Cougar14.2

Interesting, 247sports talent index for 2016 has Manvel ranked as the #7 most talented team nationally and #1 in the state of Texas. They have 19 prospects overall and twelve kids rated 3*, 4* or 5*. Crosby comes in as the #38 most talented team nationally and #5 in the state of Texas, ranking as second most talented 5A in the state this year. 247sports says we have 12 total prospects with six being rated 3*, 4* or 5*. With eighteen 3*'s and above on the field I think I know where the recruiters in H-town will be on opening night: [Hidden Content]

I think Dayton is going to break some big plays and score some points on CV but looking at some of the scrimmage film from the two teams CV is definitely bigger and faster, IDK about depth but you would think a school with over 2,600 has more depth than a school with less than 1,500. Dayton picked up a lot of yards with the bubble screen on Willis and your qbs got away with throwing some balls into places they're probably going to get intercepted Friday. The ran it well too but CV's front 7 looks a lot more stout than Willis' did. On defense unless #70 is in on the nose CV will probably run it down Dayton's throat, they're pretty big up front and on the 5 or 6 carries I saw Tuggle already had about 100 yards on Central in their scrimmage. I hope Dayton wins so they can be undefeated and lose in Crosby but this one will be tough for the Broncos, I just don't think the defense is going to hold up week 1.

I guess not every advantage, the game is at Lumberton. I'm not saying they're going to win, they have a new head coach and I'm sure it'll take a while for the kids to be able to execute his system the way he would like. You can argue that before he took the New Caney admin. job coach Holley was the second best coach in 21-5A, he beat an undefeated CE King and turned around and knocked off Ned as the 4th place team later that year. He'll have those same type of athletes at Porter which is less than 8 miles from KP. Lumberton runs an offense that's easy to defend after watching a little tape and defense is where coach Holley will probably make his mark the earliest. He's probably going to try to win games at the line of scrimmage until he lines things out, problem for Lumberton is that is exactly where they struggle.

CROSBY GOES . . . . . . wait, call Gabe and tell him to re-check his sources. I thought they were supposed to lose, never mind. Source: Well I guess we need to find a picture of another loser. . .

I would start off by saying that CV has over 1,000 more kids than Dayton. Dayton brings back one more starter overall than CV does. CV has had the same coach running the show for a while, Dayton struggled on defense and has a new coach that's an offensive guy. Dayton hasn't been able to stop the run in 4 years and CV brings back Demontre Tuggle who rushed for almost 1,200 yards on only 155 carries last year and will most likely be the best player on the field for either side. Jalen Hurts went to 'Bama but he couldn't even throw it as well as his big brother who signed with SMU I believe, meaning there's a good chance coach Hurts has another gunslinger waiting in the wings. I would give Channelview the size and speed advantage in this one due to their enrollment and their o-line is anchored by a couple of big kids with over 20+ starts each. At the end of the day I think CV catches Dayton trying to figure out what they're actually going to be and gets the W comfortably, a couple of scores or so.

I think Netherly fits that same description. Merka, Walter and Cotton actually had a lot more reps than Mannie because they never played anything else in Crosby's system besides qb. He didn't make any bad decisions but the reason we didn't score more wasn't because the timing was off. I attribute it all to reps though. Mannie brings something to the table Riordan hasn't really had since Tyrik Rollison was suiting up for him, I'm thinking he can put up 4,000+ total yards himself. One thing for certain, with the amount of recruiters at this game, if Mannie can pick Manvel apart we might be having a different discussion altogether next week.

10 years ago I'm sure Dayton didn't have a 1000 kid enrollment advantage on WOS either. To put it in perspective, opening week 10 years ago Crosby beat Atascocita 42-16. How do you think that would go now that they have 2,000 more kids than us? It's not a dissertation on WOS, it's perspective on expectations. How do you think this conversation would go on the south side of town in Angleton or Manvel or in Fort Bend county? They would look at the talk and say, "Heck yeah fellas, we have a couple of layups" and looking at it from their standpoint it would be hard to argue.

I think the staff is making the right decision, there's no way you throw Jaiden out there against Manvel his first varsity start. For one, we're not going to be able to block the NT or the DE committed to Indiana and will probably struggle with the other DE. Netherly's speed is probably the best option to escape the pocket we won't be able to make and at least keep Manvel semi-honest. Ridge Point didn't even have to roll coverage or switch to take Mannie out of the game, Manvel will be similar so I'm not sure taking away his dynamic playmaking ability from the qb spot wouldn't actually hurt the team more than help. Jaiden is probably going to be our best pure qb since Haynes in '03, but with 3 of the last 4 qbs signing FBS and a bunch of W's it's hard to argue with the staff's theory.

Expectations are a lot more clear when you only have 46 teams in the entire southern half of the state to compete with versus having 64 others to compete with in your own region. For instance, if WOS doesn't at least win the region it would be considered a disappointment because they can forecast exactly who they have to play. If two of the three of KP, NC or Humble get into the playoffs Crosby could have a relatively easy route to the regional final which we're expected to win in D2 in every publication so far. On the flip side, say Denton Ryan or Aledo lose a game during the regular season and both Dayton and BH have a good season and get into the playoffs. Crosby could face a top 5 ranked Manvel, a top 5 ranked Cedar Park and a top 5 ranked Temple in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds. Just like you can face a team like Ridge Point, who's predicted to win the Fort Bend 6A district, in the 5A D2 playoffs. Trust me, with schools like North Shore one neighborhood over I'm not jealous of anything going on at WOS. I'm just disappointed people here feel like it's ok, even enjoy, for their small schools to beat up on district contenders three times their size.

Foster lost by a score to GR, Port Lavaca lost by one point to GR even later in the season. At 7-4 and 2-3 in district play do you feel like they were also one of the top 6 5A teams in the state? You're sadly mistaken if you think they were anywhere near one of the top 6 teams in the state with 25-5A having 3 top 10 teams, Lake Ridge, Longview, Aledo, Tivy, Lone Star, Calallen, Ridge Point, Lancaster, etc.

Being realistic is that they lost by 20 in the third round, one week after they beat King by 14 points who Crosby took out by nearly 40 a couple of weeks prior. A lot of "good" 5A teams in Houston would do WOS the same way, there's a different grade of athlete than you find at PNG or Nederland. I just ask these questions to see where people's thought process is, the idea that Celina could play with a Marshall or Poteet and "possibly even win" would be laughable on a DFW board.

WOS played one good 5A team with solid athletes last year, they were down 35-7 with 5 minutes left in the game. They had 18 total rushing yards as a team and Dallas only had 185 passing yards on 43 attempts to go with 4 picks. PAM is even bigger and faster than Foster with more highly rated players, what's you're reasoning for thinking they might possibly win other than the usual ". . . it's WOS, they always have a chance" response.

So you think WOS could actually stay on the field with PAM? What do you mean "most district contenders would be lumped into this category"?

Porter has a new coach, KP's old coach, and is about 400 kids shy of doubling Lumberton's enrollment. They used to be terrible. I would imagine they still struggle with most of the teams in the district but probably not a team like Lumberton where they'll have every advantage. Will most likely be a tight game but if I had to bet I would take Porter.

Assuming we go to the division 2 playoffs Manvel should by far be the best and most talented team we could see until we left the region. That being said, don't be surprised if Netherly outplays Manvel's first time starter and Crosby gets the W on the road. I think Manvel is going to need 40+ to win which isn't the easiest thing for a qb to do making your first start against a solid team, rather you're at home or not.

Let me get this straight, people expect Ned to get blown out by a team two classes below them but still expect them to compete for a district championship in 22-5A? No wonder there's threads started about what it takes to get respect.

Maybe that's some of the difference? $76k average for SETX, $93k average for the Houston area. The SETX average is about the same as the Houston ISD average. To put it in perspective, Neumann is the highest paid coach in the area and makes the same thing as Caney Creek's second year coach, Steve Svendsen, who still hasn't actually won a football game: [Hidden Content] *Keep in mind schools like BH, Crosby, Manvel, Pearland, Angleton, Cy-Fair ISD, Clear Creek ISD, etc. aren't even on here.

I think doing it like Cedar Hill, Desoto, North Shore, etc. is a lot easier than doing it like Katy, Cedar Park or Lake Travis. Those latter schools are extremely few and far between and have some built-in benefits others just don't have and won't get. They already have a culture in place that it takes years to build, you can compete immediately with some athletes and a good coach. Your coach just has to have a system in place that maximizes whatever talent he has mixed with a solid offseason and you'll end up being a solid program. Of course coaching abilities, talent level and community/administrative support all play into the final product on the field. Take a guy like Ricky Tullos who was 26-18 in 4 years at 3A(4A) Cleveland before getting the job at George Ranch. In four years of varsity play they've been to at least the regional finals three times and just won a title. After coach Aymond at North Shore was basically reassigned, Coach Kay wins a title his second year. Like Tullos, Joey McGuire won a title at Cedar Hill in his 4th year. Euless Trinity sucked, Lineweaver took over and they went to 5 state championships and was in the semis by his second year. Watch what Reginald Samples does at Duncanville and you'll see what I mean.

Well. . . . at least we get to see where we are. Audio link: [Hidden Content]

I wonder what the over/under is on district wins for Splendora?

Katy probably did have recruiters knocking down the door, they're not exactly the same type of squad they used to be. They signed 6 FBS kids last year, have 7 more who currently have offers and have a freshman running back that already has offers from the likes of Florida St. and Tennessee. Not to mention the last four or five running backs have been four and five stars.

#7 is just a sophomore, you can expect him to hold just about every career passing record at Crosby by the time he graduates. He has to stay healthy of course but I wouldn't be surprised to see him get some power 5 offers. Netherly is going to be the truth this year though, just needs some fine tuning from not having many game reps at qb the last two years.

Have to be a lot sharper in the passing game next week though.

In 2 quarters of game-situation with a running clock: Crosby 2 tds + 2 point conversion. Ned 0 tds but 4 first downs. Crosby picked off Ned to end the game portion of scrimmage. #3 for Ned looks to be their best player on either side of the ball. Not the most athletic but good size on the line of scrimmage for 5A. The smaller skill players could hurt against bigger athletes on the edges. If they figure that qb thing out they're probably in the playoffs again in that district.

Matter of fact, you can read it for yourself Grad. There's being relevant and then there's history. Like I said, I'm not writing it, I'm relaying it. Even mentions that trophy so many people on here talk about: Expectations high for Crosby football team By Adam Coleman,By Adam Coleman August 5, 2016 0 It's hard not to stare driving through Crosby. The Cougar Stadium renovations gleam as does the new scoreboard. The school's new high school campus brings just as much excitement. And the football team's recent success matches those additions. This is no longer a school hidden in the pockets of east Houston. It's a brand name with only one thing missing in the trophy cabinet. Ranked No. 2 in the Greater Houston Area Class 5A preseason rankings, Crosby enters 2016 with high expectations as always. The Cougars do so in a vastly different Class 5A landscape than there was last year. For example, the team that eliminated them in the area round last year, Ridge Point, resides with the bigger boys of Class 6A now. It was Crosby's only loss in 2015. Last year's Class 5A state champion, George Ranch, is in Class 6A now as well. That doesn't mean Class 5A is suddenly a breeze. "Even though George Ranch is going up to 6A, Manvel is coming down into 5A," Crosby coach Jeff Riordan said. "You still have Foster here. You still have Angleton. You still have a bunch of other good teams in the Houston area that have a great chance at being in Arlington in December." HS SPORTS High school football preview: District 22-6A After winning state title, North Shore wants more High school football preview: District 21-6A Katy's quest for title No. 9 begins High school football preview: District 19-6A And it's Crosby that welcomes Manvel to Class 5A in Week 1 in a showdown between potential state champions. There is Katy-Westlake, Westfield-Lamar and then, there is this game. Riordan said it's a chance to figure out what kind of team he has and it's an opponent that will prepare the Cougars for the looming eight-game district slate. It's not an easy district, either. Early in district play, famed coach Tom Westerberg – formerly of Allen – brings a revitalized Barbers Hill team into Cougar Stadium. Now with C.E. King in Class 6A, too, Dayton figures to be a top challenger to favorite Crosby. A New Caney team that gave Crosby a scare last year awaits at the end of the regular season. "Our district is always fun and exciting," Riordan said. "You've got to be on every week." Crosby will have loads of offense to combat that. Mannie Netherly debuts at quarterback. He's more known as an LSU pledge at receiver, but with Tristen Cotton gone, Riordan opted to remain athletic at the most crucial position on the field. Behind Netherly is what counts, too. Running back Carlos Grace – a Houston commitment - returns from an ACL injury that put a dent in Crosby's chances for a deep playoff run last year. Picking up for Grace last year was speedster Craig Williams. Crosby has all the tools to be this year's George Ranch. Riordan said it takes a little bit of everything to make that happen. "Being a part of a state championship team and a state championship run before, it take a little bit of luck," Riordan said. "It takes your kids gelling at peaking at the right time. You get there Week 16 and the team that's the hottest and the team that's the healthiest usually prevails." Using your logic Hightower is on par with Trinity because they both lost in the first round last year. *pm me if it's against the rules so I can take it down.