yet, we have just done our job of making turnovers and letting the O do their job, by no means was i trying to show up the BC defense im sure they are gettin better as well

[Pudlugger]

Old Cardinal:
To Pudlugger: La Grange is in a little different situation; in than they have to play their very best to win a Playoff berth in that balanced District. BC and BH have a few nights scheduled where in all likely-hood they can rest their running backs, getting them ready for Post season. Example, Gauthier carried only 13 times for approximately 100 yards and John Landry only carried 4 times(one a TD)-that's the two proven fastest accu-tron timed boys that I know of. Gauthier has only carried 52 times in 4 ballgames; and Landry only 10 or 11 times. But watch their output when they meet stiff District and Post competition. Your District, does not give your team the luxury to allow a good running back to get cured from being banged up a bit. Best of luck to La Grange, I would love to see several of the games that you have scheduled in your District..The first three district games are Manor(away), Elgin (at home) and Giddings away. Then we have Smithville (at home) and Hutto(away) to finish the season. I thinks it is to our advantage to have to maintain intensity and focus right up to play-off time. As for injuries, everyone has them some more some less. We lost our starting DT in game 2 (ACL) and probably won't see him back unless we go into December. The biggest surprise is our depth in the backfield. John Hernadez #5 jr Tb has shown real speed and some outstanding moves lately backing up all district Cody Wilson #33. With Anderle Wilson and Hernandez, LG is pretty deep in speed. I am confident this team will continue to improve and should be another tough contender come play-off time. wink

[Comfortable Hemorrhage]

MASH4077:
Happy to reply. I'm from Decatur and our belief was we could outscore our oppponents.......Until we played 0-3 Mineral Wells and they lit it up and beat us 47-41. Before that game we were strictley platoon football even though I didnt think we had enough players to do so. Our coaches must agree and when we Played a very tough Springtown team 3 offensive players also played Defense. We beat them 23-15 and played great Defense. I hope we continue the trend.One of the things that helped Decatur pull out a victory was the amount of turnovers they recovered. Granted some were Springtown's fault, but some had to be due to the skill of Decatur creating them. One of the marks of a great defense is the ability to make plays and that is what the defense did. Whether that had to do with platooning I don't know but some of the players who where playing strictly offense made some huge plays on defense.McKinney's violent tackle serves as a reminder of the damage he could do on defense.

[Brahma73]

Columbus. After getting steamrolled at Wharton, they slowed Giddings, then stopped Luling, and really did a number on a powerhouse Rice team a week ago.

[CatsDen]

Kennedale Wildcats. Even with a 4-0 start, the Wildcats started off "shaky", but have since turned the defense around. They shutout A Maceo Smith, which may not be all that impressive. But you have to be impressed with holding A Maceo Smith to 51 total yards! They followed that with the win over Everman, who only scored one offensive TD. The second came on Special Teams (the fake punt). I was most impressed with the play of JD Hill against Everman. Combine Kennedale's high-powered Offense with the recent play of the Defense....this could be a special year for the team