caldwellgrad06
10-26-2007, 09:16 AM
Caldwell vs. Giddings a 3A delight
By DAVID CAMPBELL
Eagle Columnist
The Caldwell Hornets moved into the Class 3A state rankings two weeks ago, taking over the No. 10 spot.
You hear coaches and many players say that the polls don't mean anything, that they are just a distraction. Many say they don't even pay attention to the polls.
Right. We keep printing them in the paper each week because nobody wants to read them.
Of course polls matter. The teams in them and the teams striving toward them make them matter. And wanted or not, a lot of people know who you are when you're in the Top 10, where you are required to put up or shut up to maintain your position.
All the Hornets have to do to hold their spot is to beat the top-ranked team in Texas 3A, the Giddings Buffaloes. This will probably be the first of back-to-back weeks that ranked teams meet in the Brazos Valley districts, with Normangee set to host Bremond next Friday.
District showdowns between ranked teams happen more often than you might think. Caldwell vs. Giddings is one of two this week, with No. 5 Odessa Permian playing at No. 6 Abilene in a 5A matchup of Top 10s.
In 3A, the Caldwell-Giddings showdown is the biggest game in the state. Only ten teams remain unbeaten in the classification, and District 23-3A is the only league with two unbeatens -- for a few more hours, at least.
Staying in a rankings mode, here are the top three reasons why either Giddings or Caldwell could win:
• Giddings:
1. Brock Fitzhenry.
If you haven't heard of this guy, you fail the high school football IQ test. He rushed for 2,897 yards last year and now has 6,604 for his career. He's listed as a quarterback, but he may be the most dangerous runner in the state. He has 1,126 yards and 18 touchdowns this season.
2. Experience.
Giddings' only loss in a 13-1 campaign last season came in the quarterfinals to eventual Division II champion Liberty Hill 35-28. In the past three seasons, the Buffaloes are 30-4. They know how to win and how to handle big games.
3. Home field.
In key district games when the crowd is an important factor, home-field advantage is significant.
• Caldwell:
1. A solid 1-2 punch.
Xavier Canto is a great running back. He has 1,206 yards rushing and is averaging 12.7 on each carry. But he's not alone in the Hornet backfield. Last week, Farrin Sims scored four touchdowns and broke the century mark in rushing. Sims is up to 641 yards on the ground and an impressive 12 TDs this season.
2. Hunger.
A pair of one-point district losses denied the Hornets a playoff spot in 2006, and that has Caldwell hungry for more. The Hornets seem bent on not allowing any close finishes to keep them out of the playoffs.
3. Strength of schedule.
The Hornets' 6-0 record is impressive because of who they've beaten. Their opponents' combined records are 37-33, but Waco Robinson also lost to Celina and La Vega, both state-ranked teams. Another team Caldwell beat, 2-6 Rockdale, has arguably played the best 3A schedule in the state. Navasota and 4A Waco Midway are very good teams that Giddings has beaten, so the strength-of-schedule edge isn't overwhelming, but it exists.
Giddings has a forfeit factored in its 7-0 record, so the Buffaloes have actually played six contests, just like Caldwell. Some of their stats suggest no major advantage for either team.
Caldwell has beaten its opponents by an average of 25.8 points per game, ninth-best in 3A. Giddings has won by a 24.3-point average win for 12th best.
Giddings is scoring 39.5 points a game, which ranks 10th in 3A. With 43.7 per game, Caldwell is sixth.
Neither is ranked in the Top 20 in scoring defense.
The teams have only a passing interest in passing. Giddings has just 85 yards in the air this season (that's not a typo), which makes Caldwell's 274 passing yards look like offensive balance. Don't blink, though. With Canto and Fitzhenry touching the ball, something special can happen at any moment, and with all of the running these two teams do, the game may end early ... unless the end zone keeps getting in their way.
Rankings may bring attention to a football program, but coaches and players who scoff at the polls are correct about one thing: They don't carry you to the playoffs, which is why Caldwell can't make this game bigger than it is. The Hornets have clinched nothing, and if they lose Friday night, they still must face brutally tough games in 23-3A just to get a taste of bi-district. Caldwell still has a trip to Navasota and a home game against Bellville on the schedule. Either of those teams would gladly fill Caldwell's spot on the poll, if a team like Madisonville doesn't get there first.
Here are this week's picks with the Harris Ratings favorite in parentheses. Last week, 13-3 (.813); season, 103-35 (.746):
Belton at Bryan (25) -- Vikings run, run and run. Bryan 34-28
Brenham at Livingston (4) -- Tradition meets the new kids. Livingston 28-26
Rockdale at Taylor (17) -- Tigers in stride now. Rockdale 31-21
Madisonville (10) at Palestine -- Mustangs can clinch a playoff berth. Madisonville 26-23
Navasota (37) at Smithville -- Not rattled by a loss. Navasota 42-14
Caldwell at Giddings (10) -- No. 1 by a fraction. Giddings 36-34
Elkhart at Centerville (10) -- Tigers need the win. Centerville 32-14
Riesel at Leon (17) -- Tougher than expected. Leon 15-14
Trinity at Hearne (25) -- Eagles avenge 2006 loss. Hearne 34-20
Lexington (10) at New Waverly -- 26-2A's key game. Lexington 27-23
Axtell at Normangee (31) -- Setting up a showdown. Normangee 44-13
Dawson at Bremond (45) -- Setting up a showdown, Part II. Bremond 38-0
Iola at Wortham (7) -- Which Bulldogs break through? Wortham 16-14
Milano (13) at Thrall -- Eagles en-Thralled with playoffs. Milano 28-21
Burton (17) at Bartlett -- Burton bursts ahead. Burton 36-14
Calvert (45) at Cherokee -- Trojans trip tribe. Calvert 56-6
Brazos Christian at St. Joseph -- The big TAPPS dance. St. Joseph 28-25
Bellville Faith (32) at Brenham Christian -- You gotta have Faith. Bellville Faith 54-26
• David Campbell's e-mail address is david.campbell @theeagle.com.
By DAVID CAMPBELL
Eagle Columnist
The Caldwell Hornets moved into the Class 3A state rankings two weeks ago, taking over the No. 10 spot.
You hear coaches and many players say that the polls don't mean anything, that they are just a distraction. Many say they don't even pay attention to the polls.
Right. We keep printing them in the paper each week because nobody wants to read them.
Of course polls matter. The teams in them and the teams striving toward them make them matter. And wanted or not, a lot of people know who you are when you're in the Top 10, where you are required to put up or shut up to maintain your position.
All the Hornets have to do to hold their spot is to beat the top-ranked team in Texas 3A, the Giddings Buffaloes. This will probably be the first of back-to-back weeks that ranked teams meet in the Brazos Valley districts, with Normangee set to host Bremond next Friday.
District showdowns between ranked teams happen more often than you might think. Caldwell vs. Giddings is one of two this week, with No. 5 Odessa Permian playing at No. 6 Abilene in a 5A matchup of Top 10s.
In 3A, the Caldwell-Giddings showdown is the biggest game in the state. Only ten teams remain unbeaten in the classification, and District 23-3A is the only league with two unbeatens -- for a few more hours, at least.
Staying in a rankings mode, here are the top three reasons why either Giddings or Caldwell could win:
• Giddings:
1. Brock Fitzhenry.
If you haven't heard of this guy, you fail the high school football IQ test. He rushed for 2,897 yards last year and now has 6,604 for his career. He's listed as a quarterback, but he may be the most dangerous runner in the state. He has 1,126 yards and 18 touchdowns this season.
2. Experience.
Giddings' only loss in a 13-1 campaign last season came in the quarterfinals to eventual Division II champion Liberty Hill 35-28. In the past three seasons, the Buffaloes are 30-4. They know how to win and how to handle big games.
3. Home field.
In key district games when the crowd is an important factor, home-field advantage is significant.
• Caldwell:
1. A solid 1-2 punch.
Xavier Canto is a great running back. He has 1,206 yards rushing and is averaging 12.7 on each carry. But he's not alone in the Hornet backfield. Last week, Farrin Sims scored four touchdowns and broke the century mark in rushing. Sims is up to 641 yards on the ground and an impressive 12 TDs this season.
2. Hunger.
A pair of one-point district losses denied the Hornets a playoff spot in 2006, and that has Caldwell hungry for more. The Hornets seem bent on not allowing any close finishes to keep them out of the playoffs.
3. Strength of schedule.
The Hornets' 6-0 record is impressive because of who they've beaten. Their opponents' combined records are 37-33, but Waco Robinson also lost to Celina and La Vega, both state-ranked teams. Another team Caldwell beat, 2-6 Rockdale, has arguably played the best 3A schedule in the state. Navasota and 4A Waco Midway are very good teams that Giddings has beaten, so the strength-of-schedule edge isn't overwhelming, but it exists.
Giddings has a forfeit factored in its 7-0 record, so the Buffaloes have actually played six contests, just like Caldwell. Some of their stats suggest no major advantage for either team.
Caldwell has beaten its opponents by an average of 25.8 points per game, ninth-best in 3A. Giddings has won by a 24.3-point average win for 12th best.
Giddings is scoring 39.5 points a game, which ranks 10th in 3A. With 43.7 per game, Caldwell is sixth.
Neither is ranked in the Top 20 in scoring defense.
The teams have only a passing interest in passing. Giddings has just 85 yards in the air this season (that's not a typo), which makes Caldwell's 274 passing yards look like offensive balance. Don't blink, though. With Canto and Fitzhenry touching the ball, something special can happen at any moment, and with all of the running these two teams do, the game may end early ... unless the end zone keeps getting in their way.
Rankings may bring attention to a football program, but coaches and players who scoff at the polls are correct about one thing: They don't carry you to the playoffs, which is why Caldwell can't make this game bigger than it is. The Hornets have clinched nothing, and if they lose Friday night, they still must face brutally tough games in 23-3A just to get a taste of bi-district. Caldwell still has a trip to Navasota and a home game against Bellville on the schedule. Either of those teams would gladly fill Caldwell's spot on the poll, if a team like Madisonville doesn't get there first.
Here are this week's picks with the Harris Ratings favorite in parentheses. Last week, 13-3 (.813); season, 103-35 (.746):
Belton at Bryan (25) -- Vikings run, run and run. Bryan 34-28
Brenham at Livingston (4) -- Tradition meets the new kids. Livingston 28-26
Rockdale at Taylor (17) -- Tigers in stride now. Rockdale 31-21
Madisonville (10) at Palestine -- Mustangs can clinch a playoff berth. Madisonville 26-23
Navasota (37) at Smithville -- Not rattled by a loss. Navasota 42-14
Caldwell at Giddings (10) -- No. 1 by a fraction. Giddings 36-34
Elkhart at Centerville (10) -- Tigers need the win. Centerville 32-14
Riesel at Leon (17) -- Tougher than expected. Leon 15-14
Trinity at Hearne (25) -- Eagles avenge 2006 loss. Hearne 34-20
Lexington (10) at New Waverly -- 26-2A's key game. Lexington 27-23
Axtell at Normangee (31) -- Setting up a showdown. Normangee 44-13
Dawson at Bremond (45) -- Setting up a showdown, Part II. Bremond 38-0
Iola at Wortham (7) -- Which Bulldogs break through? Wortham 16-14
Milano (13) at Thrall -- Eagles en-Thralled with playoffs. Milano 28-21
Burton (17) at Bartlett -- Burton bursts ahead. Burton 36-14
Calvert (45) at Cherokee -- Trojans trip tribe. Calvert 56-6
Brazos Christian at St. Joseph -- The big TAPPS dance. St. Joseph 28-25
Bellville Faith (32) at Brenham Christian -- You gotta have Faith. Bellville Faith 54-26
• David Campbell's e-mail address is david.campbell @theeagle.com.