This is my blog for Dave Campbell's Texas Football website http://www.texasfootball.com/ it posts every Monday.
Another week, another record for Aledo's Jonathan Gray. The all-time touchdowns leader in Texas high school football history now is the all-time leading scorer as well. Gray's five touchdown performance against Keller Timber Creek on Thursday night put him on a pedestal that has been occupied by the "Sugarland Express" Kenneth Hall for almost sixty years...
Texas High School Career Scoring Records*
920 - Johnathan Gray (Aledo; 2008-11)
899 - Ken Hall (Sugar Land; 1950-53)
890 - Traylon Shead (Cayuga; 2006-09)
862 - Jarrod Martin (Celina; 1993-96)
841 - Robert Strait (Cuero; 1985-87)
It is becoming hard for any of us to put into words the greatness that we are bearing witness to in the form of Jonathan Gray. Whether he goes on to stardom at The University of Texas or even the NFL remains to be seen, and really does not matter. All that matters now is that we are watching the young man that we will one day tell our grand kids about in much the same way that the guys we call old-timers like to talk about Hall, Warren McVea, David Overstreet, Billy Sims, Earl Campbell and others. He is the stuff of legend. It's not fair to put that label on a young man barely driving a car and still trying to earn a high school diploma, but the truth is you have to recognize greatness when you see it in order to appreciate it. Let's enjoy it while we can. Gray is still a long way from the national scoring title as you can see...
National High School Career Scoring Records**
1,246 - Michael Hart (Nedrow Onondaga, NY; 2000-03)
1,076 - T.A. McLendon (Albemarle, NC; 1999-2001)
952 - Brett Law (Sheridan, Ind.; 1986-89)
924 - Kevin Grady, Jr. (East Grand Rapids, Mich.; 2001-04)
920 - Johnathan Gray (Aledo; 2008-11)
899 - Ken Hall (Sugar Land; 1950-53)
...but we know to expect the impossible from him. Anyone who doubts Gray is putting his money on the wrong horse.
* from Texas Football
** from National Federation of State High School Associations
Close Calls
A couple of the best teams in the state had brushes with defeat this week. Southlake Carroll's Dragons survived a test from Keller Fossil Ridge in the District 7-5A opener. The Dragons stopped a two point conversion attempt with 5:14 left in the game that proved to be the difference in a 28-26 win.
Euless Trinity had to go to overtime to defeat Colleyville Heritage 38-35. The Trojans held a 14 point lead at one point but Heritage QB Cody Thomas rallied the Panthers with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to force the overtime. Austin Lopez hit a 37 yard field goal in OT for the Trojans to seal the victory. Joel Kempala continued to be a dominant runner for the Trojans with 208 yards and a touchdown. The TXA 21 High School Game of the Week will be at Pennington Field in Bedford this Thursday night to see the Trojans live as they take on rival L.D. Bell. Game time is 7:00 PM.
Game Balls
Jonathan Gray, mentioned earlier in this blog, has already rushed for over 1000 yards this season. Did you know there is another 4A runner in the Metroplex that has eclipsed the 1000 yard milestone? Cameron Washington of Coriscana now has 1003 yards after rushing for 216 yards and three touchdowns in the Tigers 39-7 win over Ennis. Washington is among the leading scorers in the area as well with 13 rushing touchdowns on the year.
The best quarterback in North Texas might be the one playing about 15 miles North of the University of North Texas. Sanger's Dane Evans continues to put up amazing numbers week in and week out. This week Evans led the Indians to a 45-37 win over Princeton going 22-34 for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns. Evans on the year has passed for 1524 yards and 19 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions.
Also deserving of a game ball this week is Prestonwood Christian QB Parker Ash. Ash passed for a whopping 510 yards and 7 (YES 7!!) touchdowns in a 62-34 victory over John Paul II. That is what I call some holy rollin'.
Fantastic Finish
Endings to ball games don't get any better than the one between Mansfield and Mansfield Timberview on Friday night. With Mansfield trailing by four with 10 seconds left in the game, the Evans brothers pulled off a miracle. Quarterback Jerod Evans heaved a 52 yard hail mary to his brother Lance who strolled into the end zone with one second left to give the Tigers a 29-27 win over crosstown and 5-5A rival Timberview. That pass preserved what has been a perfect season for Mansfield who improved to 4-0 on the year, 1-0 in district play.
Finally congrats go out to Prosper and Celina. The two 3A powerhouses knocked off tough opponents this week. Prosper got the better of Argyle, snapping the Eagle 24-game regular-season home winning streak with a 25-14 victory. Meanwhile Celina dispatched old coaching nemesis Barry Bowman (formerly of Daingerfield) and handed his Paris team their first loss of the season with a 41-22 victory.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
HS Football 9-12-11
Now we are really starting to learn about some teams in the Metroplex. Three games in and the cream is rising to the top while the sludge is sinking to the bottom. There are, however, some teams that still remain a mystery and the Aledo Bearcats are one of those teams. Two things happened in Aledo's showdown with Lake Travis on Friday night. One of them I expected, one of them I certainly did not expect. I did imagine that Jonathan Gray would set the all-time touchdown record for Texas high school football players and he did. Gray rushed for 244 yards and scored 4 td's in passing Traylon Shead for the honor. Gray now has nearly 150 td's in his legendary career and the season is a long, long way from being over. The thing I did not expect is that Gray would set the record in what would be a lopsided loss to the Cavaliers. Lake Travis rolled over the Bearcats 62-35 in one of the most unpredictable final scores we have ever seen, especially considering last years 14-10 win by Aledo. Lake Travis has more weapons than some small countries and it showed on Friday night. Kudos to the Cavaliers, but where does this put the Bearcats? They will probably fall out of the top ten in the AP state rankings, but are they really less than a top ten team? I kind of doubt it. They remain an enigma and probably will until the playoffs with very few teams in their district able to give them a challenge.
What we know
On the other hand, there are certain teams we know are very good and no team looks better at this moment than the DeSoto Eagles. The Eagles are 3-0 after dominating Cedar Hill 45-13 on Saturday. Through three games the Eagles have outscored their competition by a combined score of 151-16. QB Raheem Wilson has thrown for 6 touchdowns and 0 interceptions while completing 55% of his passes. That compliments the running game which has three scoring threats in Dontre Wilson, Desmon White, and Devin Rushing. The Eagles may have been embarrassed by a 72-48 loss to Stony Point in the state quarterfinals last year, but right now I would not bet on any team standing between them and a trip to the state finals.
Skyline is another team that has looked dominant in starting 3-0. The Raiders have defeated three teams from Tennessee (Memphis Ridgeway), Florida (Cocoa), and Arlington (Bowie) and are set to roll into district play next week with pretty good shot a 10-0 regular season.
Mind Numbing Numbers
Friday night on TXA 21 we had the pleasure of being in McKinney for the matchup between the Lions and the Broncos of McKinney Boyd. Boyd won the crosstown rivalry game 38-28 behind a fantastic night for running back Bryan Driskell. Driskell, a junior, carried the ball 39 times for 341 yards and two touchdowns. Driskell has speed, elusiveness and toughness and I think college recruiters are about to start really taking notice of him. As I was driving home I thought perhaps I had seen the rushing performance of the week in the Metroplex, but then on the radio I hear Greg Tepper telling me about the night by Carlos Harris of Frisco...
Frisco's Raccoons played Lovejoy in one of wildest games we have seen in the D/FW area maybe ever. Lovejoy won 64-62. The two teams combined for 1186 yards of offense. Carlos Harris ran the ball 36 times for 446 yards and 7 (YES 7!!) touchdowns. Harris had runs of 45, 17, 43, 49, 40, 80, and 64 yards. The last touchdown brought the Raccoons to within two points with :27 seconds left in the game. It seems the only time Lovejoy stopped Harris was the one time it counted most as he was denied the end zone on the two point conversion attempt that almost surely would have sent the game to overtime. WOW!
Trouble for TJ
Thomas Jefferson is the name of one of our greatest presidents. Sadly, the high school that bears his name is far less accomplished, at least in terms of football. The Patriots are 0-3, but beyond not winning, they have not managed to score in a game this year. TJ has been outscored in fact 181-0. I don't bring this up to make fun of the Patriots. I bring it up because it saddens me. I know that like any other team in Texas, these young men are putting a lot of hard work, a lot of blood and sweat, into being the best they can be and I hate to think of how frustrating it must be for them right now. I wish that Denzel Washington, or Billy Bob Thornton, even Kyle Chandler could come sweeping in and inspire this team to victory but this is not Hollywood. The only thing I can say is hang in there guys, keep working hard, keep putting out the effort. Remember that you don't take football with you for the rest of your life, but the lessons you learn on that football field you do. Things like perseverance, character, and overcoming adversity. I really wish you the best the rest of the way.
ETC...
Time for some random notes...he may not have thrown for the most yardage but Highland Park QB Brady Burgin has the best overall numbers of any gunslinger in the Metroplex right now. Burgin is completing over 75% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and 0 interceptions....keep a good thought for Jesuit QB Jack Brezette who suffered what appeared to be a serious leg injury in Friday nights game against Coppell. Brezette, one of the areas leading passers, was injured near the end of the 35-28 Coppell win after a 33-63 421 yard night that included 4 td passes...top to bottom 8-5a is still probably the toughest district in the Metroplex but don't count out 7-5a where Coppell, Carroll, and Keller Central are all 3-0 followed by Keller Fossil Ridge and Denton Guyer...We have a Thursday night live game for you this week on TXA 21. Join us at 7pm as 3-0 Sachse takes on North Garland....Sachse could be a darkhorse in the playoffs this year led by QB Trent White who has thrown for 818 yards and 10 td's through three games.
What we know
On the other hand, there are certain teams we know are very good and no team looks better at this moment than the DeSoto Eagles. The Eagles are 3-0 after dominating Cedar Hill 45-13 on Saturday. Through three games the Eagles have outscored their competition by a combined score of 151-16. QB Raheem Wilson has thrown for 6 touchdowns and 0 interceptions while completing 55% of his passes. That compliments the running game which has three scoring threats in Dontre Wilson, Desmon White, and Devin Rushing. The Eagles may have been embarrassed by a 72-48 loss to Stony Point in the state quarterfinals last year, but right now I would not bet on any team standing between them and a trip to the state finals.
Skyline is another team that has looked dominant in starting 3-0. The Raiders have defeated three teams from Tennessee (Memphis Ridgeway), Florida (Cocoa), and Arlington (Bowie) and are set to roll into district play next week with pretty good shot a 10-0 regular season.
Mind Numbing Numbers
Friday night on TXA 21 we had the pleasure of being in McKinney for the matchup between the Lions and the Broncos of McKinney Boyd. Boyd won the crosstown rivalry game 38-28 behind a fantastic night for running back Bryan Driskell. Driskell, a junior, carried the ball 39 times for 341 yards and two touchdowns. Driskell has speed, elusiveness and toughness and I think college recruiters are about to start really taking notice of him. As I was driving home I thought perhaps I had seen the rushing performance of the week in the Metroplex, but then on the radio I hear Greg Tepper telling me about the night by Carlos Harris of Frisco...
Frisco's Raccoons played Lovejoy in one of wildest games we have seen in the D/FW area maybe ever. Lovejoy won 64-62. The two teams combined for 1186 yards of offense. Carlos Harris ran the ball 36 times for 446 yards and 7 (YES 7!!) touchdowns. Harris had runs of 45, 17, 43, 49, 40, 80, and 64 yards. The last touchdown brought the Raccoons to within two points with :27 seconds left in the game. It seems the only time Lovejoy stopped Harris was the one time it counted most as he was denied the end zone on the two point conversion attempt that almost surely would have sent the game to overtime. WOW!
Trouble for TJ
Thomas Jefferson is the name of one of our greatest presidents. Sadly, the high school that bears his name is far less accomplished, at least in terms of football. The Patriots are 0-3, but beyond not winning, they have not managed to score in a game this year. TJ has been outscored in fact 181-0. I don't bring this up to make fun of the Patriots. I bring it up because it saddens me. I know that like any other team in Texas, these young men are putting a lot of hard work, a lot of blood and sweat, into being the best they can be and I hate to think of how frustrating it must be for them right now. I wish that Denzel Washington, or Billy Bob Thornton, even Kyle Chandler could come sweeping in and inspire this team to victory but this is not Hollywood. The only thing I can say is hang in there guys, keep working hard, keep putting out the effort. Remember that you don't take football with you for the rest of your life, but the lessons you learn on that football field you do. Things like perseverance, character, and overcoming adversity. I really wish you the best the rest of the way.
ETC...
Time for some random notes...he may not have thrown for the most yardage but Highland Park QB Brady Burgin has the best overall numbers of any gunslinger in the Metroplex right now. Burgin is completing over 75% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and 0 interceptions....keep a good thought for Jesuit QB Jack Brezette who suffered what appeared to be a serious leg injury in Friday nights game against Coppell. Brezette, one of the areas leading passers, was injured near the end of the 35-28 Coppell win after a 33-63 421 yard night that included 4 td passes...top to bottom 8-5a is still probably the toughest district in the Metroplex but don't count out 7-5a where Coppell, Carroll, and Keller Central are all 3-0 followed by Keller Fossil Ridge and Denton Guyer...We have a Thursday night live game for you this week on TXA 21. Join us at 7pm as 3-0 Sachse takes on North Garland....Sachse could be a darkhorse in the playoffs this year led by QB Trent White who has thrown for 818 yards and 10 td's through three games.
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