GWOOD
11-17-2006, 11:41 AM
Rangers' defense looks to slow Boyd, Seminole
Midland Reporter-Telegram
11/17/2006
Seminole's Eric Boyd is arguably one of the most dynamic playmakers in West Texas.
But Greenwood believes that if it can slow down the shifty quarterback for the Indians, the Rangers might have the beginning of a lengthy playoff run.
At 7:30 p.m. today at Andrews' Mustang Bowl, the Rangers will not only attempt to contain Boyd, but beat Seminole for the second time in the last month when the two teams face off in the bi-district round of the Class 3A Division II playoffs.
Greenwood won 27-21 at Seminole on Oct.13 in a game where the Rangers had to hold off a late Indian rally. In between that meeting, both teams competed in four-team districts with Greenwood (9-1 overall) ending up as the District 3-3A runner-up, while Seminole (8-2 overall) clinched the District 4-3A title.
If Boyd wasn't enough to worry about, Greenwood coach Steve Taylor said he would rather play somebody he's never seen before than play a team twice in a short amount of time.
"It's never easy to beat a good team twice," Taylor said. "Since we won the first game, it probably gives them a little extra incentive."
"It is a little odd," Seminole coach Chris Burtch said of playing Greenwood again. "We knew that we were going to catch either Snyder or Greenwood in the playoffs and they're both really good football teams. Regardless of who we were going to play, we knew we were going to have to be ready and our kids have been planning on it."
Some of the Rangers don't seem to be too worried about. They believe they're ready.
"Mentally, we're real prepared," Rangers' senior wingback-free safety Chad Caver said. "We've already seen them once and it's like we're doing everything twice, so we know exactly what they're going to do. I feel real good about it."
While playing a familiar team twice in a short period of time might not be so bad, the key for the Rangers will be to not let Boyd hurt them on offense. Boyd is the Indians' top playmaker as he's rushed for 1,393 yards and passed for another 1,228 yards, while accounting for 25 touchdowns.
"He's a great football player," Burtch said about his two-year starting quarterback. "He's a great young man with a tremendous amount of character and he brings that character to every game. He's very quick and very shifty and has an extreme desire to win."
Taylor calls Boyd, "scary." "If you give him any crease, he's gone," Taylor said. "We've got to get a lot of people to the football and have good one-on-one tackling."
One of the keys to stopping Boyd will be the play of the Rangers' secondary, which will be counted on to provide solid pass coverage and stop Boyd from having big gains if he breaks away from containment.
"It's real important for us to do our job but if the front keeps Eric from scrambling around, it makes our job easier," said Caver, who has 24 tackles and two interceptions on the season.
Added Greenwood's senior cornerback Cody Smith on Boyd, "He's pretty good. He's one of the best we've seen this year. We just have to play hard and hit hard. We beat them once already and I'm sure they're going to motivated to play us again. If we contain their quarterback, we should win again."
The secondary has been one of the most improved units for Greenwood. The Rangers were very young at that area at the beginning of the year and got tested early against pass happy Graham (a 25-15 win on Aug. 31). Taylor said since then, the Rangers haven't given up too many passing yards.
Smith, who has recorded 51 tackles and two interceptions, said that the whole team has taken the philosophy of playing as a family. "We started that during two-a-days and it has stuck with us throughout the season," Smith said. "Playoffs should be a fun time for us and we're going to try to keep it going for a long time."
Caver said he also feels good about his team's chances. "We've got a pretty good bond and it seems like we're clicking on all cylinders," he said.
Greenwood vs. Seminole
Class 3A Division II bi-district
When/where: 7:30 p.m. today, Mustang Bowl, Andrews
On the air: KBST (95.7 FM, Big Spring), 7:15 p.m. air time
Records: Greenwood 9-1; Seminole 8-2
Last game: Greenwood 45, Lamesa 0; Seminole 42, Lubbock Cooper 14
Last meeting/series: Greenwood def. Seminole 27-21 on Oct. 13. The two teams split the previous two meetings -- Seminole won (40-39) in 2005 and Greenwood won (21-0) in 2004.
Key injuries: Greenwood, QB Colton Wilber (knee) is out, LB Chad McNerlin (back) is out, DB K.C. Proctor (thigh) is out, DB Josh Lopez (ankle) is questionable, DT Cody Brooks (back) is questionable.
Weather forecast: Clear with highs in the lower 70s, getting to the upper 30s for the low in the evening.
Of note
In the last meeting between the two teams, Greenwood took a 14-7 halftime lead and led 21-7 in the third quarter before Seminole came back with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the margin as close as it was.
Greenwood was led by FB Lane Flowers (6-3, 195, Sr.) who rushed for 124 yards and three TDs on 20 carries. QB Michael Washington (6-3, 202, Sr.) was 8-of-14 passing for 144 yards and also scored on an 8-yard TD run.
Seminole was led by QB Eric Boyd (6-0, 165, Sr.) with 215 yards rushing, 110 yards passing and two touchdowns.
n Greenwood coach Steve Taylor said he thinks his Rangers are playing well at the right time of the year.
"We learned our lesson against Snyder," said Taylor about the 27-17 loss to the Tigers three weeks ago. "We weren't ready to hit and we weren't ready to play. We've been playing hard and well ever since. We haven't taken anything for granted."
Next: Winner plays Clint in area round, TBA
Midland Reporter-Telegram
11/17/2006
Seminole's Eric Boyd is arguably one of the most dynamic playmakers in West Texas.
But Greenwood believes that if it can slow down the shifty quarterback for the Indians, the Rangers might have the beginning of a lengthy playoff run.
At 7:30 p.m. today at Andrews' Mustang Bowl, the Rangers will not only attempt to contain Boyd, but beat Seminole for the second time in the last month when the two teams face off in the bi-district round of the Class 3A Division II playoffs.
Greenwood won 27-21 at Seminole on Oct.13 in a game where the Rangers had to hold off a late Indian rally. In between that meeting, both teams competed in four-team districts with Greenwood (9-1 overall) ending up as the District 3-3A runner-up, while Seminole (8-2 overall) clinched the District 4-3A title.
If Boyd wasn't enough to worry about, Greenwood coach Steve Taylor said he would rather play somebody he's never seen before than play a team twice in a short amount of time.
"It's never easy to beat a good team twice," Taylor said. "Since we won the first game, it probably gives them a little extra incentive."
"It is a little odd," Seminole coach Chris Burtch said of playing Greenwood again. "We knew that we were going to catch either Snyder or Greenwood in the playoffs and they're both really good football teams. Regardless of who we were going to play, we knew we were going to have to be ready and our kids have been planning on it."
Some of the Rangers don't seem to be too worried about. They believe they're ready.
"Mentally, we're real prepared," Rangers' senior wingback-free safety Chad Caver said. "We've already seen them once and it's like we're doing everything twice, so we know exactly what they're going to do. I feel real good about it."
While playing a familiar team twice in a short period of time might not be so bad, the key for the Rangers will be to not let Boyd hurt them on offense. Boyd is the Indians' top playmaker as he's rushed for 1,393 yards and passed for another 1,228 yards, while accounting for 25 touchdowns.
"He's a great football player," Burtch said about his two-year starting quarterback. "He's a great young man with a tremendous amount of character and he brings that character to every game. He's very quick and very shifty and has an extreme desire to win."
Taylor calls Boyd, "scary." "If you give him any crease, he's gone," Taylor said. "We've got to get a lot of people to the football and have good one-on-one tackling."
One of the keys to stopping Boyd will be the play of the Rangers' secondary, which will be counted on to provide solid pass coverage and stop Boyd from having big gains if he breaks away from containment.
"It's real important for us to do our job but if the front keeps Eric from scrambling around, it makes our job easier," said Caver, who has 24 tackles and two interceptions on the season.
Added Greenwood's senior cornerback Cody Smith on Boyd, "He's pretty good. He's one of the best we've seen this year. We just have to play hard and hit hard. We beat them once already and I'm sure they're going to motivated to play us again. If we contain their quarterback, we should win again."
The secondary has been one of the most improved units for Greenwood. The Rangers were very young at that area at the beginning of the year and got tested early against pass happy Graham (a 25-15 win on Aug. 31). Taylor said since then, the Rangers haven't given up too many passing yards.
Smith, who has recorded 51 tackles and two interceptions, said that the whole team has taken the philosophy of playing as a family. "We started that during two-a-days and it has stuck with us throughout the season," Smith said. "Playoffs should be a fun time for us and we're going to try to keep it going for a long time."
Caver said he also feels good about his team's chances. "We've got a pretty good bond and it seems like we're clicking on all cylinders," he said.
Greenwood vs. Seminole
Class 3A Division II bi-district
When/where: 7:30 p.m. today, Mustang Bowl, Andrews
On the air: KBST (95.7 FM, Big Spring), 7:15 p.m. air time
Records: Greenwood 9-1; Seminole 8-2
Last game: Greenwood 45, Lamesa 0; Seminole 42, Lubbock Cooper 14
Last meeting/series: Greenwood def. Seminole 27-21 on Oct. 13. The two teams split the previous two meetings -- Seminole won (40-39) in 2005 and Greenwood won (21-0) in 2004.
Key injuries: Greenwood, QB Colton Wilber (knee) is out, LB Chad McNerlin (back) is out, DB K.C. Proctor (thigh) is out, DB Josh Lopez (ankle) is questionable, DT Cody Brooks (back) is questionable.
Weather forecast: Clear with highs in the lower 70s, getting to the upper 30s for the low in the evening.
Of note
In the last meeting between the two teams, Greenwood took a 14-7 halftime lead and led 21-7 in the third quarter before Seminole came back with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the margin as close as it was.
Greenwood was led by FB Lane Flowers (6-3, 195, Sr.) who rushed for 124 yards and three TDs on 20 carries. QB Michael Washington (6-3, 202, Sr.) was 8-of-14 passing for 144 yards and also scored on an 8-yard TD run.
Seminole was led by QB Eric Boyd (6-0, 165, Sr.) with 215 yards rushing, 110 yards passing and two touchdowns.
n Greenwood coach Steve Taylor said he thinks his Rangers are playing well at the right time of the year.
"We learned our lesson against Snyder," said Taylor about the 27-17 loss to the Tigers three weeks ago. "We weren't ready to hit and we weren't ready to play. We've been playing hard and well ever since. We haven't taken anything for granted."
Next: Winner plays Clint in area round, TBA