Sweeny-Brazosport football games will be played Saturday instead of Friday
From The Brazosport Facts
There will be no penalty for delay of game tonight for Brazosport and North Forest.
Weather issues prompted the schools to move their game, both when it is played and where. Instead of lining up today at Jones-Coward Stadium, the Ships and Bulldogs will kick off at 6 p.m. Saturday at Butler Stadium.
At 2-1 on the season, the Exporters want to play North Forest because they have a bye and don’t want to be off two weeks in a row — especially with District 13-4A D-I play right around the corner.
“We just have to keep evolving by getting better and just communicate with each other on the field,” Kanipes said. “We are trying to make adjustments on the fly sometimes, so they have to be ready for that. We had a hard time getting lined up correctly which hurt us badly on the offensive side of the ball last week. So we need more consistency on the offense.”
In some ways, the team’s success on offense has had unintended consequences, he said.
“So far for us, the thing is that sometimes we will score in a hurry, so offensively we haven’t acquired the snaps that most offenses would have had in three games,” Kanipes said. “I mean, they get to score right away, which is a good thing, but they don’t get to work with the reps that sometimes are valuable.”
A good example for that would be last week’s loss to Edna as the Cowboys made 21 first downs to Brazosport’s eight. The Ships lost 30-27 on a 46-yard field goal as time expired.
“We had a couple of misfires last week — the fumble at the end — but we are trying to mix it up some and get some consistency,” Kanipes said. “In the first half, we didn’t get the ball much with that Wing-T that they (Edna) ran, and in the second half, we squandered a couple of opportunities that we had as well.”
The Ships will try to nail some things down against the Bulldogs before the bye week. They open district Oct. 4 at Sealy.
“I am hoping that we can get some kids the rest that they need next week,” Kanipes said. “But as far as this week, we are still working to get better despite the weather.”
The Ships enter the fourth game of the season averaging 313 yards of offense, with 573 rushing yards and 366 yards through the air.
In a district where every game is going to be a challenge, the Ships need to be at their best for six straight weeks to ensure a playoff spot.
As for the Bulldogs, they are no pushovers as they returned 12 starters from a season ago, including 6-foot-4, 290-pound offensive lineman Demond Woods and 6-foot, 300-pound defensive tackle Robert Evans.
North Forest lost its first two games of the season — to Austin (23-20) and New Caney Porter (58-7) — before routing Houston Washington last week, 48-7.
Senior quarterback Casey Blackmon (21-of-37 attempts, 417 yards, four TDs, INT) will be someone Brazosport will have to contain. Blackmon doesn’t run the ball much, having gained only 6 yards on nine carries.
The Bulldogs’ main runner is junior John Washington, who has 203 yards and five touchdowns on 22 carries. Senior Roger Platt has contributed 102 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
One of Blackmon’s main targets through the air is Tyler Brown, who has 10 catches for 120 yards and a score, but the quarterback spread it around, connecting with seven other receivers this season.
“They have good athletes and can hurt you at any point,” Kanipes said. “We are not really sure what they are going to do on offense because they’ve changed it up quite a bit from week to week. And they come at you pretty good on defense. But with the field conditions the way they are, anything can happen, so we must play sound football.”
Brazosport won the only meeting between these two teams, beating the Bulldogs 54-19 last year.
This game can be heard at www.brazosportisd.net.
