Hwy. 51 Showdown (Gainesville Vs. Decatur)

[Keith7]

Hwy. 51 Showdown

Leopards face Decatur in battle of state-ranked teams

By DARIN ALLRED

Register Sports Editor

Two teams that could be making long runs in the Class 3A playoffs will meet Friday when the Gainesville Leopards travel to Decatur to face the Eagles in a battle of state-ranked teams.

The Leopards (1-0), the defending 3A Division I state champions, have won 16 games in a row and are ranked No. 7 this week in the Associated Press 3A poll. Decatur (2-0) is ranked No. 9 after wins over Burkburnett and Fort Worth Dunbar.

The Eagles went 10-2 last season and have not lost a district game the past two years. They feature perhaps the best quarterback and receiver in the state in Class 3A.

Senior quarterback Chandler Dane has thrown for over 6,500 yards in his career. Last season, he threw for 3,288 yards and 27 touchdowns. Senior receiver Brian Christian had 1,424 receiving yards last year to go along with 14 touchdowns.

"We really believe that Decatur is a playoff-caliber team," Gainesville defensive coordinator Patrick Harvell said. "We have kind of compared Decatur to our team last year. They kind of feel that this is their year. They have a lot of seniors. Their quarterback is a senior and their top receiver is a senior. We're going to get a good early test out of Decatur to find out where we are and where we match up against playoff teams.

"The Dane kid is the leading passer in the state in career yardage," Harvell added. "They have a lot of weapons. Their receiver is probably as good as anybody in the state. He runs great routes, has good hands and has good speed. It's going to be a good test. They do a lot of things really well."

The Leopards saw the same spread offense last week when they defeated Antonian Prep 60-15 at Leeper Stadium. But unlike Antonian, Decatur can run the ball as well.

"Decatur is going to be similar to them (Antonian)," Harvell said. "The only difference will be that Decatur will have a more dynamic running game. We didn't feel like Antonian could run the ball against us and they didn't. That's why they threw the ball 58 times. Decatur is a little better up front. They are bigger and more physical in their interior line and their backs are better. So even though Decatur is still going to fling it around quite a bit, they bring an extra dimension in that they have a good running game as well."

Eagle tailback Devin Godboldt is a big back with good speed. He is capable of running around you or over you.

The Gainesville defense allowed 322 yards passing to Antonian last week, but they only allowed 15 points. Harvell said that his defense, which featured 10 new starters, did well against a potent offense.

"We didn't play bad. We knew that they were going to throw the ball quite a bit and we wanted to make them pick their way down the field," he said. "We didn't give up any big plays except one. So overall, we weren't too worried about the yardage given up. The only stat that matters is the amount of points on the board. We only gave up 15 points and one of the touchdowns was against our second unit. So overall as a defensive group I'd say we played fair."

Only starting defensive tackle Clint Stoffels was a starter on last year's state championship team. The rest of this year's starters were new. Most played last year on the junior varsity.

"We had some kids that you could tell had improved quite a bit from the first two scrimmages," Harvell said of his youngsters. "Kelvin Phillips is a kid that comes to mind. He had kind of struggled in our two scrimmages but I thought he played well Friday. He had eight or nine tackles and an interception return for a touchdown. We had some other young kids that stepped up and played well. (Michael) Miller had a real good game. He had six or seven tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown. I felt like we progressed from our scrimmages to our first game."

Offensively against Antonian, the Leopards did what they do best - run the ball.

The Leopards rushed for 369 yards. Senior tailback Terrius Purvey had 168 yards rushing and four touchdowns. He also added a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Gainesville's big night was made possible by the play of offensive linemen like Stoffels, Jeramey Hinkle, Robert Westbrook, Leland Brown and Levi Milhollin.

"From what I heard from the offensive coaches, the offensive line performed very well," Harvell said. "They felt like that group as a unit did a good job. Of course, Terrius scored four touchdowns and made some amazing runs. The turnovers would be the one thing that would be a negative offensive-wise. You can't play a good team and have four turnovers."

Well the Leopards will play a good team this week. It also could be a preview of things to come in the playoffs. Both schools have the highest enrollments in their districts, meaning that if both make the playoffs, they would be put in the Division I bracket and could face each other in the second round of the playoffs.

[turbostud]

I'm picking Gainesville.

[BALLER69]

gainesville big 45-20

[ranger]

Antonian Prep??? What kind of opponent is that? Are they even in UIL or are they TAPPS?

[Keith7]

They are in TAPPS

[ranger]

10 new starters on defense....OUCH.....BUT ya'll obviously have great athletes. Gainesville and Decatur will most likely meet up again later in the season. The odds of beating a team twice in one season are slim.

[Keith7]

i know it was JV and freshman... but both teams have been undeafeted the past 2 years... and the JV has been undeafeted for 3 years.. i may be wrong though.. but i know they have had unremarkable records.. so they have good athletes that know the system well.. they should do a good job steping up

[Keith7]

ttt

[HighSchool Fan]

Gainesville wins by 2 touchdowns

[Chief Woodman]

Decatur JV last year also went undefeated as JV and freshmen. Gainesville is no Dunbar. But Decatur is no prep school either.

[Keith7]

Originally posted by Chief Woodman
Decatur JV last year also went undefeated as JV and freshmen. Gainesville is no Dunbar. But Decatur is no prep school either.

well should be a good game then huh.. i just wish i could be there

[FridayNights]

I'm sticking with Decatur 28 Gainesville 21. Can't wait to see the real score, should be good.

[BullFrog Dad]

It's the Eagles' year. Decatur 31 Gainesville 17. Chief Woodman, I'll be calling you for your "Insightful Updates"!

[hustla33]

Gainesville wins huge tonight 38-14

[Chief Woodman]

The article makes me wonder how much the press distorts what is said or if the coach says what he thinks folks need to hear. Godbolt is NOT big. In fact the top of his helmet hardly even reaches the top of Dane's shoulder pads. Knowing that statement in the article to be false makes me wonder just what else is not true also.