Nick Talbot: No one will confuse me for Nostradamus Posted On: Sunday, Nov. 22 2009 05:37 AM And so it ends.

With the elimination of Killeen and Belton on Friday, football season is essentially over for the Killeen Daily Herald. I am sure we will still pontificate some more on it in the weeks to come, but the stuff done on the field? Well, the last snap has been taken.

It was an exciting season, even if it was a bit shorter than I or our staff predicted. Before the season began I ran a column about my "10 fool-proof predictions for the upcoming high school football season."

Well, this is the column we get to look back and see how dumb I really am and believe me, reading back on this list, there was nothing fool-proof about it.

1. Copperas Cove will win the District 12-5A title once again – This was not a complete whiff. They had a shot at it until the last game of the season. If Bryan could have knocked off Belton, the Bulldawgs would have had a share of the title. However, the emergence of the Tigers and the consistency of the A&M Consolidated program had Cove settling for fourth place in a crowded and talented district.

(0-1)

2. Jameill Showers will continue to shine, even if Shoemaker doesn't – OK, I whiffed on this one before the season even began. Showers broke his collarbone in the Grey Wolves' last scrimmage and never saw any time on the playing field. The result was disastrous for Shoemaker. Showers was the only returning offensive starter from last season's team and it showed.

The Grey Wolves went 0-10 in a season where anything that could have gone wrong did. Almost every starter that was thought to be a major cog in making another run at the playoffs missed at least one game with an injury, including Eric Braswell and Elliot Hilliard. (0-2)

3. Ellison will claim a playoff spot – At the beginning of the season, I thought Ellison's speed would enable it to make the playoffs, even if it did not have much of a passing game. At first it looked like I would be right as David Cobb ran wild on Killeen and the Eagles defeated their crosstown rival 20-14. However, once Ellison got to district play it all fell apart. The Eagles' hopes came crashing down with a 31-14 loss to Temple and they finished 2-5 in district play and never seriously challenged for a playoff spot. (0-3)

4. Killeen will make another deep playoff run – Two rounds deep is not very far. I really thought the Roos had what it took to defeat Alamo Heights and I still do. They were a two-point conversion away from winning the area championship. More than anything, though, two early safeties held them back. This was a two-part pick, though, and I also said Lake Travis would make a run at the state championship. That prediction is still intact with the Cavaliers' 27-20 win over Cibolo Steele on Saturday. I am giving my self credit for this one. (1-3)

5. Ellison's Devon Hocutt and David Cobb will explode on the national recruiting scene – This one I even admitted I cheated on a little bit as both players were on the scene already. However, Cobb did not win the district rushing title, like I thought he might and Hocutt did not play both linebacker and fullback until late in the season. Since I cheated to begin with, this one is a wash. (1-3-1).

6. Lampasas will win a game – No wash on this one. I got one right. Lampasas not only won a game, but won four and made it into the playoffs for the first time since 2000. The ride did not last long – the Badgers lost to Austin McCallum in the bi-district run – but at least the Badgers made it. And after two straight winless years, that has to count for something. (2-3-1)

7. Lache Seastrunk will rush for 2,000 yards – Can you hear the wind blowing? I can. It is the sound of me whiffing on this prediction. I did say this was the running back's year. I just missed on the running back. Yes, he is a five-star recruit on both Rivals.com and Scout.com. But, he certainly did not awe anyone with his massive piles of yardage. Seastrunk finished with 1,173 yards on the ground, but 301 of them came in the Wildcats' season finale with Shoemaker, and overall he was only fourth in the district in rushing behind Kerry Sloan, David Cobb and Nathaniel Jones of Bryan. (2-4-1)

8. New coaches will make an impact – This one I was not too far off on. I predicted good things for Paul Smith, Mike Mullins and Joey McQueen. I got the most out of this prediction thanks to Lampasas and McQueen, who got his team to the playoffs and went 4-7. Heights and Florence only made modest improvements, but still gained some ground. (3-4-1)

9. Jeff Cheatham will celebrate year 10 at Salado with a district title – Um ... no. Salado had one of its worst years under Cheatham and did not come close to a district title. The Eagles did make a late surge and had a chance at the playoffs, but they got crushed by Rogers 42-14 in a game they needed to win by four points. The good news is that it was a young team and if I make the same prediction next year it won't be out of the question. (3-5-1)

10. Really, the only thing I am sure of is that none of this will be right – I got this one right by far. (4-5-1)

Overall, my predictions were pretty awful. I claim ignorance in my first year at the Herald. Next year I predict I will get at least half of these right.

That is unless I don't.

Contact Nick Talbot at ntalbot@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7569.