Sunday, August 29, 2010

Zero Week Notes


As we announced Thursday night on TXA 21 during West Mesquite's 32-28 win over Rockwall, the Tom Landry Award will be presented at the end of the year to the areas best high school football player. If you scroll down you will see my initial list of the Top 50 players in the DFW area that I will be watching in consideration for this award. That does not mean that others cannot make their way onto this list, they certainly can. In the meantime, I wanted to look at how my top ten did this first week of the high school football season:

1) Jonathan Gray, RB Aledo: Stephenville set out to stop the Aledo running game and for the most part they did. Gray was held to 80 yards and no touchdowns, but Matthew Bishop stepped up to lead the Bearcats to a 20-3 win.

2) Jamal Turner, QB Arlington Sam Houston: Was average through the air, 8-14 for 92 yards and an interception. But Turner torched Crowley on the ground with 39 carries for 298 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 51-48 win.

3) Ladarius Brown, WR Waxahachie: Was held to just 4 catches for 56 yards in a 45-7 loss to Denton Guyer.

4) J.W. Walsh, QB Denton Guyer: Speaking of Guyer, Walsh was outstanding in the Wildcats win. 15-20 345 yards passing with 4 TD's and 0 Int's. He also rushed for 39 yards on 7 carries.

5) Miles Onyegbule, QB Arlington (Pictured): That's right, Scott Peach is playing Onyegbule at QB. Good move Coach. Onyegbule was 18-30 for 140 yards and 3 TD's through the air while running for 218 yards on 27 carries and scoring 4 touchdowns on the ground. Every score was needed in a 49-48 win over Plano East. All things conidered this is the performance of the week!

6) Trevone Boykin, QB West Mesquite: Was sensational in a 32-28 win over Rockwall that I had the pleasure of calling for TXA 21. Boykin went 16-29 for 165 yards and a touchdown through the air, and rushed for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns on 17 carries.

7) Brandon Carter, WR Euless Trinity: Carter is a do everything player and his line shows it: 1-2 passing for 23 yards, 3-35 rushing, and 5-110 and 2 TD's receiving in a 35-0 win over Tyler Lee in front of a national audience.

8) Jonovan Griffin, QB Mckinney Boyd: Griffin led the Broncos to a 38-10 win over Mckinney North with his arm (17-21 220 yds, 4 TD's) and with his legs (6-49 rushing).

9) Ryan Polite: QB DeSoto: Polite was 26-38 for 221 yards and 4 TD's in a 56-35 win over Leander. Unfortunately he also had 3 Int's.

10) Tevin Mitchell, CB Mansfield Legacy: No int's for Mitchell this week, although he did have a 60 yard touchdown catch in a loss to LD Bell 30-20.

Speaking of L.D. Bell, one of my rising stars of the week comes from the Blue Raiders, RB Kenny Farrow ran for 250 yards on 30 carries in Bell's win. Other notables included Flower Mound QB Paul Millard throwing for 440 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 69-31 win over Jesuit, and North Mesquite RB Joe Bergeron, a Texas committment, rushing for 275 yards and a touchdown on only 22 carries in a 22-21 loss to Rowlett. More updates coming later this week including a preview of our next TXA 21 Game of the Week, Colleyville Heritage at Hebron.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Football is Finally Here!


Our first game of the year on TXA 21 will be West Mesquite visiting Rockwall. This should be a very good battle between two evenly matched 4A teams. West Mesquite went to the playoffs last year but lost in the Bi-District round to Corsicana. The Wranglers return one of the top playmakers in the state in QB Trevone Boykin. Boykin, a TCU committment, passed for 1,666 yards and 10 touchdowns last year while rushing for over 1,200 yards and 24 touchdowns. Look for Boykin to be even more effective in the passing game this year due to a lot of 7-on-7 work over the summer and the fact that he has three good receivers coming back in Gary Owens, Greg Thurmond, and Fred Ngwu. Owens is a Tulsa committment who was 1st Team All-District last year.

The challenge for the Wranglers will be to slow down the Rockwall running game. Running back Josh Broach is back for his senior season after rushing for over 1,400 yards and 21 touchdowns as a junior. He runs behind an experienced offensive line led by returning starters Robert Hinton, Payden McBee, and Chris Tanner. Rockwall has some depth but will use several players on offense and defense including TE/DE Jarrett Spencer who is committed to SMU.

The key to Rockwall's season will be the development of QB Alan Reed who replaces FBS recruit Adam Dingwell (San Diego St.). If Reed can stretch the field enough to keep opponents from crowding the box to stop Broach, then Rockwall should be able to come close to the 32.9 points a game they scored last year. The defense should be solid led by Spencer, Hinton, and LB Andrew Douphrate.

Both teams start the year ranked in the Dallas Morning News 4A Top 20 and both have high expectations for the coming year. This first game should be a good test for both teams. Our coverage begins at 7pm with a 7:30 Kick-off. Hope you can join us!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Football Time in Texas!


For the 5th consecutive year, I am blessed to be the play-by-play voice for the TXA 21 High School Football Game of the Week. Over the years we have watched some of the best games, and seen some of the best athletes, that the North Texas area has produced. Our schedule this year is as good as any that we have had. Each game is an excellent matchup, and many of the top players in the area will be on display. Here is a look:

2010 TXA-21 GAME OF THE WEEK

8/26 Thursday West Mesquite @ Rockwall
9/3 Friday Colleyville Heritage @ Hebron
9/10 Friday Longview @ Allen
9/16 Thursday L.D. Bell @ Irving Nimitz
9/23 Thursday Denton Ryan @ Lake Dallas
10/1 Friday Guyer @ Coppell
10/8 Friday Arlington Martin @ Arl Sam Houston
10/15 Friday Plano @ Marcus
10/22 Friday Everman @ Mansfield Summit
10/29 Friday Rockwall Heath @ Highland Park
11/4 Thursday Irving Mac @ Trinity
11/5 Friday Duncanville @ Cedar Hill

Plus a full slate of area playoff games leading up to the State Championships. As always the Thursday games will be live at 7pm. The Friday games will be delayed to air usually at 11pm. Anyone who knows me knows this much: I LOVE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL! I can't wait for the season to start. Get ready kids, it is less than three weeks away!