Area Blitz Rewind: Eagles atop 25-2A standings, but schedule gets tougher
Posted On: Tuesday, Oct. 6 2009 01:38 AM
By Angel Verdejo and Nick Talbot
Killeen Daily HeraldTo open the season, Salado was 0-4.
Nothing seemed to be going right. Injuries were piling up and points were scarce.
They had only scored 46 points in four games, and had surrendered 102.
Two games into the District 25-2A schedule, though, everything is going as planned.
The Eagles defeated both Florence and Jarrell handily (a combined 61-30), and even though they are just 2-4 overall, they are atop the district standings.
But, those wins came against the teams expected to languish at the bottom of the district pile and are a combined 1-10.
Things get tougher from here. The next four games are against opponents with a combined record of 11-6, three of which are ranked in the top 15 of Region IV on texashsfootball.com (No. 3 Rogers, No. 14 Academy and No. 15 Lexington).
Keeping it going
As confident as the Gatesville Hornets must be feeling as they head into their District 7-3A opener Friday, there might also be a feeling of caution.
On one hand, Gatesville is one of three 4-1 teams in the district, and heading into Friday, have won four straight, the last two in dramatic, high-scoring fashion.
On the other, the Hornets have been here before. They were 3-2 heading into 7-3A play last season and won their first two games before ending the season on a three-game losing streak.
"Going into district, it's 0-0 – that's where we are," Gatesville quarterback Jake Truss said. "Last year we started out hot, won the first two games but we also lost the last three. We know that's not how it's going to happen. We have to take care of things."
Gatesville hasn't posted a winning record in district play since going 5-2 in 17-3A in 2003.
Avoiding blowout
It won't be pretty.
There is no easy or kind way to say it, but Lampasas is not in Lake Travis' league. Of course, no one in the state might be, either. Early season talk of a dropoff for the Cavaliers has proved to be foolish.
So far, the defending state champions have cake-walked through their schedule, despite playing four 5A teams and possibly District 25-4A's second-best team in Killeen. No one has come within 20 points of Lake Travis, which has won 36 games in a row, this season. And no one has come within a touchdown of the Cavaliers since they defeated Westwood 27-20 to open the 2008 season.
Lampasas meanwhile, did break its 20-game losing streak to open the season, but has dropped its last four games. However, since the reinstatement of Brode Dubose and the emergence of Edward Hall the last two games, the Badgers have averaged 35.5 points per game and 390 yards on the ground.
Tracking Numbers
313.5 – Gatesville's passing-yard average its last two games, up from 173 yards in its first three games this season.
43 – Florence has thrown for more than 1,000 yards this season, but is completing well under half of its pass attempts.
43 –The number of passing yards the Badgers had Friday night against Hendrickson. They had just 26 in four games going in.
10 – Pass attempts by Lampasas against Hendrickson. Coming into the game, the Badgers had only thrown the ball four times.
0 – Passing yards Salado threw for with quarterback Cole Brentham sitting out. Instead, the Eagles went to the running game, churning out 351 yards against Jarrell.
Fast Forward
FRIDAY, 7:30 p.m.
Gatesville at Whitney – These two have met three times in district play since 2002, with the Hornets (4-1) winning all three. Gatesville won last year 43-0 and has outscored the Wildcats (2-3) 165-0 in the short series.
Lexington at Salado – Last year, Salado defeated Lexington 26-10 in the first meeting in 25-2A between the two teams.
Lake Travis at Lampasas – This is a matchup of the defending state champion against a team that has won only one of its last 25 games. Lake Travis has outscored the Badgers 159-27 the last three years. The Cavaliers, who have scored 52 or more points in six of their seven games this season, average almost 560 yards per game. The Badgers (298.2 yards per game), have scored 98 points all year.
Staff writer Kevin Posival contributed to this report.