ATTN: VET93

[VWG]

On your reply in the Collier-Sharp topic...
Graham has about a 2 hr. drive to Sweetwater.
I don't know if that will play into Sweetwater's advantage though. I do think Sweetwater will have an advantage about playing at home, but then again I thought Graham would lose at Vernon. Vernon on their turf are historically strong.
I think a lot of people might underestimate Vernon. They played a good pre-season schedule with wins over Burkburnett and W.F. High, two 4-A playoff teams. There only losses were to Altus, OK. a good 4A sized school in Oklahoma, and OT loss to Graham.
Also, I doubt that this Carillo kid is as elusive as Scott from Vernon. Scott can flat out fly!! From what I hear this Carillo kid is only about 5-7 and 150lbs.?
Also, Graham plays deep. I mean they can reload on both sides of the ball. Their coach, who went over 150 wins in his career this year, gets a lot of kids out. About 95 for JV and V. They carry about 45 kids on the varsity roster and that is mostly juniors and seniors. I think there might be 2 soph. players they moved up from JV mid-year.
Thanks for your insight.

[vet93]

VWG...thanks for the scouting report. It sounds like Graham has a great program. I actually picked Vernon to win against Graham. I guess that shows how good my predictions are this year. I know Vernon has always had some great athletes. I played against them back in the early eighties. That is back when they had a running back named James Dixon and a fullback named Boyce. They had some big strong lineman too. I remember a guy named Robert Graff who was a great lineman, but a better kicker. They could put the hurt on you. That is back when Brittain was their coach. It sounds like that they may be working to bring back the glory days at Vernon. The Wylie/Vernon game should be good. Wylie will decieve you, they really don't look that impressive on paper, but they are extremely well coached and have a good team mentality. Does the Bridgeport qb like to throw the deep ball alot or do they pick you apart with a spread and short routes? Ballinger has played several teams this year that run a spread type offense with 3 and 4 reciever sets, but I don't think that they have played against a quarterback that has such a strong arm as the kid from Bridgeport. Ballinger's offense is primarily a ball control offense. They like the running game but can pass if they have to. Posey, the running back, is the main offensive threat. He is a big strong slasher (5'11",195 lbs) who is hard to bring down. He has good acceleration and breakaway speed, but is not as fast or elusive as the kid from Vernon. What do you think about that kind of offense against the Bulls? Which game are you going to? I have got a conference the whole weekend and will miss all of the games this week. I am still in mourning!!! Talk to you later.

[VWG]

Sounds like "deja vu" when I read your reply. I also got to play against Vernon when they had James Dixon and "dog killer" Boyce. Graff went on to throw the shot put at A&M. An old friend of mine in college, Ron Cook, was one of their wide receivers back then. He also won the 300 int. hurdles in 3A too. He could fly. Those were the days.
I am from Graham and I will always remember the guy from Wylie, Bobby Lillejhadal (SP?), he was a great QB.
I remember both my junior and senior years we came in second in district, once behind Wylie and the other behind Breckenridge.
Ahhh, the good ol' days.
Anyway, Ballinger should be able to control the ball against B-port. B-port's defense is avg. and that doesn't cut the mustard in the playoffs. The Bull's QB throws timing routes and he has a great arm, tight spirals with zip. No running game though. Too one dimensional.
Vernon should be tough for Wylie, if Vernon can unleash their talented backfield. They also have a linebacker that will headhunt, and their d-line is decent sized. I think a couple of the kids go about 265. If Wylie can contain Vernon's running game then they will win easily, but if they don't there could be an upset. Vernon also likes to run trick plays, throwbacks, screens, stuff like that to keep the defense on their toes. This kid Scott for Vernon probably runs in the 4.4-4.5 range on the 40, but he's not that big. Maybe 5-11, 160??

I will not be attending the games either. Business before pleasure, like you. Oh well, if Graham can make it past Sweetwater I will definately be at the next one.

[vet93]

Bobby Liljedahl was a great qb for Wylie. I think he was second team all state with c-city's Doug Chitsey as first team. Or it could be the other way around. He was about 6'5". I remember tackling him and it was like chopping down a pine tree. All I needed was someone to shout timber. I didn't think that he would ever go down. Speaking of tall, when we played Vernon in the playoffs I had to block a guy named Chisum. He was about 6'5" too. It was like blocking a guy on stilts. If you fired off too low he would just step right over you. There speed ate us up in the first half. However, once we got used to playing against them we settled down and played a good game in the second half. With a few breaks they could have won state that year. They lost to Daingerfield by one touchdown. Daingerfield barely got beat by Medina Valley in the finals. I can't remember how Wylie did that year. We beat them early in the season, but I lost track of them after that.