MonkeyJoe
08-26-2003, 10:03 PM
There's a new sheriff in town. Jeff Cordell has taken over as head
football coach of the Gainesville Leopards, replacing Mark Copeland who
left to go to Carrollton Newman-Smith.
While this is Cordell's first head coaching job, he is no stranger to
GHS, having served for the past four years as defensive coordinator
under Copeland. Gainesville's defense was among the best in North Texas
last fall, allowing just 8.5 points per game. The Leopards held
opponents to an average of just 189 yards per contest.
"Obviously I'm very excited about this opportunity here," Cordell said
of getting the head coaching job. "The kids around here are incredible.
Being around them makes these long days very enjoyable. There are a lot
of little things involved in this that when you're not in the head
coach's shoes you don't realize what's involved. This person wants you,
this other person wants you, this parent has a concern. Just things that
are really not involved with the Xs and Os of football. I'm working at
being able to manage my time so I can handle small situations but still
keep focused on football."
Cordell isn't walking into an impossible position at GHS. Copeland left
the cupboard pretty full when he left last spring with 15 lettermen
returning from a 10-2 playoff team.
"That's one of the reasons I would stay and take this opportunity,"
Cordell said. "A lot of times when you go out and take your first head
coaching job, you're having to rebuild a situation or you don't have a
lot of depth. As I was sitting here looking at our roster and the guys
we had coming back, a JV team that went 10-0, a group of sophomores and
juniors that played quite a bit on the varsity last year, you would have
to be not of right mind to not take advantage of this situation."
The Leopards will be running a new offense this year. Phil Young was
hired away from Denton Liberty Christian and will be the offensive
coordinator at GHS. The former Texas Tech tight end will bring an
exciting offense that will feature the shotgun and one back on most
plays.
"Being around this area for the past 10 years, you can't help but be
impressed at Liberty Christian and what they've done down there,"
Cordell said. "I've followed them and Phil has been the offensive
coordinator there for the past nine years. He was won two state
championships and has been in the fire. That's the one thing I was
looking for. Someone who can make calls when we need a first down, when
we got to go score. He is very knowledgeable about what's going on, very
calm and collected. That's what excited me about him. His first call at
the Forney scrimmage, he calls a route that is his bread and butter, and
we go for a touchdown. Hopefully that's an omen of good things to come
this year with his offense."
The Leopards return several key players on offense. Senior quarterback
Chris Brown is back after passing for over 1,000 yards and rushing for
400 as a junior. He threw for 12 touchdowns and had just 3
interceptions. He rushed for five more TDs.
"It all starts with Chris," Cordell said of Brown. "He is our trigger
guy. He has worked his tail off beginning last spring and into the
summer. The thing that most impresses me about him is he has really
matured and now makes good decisions. Last year he was a little unsure
of himself."
Backing up Brown will be either Luke Smallwood or Travis Sutton.
"We have a little quarterback controversy there," Cordell added. "We
have Luke and Travis that are battling for that backup job. Both of them
have showed some good signs. Some days one will have a better day than
the other."
At running back, junior Terrius Purvey rushed for 619 yards in just 8
games last year. He returns along with speedster Jerome Hewitt, who
spent most of the regular season last year on the junior varsity, but
played with the Leopards in the playoffs.
"We have two running backs, Jerome and Terrius, that are splitting time
there," Cordell said. "Again, another good competition. Both of them add
another dimension to our offense. Terrius is a little bigger and is able
to break more tackles, where Jerome is a little scat back that can hide
in holes where you can't see him."
At receiver, the Leopards have several players that are capable of
putting up big numbers. Senior Darcel McBath had 326 receiving yards and
seven touchdowns last year. He had a season-high 118 yards against
Burkburnett. Senior Amos Berryman was limited most of the year by
injuries, but still managed an average of 14 yards receiving per game.
Dylan Buck and Cody Brewer are back at tight end.
"Out on the edge we have Darcel, Courtney Royal, Amos and Marcus Thomas.
We really don't have a starting group, but if we were to step out on the
field right now, those would be our four," Cordell said. "With all of
them, if you put the ball in their hands then they have the ability to
score. Darcel is probably the most recognizable one out of the whole
group. Right now he is verbally committed to TCU. He is definitely a
Division I prospect. He has the uncanny ability to catch the ball and
make people miss. Amos, if you put a ball near him then he is going to
catch it. You can't tackle the guy. Courtney is a great possession
receiver. He had a great scrimmage against Forney, catching two balls,
one for a touchdown and another for a long third down conversion. Marcus
is a big time possession receiver too. Another young receiver that has
stepped us is Jason Westover. We knew he had the ability to do it, he
just needed that confidence. In the scrimmages, he has done a good job
for us."
Up front, Chase Beam and Daniel Brennan are returning starters on the
offensive line. The rest of that unit will be tasting their first
varsity action.
"On the offensive line, Chase will be our starting center. He has been
with us on varsity for three years. He is probably our most solid
offensive lineman," Cordell said. "We're really not set in stone as far
as the other guys are concerned. We have Clint Stoffels, Nick Daulong,
Daniel Brennan, and we're looking at either Phillip Culbertson or Daniel
Westbrook. Eli Fisher came in during the scrimmage and did an
exceptional job for us in place of Chase Beam. Obviously you are going
to incur injuries as the season progresses and knowing you have some
depth as various positions kind of eases your mind."
The Leopard defense will be interesting to watch. Patrick Harvell was
promoted by Cordell to defensive coordinator, but he will run the same
scheme that Cordell has used the past four years.
"Patrick and I worked together when we were at Aubrey 8 years ago. I saw
what kind of quality coach he was," Cordell said. "When an opening came
up here, I talked to Coach Copeland about getting him over here. He is
very knowledgeable about football and track. He has been with our
defensive system for three years and has learned it and knows it as well
as I do. He is able to make crucial decisions in crucial situations.
Making him the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach was an
easy decision for me."
Gainesville's defense will feature a lot of new faces in 2003. Gone are
all four starting linebackers, a defensive tackle, defensive end, and
three guys out of the secondary.
"We had to sit down and do a good job as a coaching staff at filling
those roles," Cordell said.
The GHS coaches moved Berryman from cornerback to outside linebacker.
"He is so quick off the edge," Cordell commented. "His speed is a big
asset for us defensively."
The other outside linebacker has varied from week to week, but right now
the starter is Buck. Brewer and Andrew Mentis will also see plenty of
time at the position.
Up front, Stoffels is at nose guard, sharing time with Beam and George
Turner. Daulong plays one of the tackles, while Colt Eberhart plays the
other. Brennan, Eli Fisher and Treven Fisher will also see time.
"We have a pretty good little rotation with our defensive line," Cordell
said.
Inside linebackers will be Jeremy Franklin and Shawn Thomas. Backups are
Marcus Thomas, Terrius Purvey and Travis Sutton
At cornerback, Greg Mack, Hewitt, Smallwood and Herman Atkins will all
share time.
"There is really not a starting group with the corners," Cordell said.
"It depends on how they do offensively and where they are at as far as
being out of wind. We can put any of those guys out there."
At the two safety positions will be Royal and McBath. Brown, Jordan
Turbeville, Westover and Trace Maxwell will also see time.
Gone from last year is All-State kicker Jon Lopez, who is now playing at
Texas Tech. Sophomore Steven Arenas has looked good in practice, but has
never kicked in a game before. The GHS soccer standout will handle
kickoffs, punts, field goals and extra points.
"The people in this area know the asset Jon Lopez was to our program
over the past three years," Cordell said. "If you couldn't get it in the
end zone, you could pretty much count on him to go out there and put it
through the uprights. When he graduated, we were in desperate need of a
kicker. My head soccer coach brought Steven to me. He played goalie for
him last year.
"He is just a sophomore, but watching him kick goalie kicks last year, I
knew he could punt that soccer ball 60 to 70 yards," the coach added.
"This is his first time to ever play football. He wasn't real sure of
himself, he didn't even know how to put pads in his pants. But as he got
around our kids, he meshed right in and when we saw him we knew we had
something special. In practice he has hit a couple of 50 yard field
goals. In the scrimmage, he hit one from 43 yards with plenty of room to
spare."
The Leopards are again picked by the so-called experts as one of the
teams to beat in District 9-3A, and Cordell doesn't disagree with that.
"Obviously, I see us as one of the guys that can make a run for the
crown," he said. "On any given night, anything can happen, but I think
if we prepare ourselves week in and week out, we will have a shot to win
every ballgame. Celina will be good with the tradition they have. Butch
Ford and his staff do a great job. They are never out of a ballgame.
They will always be contenders for this thing. That's why they set a
state record for consecutive wins. Pilot Point with G.A. Moore will have
a very good ballteam. The word on the street is that he will have one of
the best teams he has had there in a number of years.
"I think the district crown will come down to Gainesville, Pilot Point
and Celina," Cordell added. "I don't think you can count out what Randy
Matthews and Van Alstyne does over there. You can't count out Adam
Rupert and the Whitesboro Bearcats. Adam is continually getting better
with that program over there. I have a lot of respect for what he does.
Then you've got Mike Crowe over at Pottsboro who always does a good job.
So you can't take anyone for granted. I think it's one of the toughest
districts around the region."
As for the goals for this year's GHS squad, the coach says a long run in
December would be nice.
"We have several goals. Hopefully everyone's goal is to win a state
championship. I think realistically, if things bounce our way and lady
luck is on our side, I think this team has a chance to go deep into the
playoffs, if not win it all," he said. "We have smaller goals too. Our
goal is to take one game at a time, improve as we go on, be in a
position to win a district championship, then once we get into the
playoffs, get past that second round. That's a goal for myself and for
these coaches that have been here with me for four years. It always
seems like we get to that second round, but can't win for one reason or
another. It obviously has something to do with the teams we're playing.
That's one thing I want to do this year is get past that second round
and hopefully go play at Texas Stadium or somewhere in the third or
fourth round and hopefully have a chance to play for it all."
The Leopards non-district schedule will feature home games against Class
3A Bonham, Lake Worth and Bridgeport, and road games at Class 4A Wichita
Falls Hirschi and Burkburnett. Out of that group, only Bridgeport made
the playoffs in 2002. Gainesville went 5-0 in non-district last year.
In the playoffs, the Leopards defeated Paris North Lamar 53-15 in a
bi-district game. In the area round of the playoffs, GHS lost to Atlanta
14-10.
courtesy of www.goredsports.com (http://www.goredsports.com)
football coach of the Gainesville Leopards, replacing Mark Copeland who
left to go to Carrollton Newman-Smith.
While this is Cordell's first head coaching job, he is no stranger to
GHS, having served for the past four years as defensive coordinator
under Copeland. Gainesville's defense was among the best in North Texas
last fall, allowing just 8.5 points per game. The Leopards held
opponents to an average of just 189 yards per contest.
"Obviously I'm very excited about this opportunity here," Cordell said
of getting the head coaching job. "The kids around here are incredible.
Being around them makes these long days very enjoyable. There are a lot
of little things involved in this that when you're not in the head
coach's shoes you don't realize what's involved. This person wants you,
this other person wants you, this parent has a concern. Just things that
are really not involved with the Xs and Os of football. I'm working at
being able to manage my time so I can handle small situations but still
keep focused on football."
Cordell isn't walking into an impossible position at GHS. Copeland left
the cupboard pretty full when he left last spring with 15 lettermen
returning from a 10-2 playoff team.
"That's one of the reasons I would stay and take this opportunity,"
Cordell said. "A lot of times when you go out and take your first head
coaching job, you're having to rebuild a situation or you don't have a
lot of depth. As I was sitting here looking at our roster and the guys
we had coming back, a JV team that went 10-0, a group of sophomores and
juniors that played quite a bit on the varsity last year, you would have
to be not of right mind to not take advantage of this situation."
The Leopards will be running a new offense this year. Phil Young was
hired away from Denton Liberty Christian and will be the offensive
coordinator at GHS. The former Texas Tech tight end will bring an
exciting offense that will feature the shotgun and one back on most
plays.
"Being around this area for the past 10 years, you can't help but be
impressed at Liberty Christian and what they've done down there,"
Cordell said. "I've followed them and Phil has been the offensive
coordinator there for the past nine years. He was won two state
championships and has been in the fire. That's the one thing I was
looking for. Someone who can make calls when we need a first down, when
we got to go score. He is very knowledgeable about what's going on, very
calm and collected. That's what excited me about him. His first call at
the Forney scrimmage, he calls a route that is his bread and butter, and
we go for a touchdown. Hopefully that's an omen of good things to come
this year with his offense."
The Leopards return several key players on offense. Senior quarterback
Chris Brown is back after passing for over 1,000 yards and rushing for
400 as a junior. He threw for 12 touchdowns and had just 3
interceptions. He rushed for five more TDs.
"It all starts with Chris," Cordell said of Brown. "He is our trigger
guy. He has worked his tail off beginning last spring and into the
summer. The thing that most impresses me about him is he has really
matured and now makes good decisions. Last year he was a little unsure
of himself."
Backing up Brown will be either Luke Smallwood or Travis Sutton.
"We have a little quarterback controversy there," Cordell added. "We
have Luke and Travis that are battling for that backup job. Both of them
have showed some good signs. Some days one will have a better day than
the other."
At running back, junior Terrius Purvey rushed for 619 yards in just 8
games last year. He returns along with speedster Jerome Hewitt, who
spent most of the regular season last year on the junior varsity, but
played with the Leopards in the playoffs.
"We have two running backs, Jerome and Terrius, that are splitting time
there," Cordell said. "Again, another good competition. Both of them add
another dimension to our offense. Terrius is a little bigger and is able
to break more tackles, where Jerome is a little scat back that can hide
in holes where you can't see him."
At receiver, the Leopards have several players that are capable of
putting up big numbers. Senior Darcel McBath had 326 receiving yards and
seven touchdowns last year. He had a season-high 118 yards against
Burkburnett. Senior Amos Berryman was limited most of the year by
injuries, but still managed an average of 14 yards receiving per game.
Dylan Buck and Cody Brewer are back at tight end.
"Out on the edge we have Darcel, Courtney Royal, Amos and Marcus Thomas.
We really don't have a starting group, but if we were to step out on the
field right now, those would be our four," Cordell said. "With all of
them, if you put the ball in their hands then they have the ability to
score. Darcel is probably the most recognizable one out of the whole
group. Right now he is verbally committed to TCU. He is definitely a
Division I prospect. He has the uncanny ability to catch the ball and
make people miss. Amos, if you put a ball near him then he is going to
catch it. You can't tackle the guy. Courtney is a great possession
receiver. He had a great scrimmage against Forney, catching two balls,
one for a touchdown and another for a long third down conversion. Marcus
is a big time possession receiver too. Another young receiver that has
stepped us is Jason Westover. We knew he had the ability to do it, he
just needed that confidence. In the scrimmages, he has done a good job
for us."
Up front, Chase Beam and Daniel Brennan are returning starters on the
offensive line. The rest of that unit will be tasting their first
varsity action.
"On the offensive line, Chase will be our starting center. He has been
with us on varsity for three years. He is probably our most solid
offensive lineman," Cordell said. "We're really not set in stone as far
as the other guys are concerned. We have Clint Stoffels, Nick Daulong,
Daniel Brennan, and we're looking at either Phillip Culbertson or Daniel
Westbrook. Eli Fisher came in during the scrimmage and did an
exceptional job for us in place of Chase Beam. Obviously you are going
to incur injuries as the season progresses and knowing you have some
depth as various positions kind of eases your mind."
The Leopard defense will be interesting to watch. Patrick Harvell was
promoted by Cordell to defensive coordinator, but he will run the same
scheme that Cordell has used the past four years.
"Patrick and I worked together when we were at Aubrey 8 years ago. I saw
what kind of quality coach he was," Cordell said. "When an opening came
up here, I talked to Coach Copeland about getting him over here. He is
very knowledgeable about football and track. He has been with our
defensive system for three years and has learned it and knows it as well
as I do. He is able to make crucial decisions in crucial situations.
Making him the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach was an
easy decision for me."
Gainesville's defense will feature a lot of new faces in 2003. Gone are
all four starting linebackers, a defensive tackle, defensive end, and
three guys out of the secondary.
"We had to sit down and do a good job as a coaching staff at filling
those roles," Cordell said.
The GHS coaches moved Berryman from cornerback to outside linebacker.
"He is so quick off the edge," Cordell commented. "His speed is a big
asset for us defensively."
The other outside linebacker has varied from week to week, but right now
the starter is Buck. Brewer and Andrew Mentis will also see plenty of
time at the position.
Up front, Stoffels is at nose guard, sharing time with Beam and George
Turner. Daulong plays one of the tackles, while Colt Eberhart plays the
other. Brennan, Eli Fisher and Treven Fisher will also see time.
"We have a pretty good little rotation with our defensive line," Cordell
said.
Inside linebackers will be Jeremy Franklin and Shawn Thomas. Backups are
Marcus Thomas, Terrius Purvey and Travis Sutton
At cornerback, Greg Mack, Hewitt, Smallwood and Herman Atkins will all
share time.
"There is really not a starting group with the corners," Cordell said.
"It depends on how they do offensively and where they are at as far as
being out of wind. We can put any of those guys out there."
At the two safety positions will be Royal and McBath. Brown, Jordan
Turbeville, Westover and Trace Maxwell will also see time.
Gone from last year is All-State kicker Jon Lopez, who is now playing at
Texas Tech. Sophomore Steven Arenas has looked good in practice, but has
never kicked in a game before. The GHS soccer standout will handle
kickoffs, punts, field goals and extra points.
"The people in this area know the asset Jon Lopez was to our program
over the past three years," Cordell said. "If you couldn't get it in the
end zone, you could pretty much count on him to go out there and put it
through the uprights. When he graduated, we were in desperate need of a
kicker. My head soccer coach brought Steven to me. He played goalie for
him last year.
"He is just a sophomore, but watching him kick goalie kicks last year, I
knew he could punt that soccer ball 60 to 70 yards," the coach added.
"This is his first time to ever play football. He wasn't real sure of
himself, he didn't even know how to put pads in his pants. But as he got
around our kids, he meshed right in and when we saw him we knew we had
something special. In practice he has hit a couple of 50 yard field
goals. In the scrimmage, he hit one from 43 yards with plenty of room to
spare."
The Leopards are again picked by the so-called experts as one of the
teams to beat in District 9-3A, and Cordell doesn't disagree with that.
"Obviously, I see us as one of the guys that can make a run for the
crown," he said. "On any given night, anything can happen, but I think
if we prepare ourselves week in and week out, we will have a shot to win
every ballgame. Celina will be good with the tradition they have. Butch
Ford and his staff do a great job. They are never out of a ballgame.
They will always be contenders for this thing. That's why they set a
state record for consecutive wins. Pilot Point with G.A. Moore will have
a very good ballteam. The word on the street is that he will have one of
the best teams he has had there in a number of years.
"I think the district crown will come down to Gainesville, Pilot Point
and Celina," Cordell added. "I don't think you can count out what Randy
Matthews and Van Alstyne does over there. You can't count out Adam
Rupert and the Whitesboro Bearcats. Adam is continually getting better
with that program over there. I have a lot of respect for what he does.
Then you've got Mike Crowe over at Pottsboro who always does a good job.
So you can't take anyone for granted. I think it's one of the toughest
districts around the region."
As for the goals for this year's GHS squad, the coach says a long run in
December would be nice.
"We have several goals. Hopefully everyone's goal is to win a state
championship. I think realistically, if things bounce our way and lady
luck is on our side, I think this team has a chance to go deep into the
playoffs, if not win it all," he said. "We have smaller goals too. Our
goal is to take one game at a time, improve as we go on, be in a
position to win a district championship, then once we get into the
playoffs, get past that second round. That's a goal for myself and for
these coaches that have been here with me for four years. It always
seems like we get to that second round, but can't win for one reason or
another. It obviously has something to do with the teams we're playing.
That's one thing I want to do this year is get past that second round
and hopefully go play at Texas Stadium or somewhere in the third or
fourth round and hopefully have a chance to play for it all."
The Leopards non-district schedule will feature home games against Class
3A Bonham, Lake Worth and Bridgeport, and road games at Class 4A Wichita
Falls Hirschi and Burkburnett. Out of that group, only Bridgeport made
the playoffs in 2002. Gainesville went 5-0 in non-district last year.
In the playoffs, the Leopards defeated Paris North Lamar 53-15 in a
bi-district game. In the area round of the playoffs, GHS lost to Atlanta
14-10.
courtesy of www.goredsports.com (http://www.goredsports.com)