By Corey Roepken
Houston Chronicle
August 7, 2014 | Updated: August 7, 2014 11:36pm
Ladarrian Ellis-Jones won't be doing much passing for La Marque this season. He's returning to running back, where he rushed for 1,100 yards two years ago.
Few Texas football teams have accomplished what La Marque has over the last two decades.
With five state championships and five runner-up finishes, the Cougars are in the discussion of being one of the state's most storied high school programs.
But La Marque has been to the state final only once since 2006, so the three letters that follow the players and coaches everywhere speak a little bit louder this time of the year.
CTS. It stands for Coogs Take State.
"That is always going to be the ultimate goal," coach Mike Jackson said. "That being said, we have to take one step at a time. We've got the program to where it has stability and we're winning. We had a lull when we had a couple of losing seasons. Now we're back on a good arc."
Thanks to perhaps the most talented stable of running backs the school has had, La Marque has a great chance to add another state final appearance to its history book.
Ladarrian Ellis-Jones and Daequan Jones rushed for more than 1,000 yards apiece last season. Alan Cooper gained 690 yards but missed four games because of injury. All of them are back, with one caveat: Jalen Williams has transferred from Bellaire and will play quarterback. That means Ellis-Jones, last year's fill-in QB, can return to his natural position. The senior gained 1,100 yards as a sophomore in that role.
"I would hope he'll have another big year," Jackson said of Ellis-Jones. "There is some competition among those kids. That's OK. We want them competing. We want them to see who can score the most touchdowns and rush for the most yards."
Jackson said the UIL's move to a 40-second play clock from 25 seconds should help. Because the umpire will simply spot the ball and get out of the way under the new setup, the Cougars will be able to play faster. Most up-tempo teams like to pass. Not La Marque.
Jackson has had success at Shiner and St. Pius using the wing-T formation. Expect the Cougars to use a lot of that this year.
As usual, expectations are high for La Marque. One magazine ranked it No. 1 in Class 4A Division II. Others have the Cougars in the top five. Jackson said there is plenty of work for La Marque to do if it is going to live up to the predictions in the playoffs.
"We have one thought on our mind, and that's our first game Aug. 28 against Galveston Ball," Jackson said. "We're not looking past that. We don't take anything for granted."
Key players
Ladarrian Ellis-Jones: The former QB will make the move to running back, where he'll be able to showcase his elusive ability.
Daequan Jones: He rushed for 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns last year as a sophomore.
Jalen Williams: The former Bellaire student will be the Cougars' QB.
Key games
Sept. 5 at Texas City: The Battle by the Bay annually is one of Texas' most heated rivalries. Sometimes it's even bigger than a few district games.
Oct. 30 at Worthing: The Colts likely are La Marque's biggest district challenger, so this regular-season finale could determine the champion.
Last year
La Marque went 8-4 and lost in the second round of the Division II-3A playoffs to Coldspring.
Corey Roepken is a freelance writer
