Sweetwater Red
08-19-2008, 10:45 AM
http://hstexas.scout.com/2/780736.html
Predicted Order of Finish
Division 1 Teams in All Caps
1. Celina
2. PROSPER
3. Argyle
4. Whitesboro
5. Sanger
6. Gainesville
Outlook: It appears that 9-3A will once again be Celina and every one else. The defending Division II State Champions might not be quite as strong as they were last year but they were so far ahead of everyone else in the DFW area they are the clear choice. The real battle will be for second and third place as Argyle, Prosper and Whitesboro will all be very evenly matched and it should be a battle. Sanger and Gainesville should be improved but neither team has the horses to stay with the top teams, although keep an eye on Gainesville they could be back in another year or two.
Team by Team
Celina Bobcats: Celina might be a little down this year, but not much as despite the graduation hits the Bobcats subvarsity squads posted a 19-1 combined mark. Troy McCartney likely plays at quarterback for the most part this season, although a young Junior may come in and get snaps to get McCartney the ball in the backfield and at wide receiver. McCartney had over 1000 yards rushing last season. Charly Waldrep also returns at running back. He averaged nearly 8 yards a carry and had 35 touchdowns and over 1750 yards last season. Another big offensive weapon is sophomore Jose Romero who can move all over the field and pose a lot of problems for opposing defenses. The defense will be led by Caleb and Josh Lavey, but they could have more trouble than usual slowing down high powered offensive attacks.
Prosper Eagles: Prosper has some good talent and they appear to be the early favorite for second place and if things break right they could make some noise in the playoffs. Hunter Nix will be the quarterback for Prosper this year. Nix was at Gunter a couple of years ago - and this year he’ll lead Prosper. Quite a few skill players should complement Nix. Rusty Neely plays both ways and is a good receiver as well as Tucker Alexander and Chase Peterson. The best of the bunch is wide receiver Brett Thompson. The defense is a little undersized but still a very effective bunch.
Argyle Eagles: Argyle coming off their best season since moving to Class 3A will once again be a solid threat to make a little noise in the playoffs, however the Eagles lack the punch to really be a legitimate state title contender. On the offensive side of the ball, the Eagles must find a way to replace the graduated J.J. Harp who guided the offense since his sophomore season. Look for sophomore Chad Hedlund to move in and take over the big shoes left by Harp. Hedlund does have one big time weapon to work with in WR Brady Brown. Brown who was second team all state in 2007, has the size at 6’5 and the speed to be a thorn in the sides of opposing defenses. On defense, Argyle brings back five starters and other than those five guys there are questions abound. Look for depth to come from players from an 8-2 JV squad. The top player back is junior DE David Johnson, who earned District 8-3A Defensive MVP honors in 2007 posting 52 tackles and 9 sacks as a sophomore.
Whitesboro Bearcats: Whitesboro was extremely close to snapping their never having made the playoff streak but lost three district games and fell a bit short of that goal. 14 starters return from last season's team. Offensively, Travis Labhart is expected to play at quarterback. Ryne Gillum is the expected running back. The offensive line will be a pretty good size led by David Schares and Hayden Baillio. The defense let Whitesboro down a bit and will have to pick up the pace. Junior Roler Hilderbrand will be on the defensive line as will Jamie Wayles and Brady Warren. The linebacker crew will be led by speedy junior Ethan Shadden and Cole Henry.
Sanger Indians: Sanger took their lumps last year posting a 3-7 mark, but look for the team to be improved in 2008. Chase Knight will take over at quarterback. At running back will be BoBob Howard - who is a very speedy and explosive running back. Sam Martin, Mitchel Pyron, Craig Tipton and Michael Everett will all rotate at wide receiver. Nathan Rotter is a young up and coming wide receiver, the offensive line will be young however. The defense gave up a lot of points last season and will need to improve on that. Jacob Gray, Kyle Carron and Andrew Williford lead the pretty good defensive line. The linebacker position will be a little more shaky, while the secondary should be improved.
Gainesville Leopards: Since winning the State Championship in 2003 and finishing as the state runner-up in 2005 the Leopards have fallen on hard times. The team returns 14 starters from last year's abyssmal 1-9 record and despite the solid number of returning starters Gainesville will struggle. They do have some good groups coming so there’ hope. A couple of bright spots for Gainesville will be Dawson Royal and DeShawn Franklin. Both of these speedy players are gamebreakers when they touch the ball. Sophomore Kielyn Lewis may be asked to start at quarterback and give Franklin and Royal the opportunity to go out at receiver and running back. The defense will struggle for Gainesville.
Players to Watch
Charley Waldrep, RB Celina
Hunter Nix, QB Prosper
Brady Brown, WR Argyle
Caleb Lavey, LB Celina
DeShawn Franklin, WR Gainesville
Predicted Order of Finish
Division 1 Teams in All Caps
1. Celina
2. PROSPER
3. Argyle
4. Whitesboro
5. Sanger
6. Gainesville
Outlook: It appears that 9-3A will once again be Celina and every one else. The defending Division II State Champions might not be quite as strong as they were last year but they were so far ahead of everyone else in the DFW area they are the clear choice. The real battle will be for second and third place as Argyle, Prosper and Whitesboro will all be very evenly matched and it should be a battle. Sanger and Gainesville should be improved but neither team has the horses to stay with the top teams, although keep an eye on Gainesville they could be back in another year or two.
Team by Team
Celina Bobcats: Celina might be a little down this year, but not much as despite the graduation hits the Bobcats subvarsity squads posted a 19-1 combined mark. Troy McCartney likely plays at quarterback for the most part this season, although a young Junior may come in and get snaps to get McCartney the ball in the backfield and at wide receiver. McCartney had over 1000 yards rushing last season. Charly Waldrep also returns at running back. He averaged nearly 8 yards a carry and had 35 touchdowns and over 1750 yards last season. Another big offensive weapon is sophomore Jose Romero who can move all over the field and pose a lot of problems for opposing defenses. The defense will be led by Caleb and Josh Lavey, but they could have more trouble than usual slowing down high powered offensive attacks.
Prosper Eagles: Prosper has some good talent and they appear to be the early favorite for second place and if things break right they could make some noise in the playoffs. Hunter Nix will be the quarterback for Prosper this year. Nix was at Gunter a couple of years ago - and this year he’ll lead Prosper. Quite a few skill players should complement Nix. Rusty Neely plays both ways and is a good receiver as well as Tucker Alexander and Chase Peterson. The best of the bunch is wide receiver Brett Thompson. The defense is a little undersized but still a very effective bunch.
Argyle Eagles: Argyle coming off their best season since moving to Class 3A will once again be a solid threat to make a little noise in the playoffs, however the Eagles lack the punch to really be a legitimate state title contender. On the offensive side of the ball, the Eagles must find a way to replace the graduated J.J. Harp who guided the offense since his sophomore season. Look for sophomore Chad Hedlund to move in and take over the big shoes left by Harp. Hedlund does have one big time weapon to work with in WR Brady Brown. Brown who was second team all state in 2007, has the size at 6’5 and the speed to be a thorn in the sides of opposing defenses. On defense, Argyle brings back five starters and other than those five guys there are questions abound. Look for depth to come from players from an 8-2 JV squad. The top player back is junior DE David Johnson, who earned District 8-3A Defensive MVP honors in 2007 posting 52 tackles and 9 sacks as a sophomore.
Whitesboro Bearcats: Whitesboro was extremely close to snapping their never having made the playoff streak but lost three district games and fell a bit short of that goal. 14 starters return from last season's team. Offensively, Travis Labhart is expected to play at quarterback. Ryne Gillum is the expected running back. The offensive line will be a pretty good size led by David Schares and Hayden Baillio. The defense let Whitesboro down a bit and will have to pick up the pace. Junior Roler Hilderbrand will be on the defensive line as will Jamie Wayles and Brady Warren. The linebacker crew will be led by speedy junior Ethan Shadden and Cole Henry.
Sanger Indians: Sanger took their lumps last year posting a 3-7 mark, but look for the team to be improved in 2008. Chase Knight will take over at quarterback. At running back will be BoBob Howard - who is a very speedy and explosive running back. Sam Martin, Mitchel Pyron, Craig Tipton and Michael Everett will all rotate at wide receiver. Nathan Rotter is a young up and coming wide receiver, the offensive line will be young however. The defense gave up a lot of points last season and will need to improve on that. Jacob Gray, Kyle Carron and Andrew Williford lead the pretty good defensive line. The linebacker position will be a little more shaky, while the secondary should be improved.
Gainesville Leopards: Since winning the State Championship in 2003 and finishing as the state runner-up in 2005 the Leopards have fallen on hard times. The team returns 14 starters from last year's abyssmal 1-9 record and despite the solid number of returning starters Gainesville will struggle. They do have some good groups coming so there’ hope. A couple of bright spots for Gainesville will be Dawson Royal and DeShawn Franklin. Both of these speedy players are gamebreakers when they touch the ball. Sophomore Kielyn Lewis may be asked to start at quarterback and give Franklin and Royal the opportunity to go out at receiver and running back. The defense will struggle for Gainesville.
Players to Watch
Charley Waldrep, RB Celina
Hunter Nix, QB Prosper
Brady Brown, WR Argyle
Caleb Lavey, LB Celina
DeShawn Franklin, WR Gainesville