BobcatBenny
08-19-2009, 11:57 AM
Will Prosper do it again?
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/mwixon/stories/081809dnspowixon.33642e5.html
Prosper showed in '08 that it's a worthy 3A rival for Celina
08:32 PM CDT on Monday, August 17, 2009
Column by MATT WIXON / The Dallas Morning News | mwixon@dallasnews.com
PROSPER – "Can you win it again?"
Just like the other defending state champions, Prosper football players get asked that question a lot. But in Prosper, a town of 7,100 just north of Frisco, "Can you win it again?" often has nothing to do with celebrating another Class 3A state title.
The question refers to another win over Celina, the school five miles up the road. Celina has won eight state titles, more than any other school. The Bobcats are the undisputed small-town football kings, and they have doled out some royal thumpings to Prosper since 1983.
Then came last year, when Prosper crushed Celina, 33-7. Prosper claimed the 3A Division I championship two months later, but winning the battle of Highway 289 might've meant more to Prosper's fans.
"I don't think there's any doubt," said fourth-year Prosper coach Kent Scott. "For many years, Prosper was the whipping child for Celina. Coaches have told me that it wasn't that long ago when Prosper would be down 60-0 at halftime and just get back on the bus."
The game was also lopsided last year. But a year after Celina won by seven touchdowns, it needed a late touchdown just to avoid its first shutout in 12 years. After the game, Prosper fans poured on to the field to celebrate.
"People were coming up to us, old people that I didn't even know, giving us hugs," said senior linebacker Colin Padilla. "They were saying 'thank you, thank you.' "
And crying, senior linebacker Drew Miller remembers. It was that emotional for fans who had watched Prosper get whipped each year by its biggest rival. It was a shock for Celina, but it also gave the Bobcats something they haven't had in several years.
A real rival.
"For a long time, it was us and Pilot Point," said Celina senior quarterback Cody Worrell, "but not so much anymore."
Pilot Point, the school where former Celina coach G.A. Moore also had success, is a 2A school that hasn't beaten Celina since 1998. The teams also haven't played since 2007 and won't play this year.
Celina and Prosper, however, will play Oct. 16. It will feel like a playoff game, and to some people, it will be even bigger.
"They scheduled us as the homecoming game," Scott said. "They're obviously concerned about Prosper beating them again."
A Prosper victory wouldn't be nearly as shocking this time. Celina is 59-5 with a pair of state championships in the last four seasons. But Prosper has also made the playoffs each year since 2005 and has a four-year run of 40-11.
"It isn't the same old Prosper," said Butch Ford, a former assistant to Moore who has coached Celina since 2002. "They're just about a 4A school now. They've got athletes moving in there left and right. We're still really small."
Celina's population of 5,100 isn't much below Prosper's, but the school enrollments are quite different. Prosper expects to have about 900 students this year compared with 500 for Celina. Prosper will probably remain a 3A school when the UIL sets the new two-year alignments in February, but Scott expects it to be in 4A after that.
That might not stop the rivalry because Prosper and Celina already play 4A schools in nondistrict. And the rivalry seems to inspire both teams. After losing to Prosper last year, Celina pounded its next eight opponents by an average of 35 points to make it to the 3A Division II championship.
Celina lost in the title game, but some of the Bobcats said they were happy when Prosper beat Waco La Vega in the Division I title game.
"I'd rather lose to a state title team than another team," Celina senior running back Jose Romero said. "I give them credit. They had an incredible season."
The victory over Celina made it incredible. It also gave Prosper players the confidence that they had the team to bring home the school's first state title. Ford's comments after Prosper beat Celina helped convince Scott.
"Butch came up to me after the game and was very gracious and said, 'Y'all are good, and you have a chance to win a state championship.' " Scott said. "I felt like at that point to have somebody of that caliber say that, that really meant something."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/mwixon/stories/081809dnspowixon.33642e5.html
Prosper showed in '08 that it's a worthy 3A rival for Celina
08:32 PM CDT on Monday, August 17, 2009
Column by MATT WIXON / The Dallas Morning News | mwixon@dallasnews.com
PROSPER – "Can you win it again?"
Just like the other defending state champions, Prosper football players get asked that question a lot. But in Prosper, a town of 7,100 just north of Frisco, "Can you win it again?" often has nothing to do with celebrating another Class 3A state title.
The question refers to another win over Celina, the school five miles up the road. Celina has won eight state titles, more than any other school. The Bobcats are the undisputed small-town football kings, and they have doled out some royal thumpings to Prosper since 1983.
Then came last year, when Prosper crushed Celina, 33-7. Prosper claimed the 3A Division I championship two months later, but winning the battle of Highway 289 might've meant more to Prosper's fans.
"I don't think there's any doubt," said fourth-year Prosper coach Kent Scott. "For many years, Prosper was the whipping child for Celina. Coaches have told me that it wasn't that long ago when Prosper would be down 60-0 at halftime and just get back on the bus."
The game was also lopsided last year. But a year after Celina won by seven touchdowns, it needed a late touchdown just to avoid its first shutout in 12 years. After the game, Prosper fans poured on to the field to celebrate.
"People were coming up to us, old people that I didn't even know, giving us hugs," said senior linebacker Colin Padilla. "They were saying 'thank you, thank you.' "
And crying, senior linebacker Drew Miller remembers. It was that emotional for fans who had watched Prosper get whipped each year by its biggest rival. It was a shock for Celina, but it also gave the Bobcats something they haven't had in several years.
A real rival.
"For a long time, it was us and Pilot Point," said Celina senior quarterback Cody Worrell, "but not so much anymore."
Pilot Point, the school where former Celina coach G.A. Moore also had success, is a 2A school that hasn't beaten Celina since 1998. The teams also haven't played since 2007 and won't play this year.
Celina and Prosper, however, will play Oct. 16. It will feel like a playoff game, and to some people, it will be even bigger.
"They scheduled us as the homecoming game," Scott said. "They're obviously concerned about Prosper beating them again."
A Prosper victory wouldn't be nearly as shocking this time. Celina is 59-5 with a pair of state championships in the last four seasons. But Prosper has also made the playoffs each year since 2005 and has a four-year run of 40-11.
"It isn't the same old Prosper," said Butch Ford, a former assistant to Moore who has coached Celina since 2002. "They're just about a 4A school now. They've got athletes moving in there left and right. We're still really small."
Celina's population of 5,100 isn't much below Prosper's, but the school enrollments are quite different. Prosper expects to have about 900 students this year compared with 500 for Celina. Prosper will probably remain a 3A school when the UIL sets the new two-year alignments in February, but Scott expects it to be in 4A after that.
That might not stop the rivalry because Prosper and Celina already play 4A schools in nondistrict. And the rivalry seems to inspire both teams. After losing to Prosper last year, Celina pounded its next eight opponents by an average of 35 points to make it to the 3A Division II championship.
Celina lost in the title game, but some of the Bobcats said they were happy when Prosper beat Waco La Vega in the Division I title game.
"I'd rather lose to a state title team than another team," Celina senior running back Jose Romero said. "I give them credit. They had an incredible season."
The victory over Celina made it incredible. It also gave Prosper players the confidence that they had the team to bring home the school's first state title. Ford's comments after Prosper beat Celina helped convince Scott.
"Butch came up to me after the game and was very gracious and said, 'Y'all are good, and you have a chance to win a state championship.' " Scott said. "I felt like at that point to have somebody of that caliber say that, that really meant something."