KFDM COOP

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Had several good ones this week on both sides of the ball. Congrats to High Island on the great showing they had after returning to the field last week. Offense Christine Michael, West Brook 237 Yards, 3 Touchdowns Averaged 18 yards per carry Jacoby Turner, Hardin Jefferson 4 TD's on 190 Yards. Defense Anothony Beard, Lumberton 14 Tackles against Central Josh James, Silsbee 17 Tackles, 14 unassisted

Seven Lakes WR takes unlikely trip to stardom [Hidden Content]

Let's hear it!!

Cardinals will catch some angry Tigers Gabe Pruett The Orange Leader BRIDGE CITY — Talk about catching a team at the wrong time. That is exactly the feeling in Cardinal Country heading into this Friday’s home game against the Silsbee Tigers. The Tigers (1-4, 0-1) are expected to head into Larry B. Ward Stadium to take on the Bridge City Cardinals (2-2, 0-1) in some pretty foul moods. “I’m sure they are e mad,†Bridge City Coach Cris Stump said. “They played West Orange well and had a chance to win the game.†Instead of winning the game, the Tigers let one slip through their paws. Silsbee was all but set up to kick a game-winning field goal against WO-S until a mental mistake sent the game into overtime which allowed the Mustangs to escape with a 14-7 win. “When someone asks what Silsbee looks like I always say the same thing,†Stump said. “Silsbee looks like Silsbee. They are fast, athletic and big. This game is a big opportunity for us and now it is a matter of what we do with it.†The Cardinals have their own mistakes to fix after last week’s 41-14 loss to the Hardin-Jefferson Hawks. Bridge City allowed a total of 368 yards off offense with 312 coming on the ground. A huge bright spot was the running abilities of freshman Matt Menard who carried the ball 15 times for 107 yards and his first career touchdown. Menard will be looked upon again as junior running back Joe Robertson is out this Friday with a neck injury. Junior quarterback Josh Lemoine continues to play very efficient football going 8-for-17 last week for 118 yards with no interceptions. Lemoine is 37-for-75 on the year for 702 yards with six touchdowns and one interception. Lemoine has also ran for 171 yards and four touchdowns. Cory Moseley has vaulted into the leading receiver role for the Cardinals with nine receptions for 204 yards and three touchdowns. Luke Rhodes has nine catches for 83 yards. Jerry Landry has eight receptions for 242 yards and two trips to the endzone. Even with football, Stump reported a part of the Cardinals problem could be related to the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, although he will never use it as an excuse. “The victory in Huntington was emotional,†Stump said. “With all the stuff going on, including a lot of kids not being in their own homes or our locker room, I’m sure it hurt us a bit. We will not make excuses for anything. We played hard last week, we just did not play well. “We are going to play to win on Friday. If we are going to have a chance, we have to do that every week. We have improved a great deal since last year but I am not sure that is going to translate into wins. We will see what happens.â€

COLLEGE PLAYER CUTS OFF PINKIE INSTEAD OF MISSING SEASON! How much do you love football? So much you'd cut off a pinky to play it? That's what Trevor Wikre did. by Rick Reilly Buddy Bear Wikre (No. 53) sacrificed his right pinky to play his senior season at Mesa State College. You say you love your team? You say you're totally committed? Please. I'll show you commitment. Meet 6-3, 280-pound Trevor Wikre. He's the starting right guard for Division II Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo. He loves football like wolves love pork chops. He'd do anything for his team. Two weeks ago, he proved it. During a practice, Wikre, of Berthoud, Colo., caught his pinky on a linebacker's jersey during a sweep play. When he looked down, he happened to notice his bone was sticking out of his skin. "Just tape it up," he told the trainer. "We got practice to finish." Instead, they sent him to the hospital, where doctors told him they'd need to insert pins and reconstruct the ligaments. It'd need at least four months to heal. He'd be done for the season. "OF ALL THE BODY PARTS HE COULD HAVE TAKEN OFF," SAYS TREVOR'S FIANCÉE, "THAT ONE WASN'T SO BAD. I FEEL KINDA GOOD ABOUT IT." "No way," Trevor said. "This is my senior year. We've got to make this work." "We can't," the doctor said. "We can," insisted Trevor. "We can cut it off." Cut if off? "To have somebody tell you that you've played your last game of football, I just wasn't going to let that happen," Trevor explains. "I couldn't do that to my teammates. I'd take a bullet for those guys." Or a bone saw. So he made the doctor lop off his right pinky. Problem solved! Two days later, he was ready to play against Colorado School of Mines, only the doctors wouldn't let him. "Some stupid thing like the stitches would rip," he grouses. And how do his teammates feel about his sacrifice? They hate him for it. Especially the ones who have missed games with injuries this season. "Thanks a lot for making us look like wussies," one said to him. The rest of them just kid. When Trevor does something good now, they hold up their hands and holler, "High four!" Trevor only has one regret. The doctor didn't give him the finger. "I wanted to make a necklace out of it." It'd also be a great gag at Subway! Feels odd, though. The finger that isn't there aches and itches. He wakes up at night to hold it against the throbbing, only to remember it's gone. It takes him longer to get dressed now. And it turns out you need your pinky to hold the remote—and handfuls of M&M's. But his biggest problem has been typing. "I look down and notice that all my p's are missing." What's funny about this story is that Trevor doesn't eat light bulbs for breakfast, or ram his head through plywood. He's actually a level-headed guy. "He teaches me patience," says his mother, Kim. "He's the calm one. And it's like he told me, 'Mom, I'm not gonna be a piano player or a surgeon. I'm a football player. I gotta play football.' So I'm perfectly fine with it." Well, except for the first time she saw his hand in a video on the Internet and had to leave work, sick to her stomach. "I can understand that," Trevor says. "She was happy I was born with 10 fingers and 10 toes and now I'm short one." But, hey, could be worse. As Trevor's fiancée, Traci, says, "Of all the body parts he could've taken off, that one wasn't so bad. I feel kinda good about it. I know that if he ever needs to sacrifice for our future, he'll do it." What's off-the-charts unbelievable is Trevor's head coach, Joe Ramunno, did the same thing. He slashed his left pinky in a high-school shop class 29 years ago and insisted they cut if off rather than miss his senior season. "It didn't occur to me until afterward," Trevor says. "My coach and I had the same thing happen!" High eight! So, has it all been worth it? "When I think about how much I love football, and my team, I just get goose bumps," says Trevor, who, big shock, wants to coach after he graduates. "To be able to play and hit people and not get in trouble for it? Man, it's a blessing. I love my team. And I'm a big believer in actions speaking louder than words." Every pancake block now seems sweeter, every snot-producing hit more precious. And Ramunno says the team is playing "inspired football since Trevor did this." In fact, Trevor helped Mesa State clobber Colorado State-Pueblo, 26-3 this past Saturday, helping it raise its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record to 5-0. "When you get a second chance at something you're so passionate about?" he says. "Man, your love for what you're doing just skyrockets." So does the respect his teammates really do feel for him. "Amazing," says Mesa State quarterback Phil Vigil.

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Predictions?

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Just 1 more for the Rays!

Unsung center Terracina is leader of Bulldogs offense By Tom Halliburton The Port Arthur News NEDERLAND -- If you had three guesses, you probably would not pick Larry Neumann's most valuable player on these Nederland Bulldogs. You might not even guess the right guy with 10 choices. That's how unsung and obscure that Trey Terracina's work generally seems to be recognized by those of us ignorant football dingbats who show up in our seats week after week. We see Kirby Bellow make great passes.... Wareall Grogan make brilliant runs.... Asa Cardenas, Ryan Brady and Jude Vidrine make acrobatic catches.... We even tend to appreciate Stefan Huber's noticeable blocks. There's just nothing about Trey Terracina's behavior to stop the presses whatsoever.... Or is there? "I was just kidding Trey back in two-a-days that he might be the absolute, one single guy that we could not afford to lose on this entire team," the Nederland head coach recalled on Tuesday afternoon. If you appreciate Trey Terracina's contribution, then you may be a real knowledgeable sports guy such as former Lamar University coach/administrator Dan Rogas. Rogas never has quit coaching. To this day, he still coaches his grandson and critiques Trey's performance. But you can be sure that Dan is proud of his grandson. Just as Larry Neumann is. "Trey doesn't just throw it back there," the NHS head coach said. "He seeds it. He's insuring a snap to be in the right place. That's the conscientiousness of Trey Terracina. He's keenly aware of where the snaps need to be. He's a very coachable kid. He makes adjustments well. He's the glue that holds the offensive line together." If you really think Neumann considers Terracina among his best-ever centers, let's go at the subject matter from the negative end, rather than the positive side. How many bad snaps to the shotgun passer does Trey make? How many are too low, too high or too wide and what does he do after the snap? Again, the positives come shining through for this 17-year-old son of Tony and Gale Terracina. "He doesn't make very many bad snaps," Neumann said, after weighing his answer carefully. Terracina started at center all last year, weighing more like 165 pounds. He tried to shield his body behind the defender and the ball carrier but he needed more size to assert himself more effectively. The same opinion of Terracina might be written now but at least Trey's up to 5-11, 190. "Last year, I was so small that I was trying to get in the way," Terracina admitted. "(Offensive line coach David) Coach Crommett always talked about how I needed to gain weight." The groundwork for much of Terracina's success was laid prior to the 2007 season when he and his quarterback would spend plenty of time working on snapping and catching the shotgun snap. Take it for granted if you want to, but it either makes the offense start properly or else the Nederland juggernaut has a dead battery. Once the snap is timed and positioned just right, the blocks are delivered, the pass routes are started, the running back is out of his stance, the quarterback is reading his coverages. Sometimes the pinpoint accuracy of Terracina's snap gives Bellow that extra stride if he wishes to run the ball, or move to either side before releasing a pass. Trey is no small factor in accounting for the significant improvement to Nederland's line play from a year ago. His extra year's experience has improved his ability to make the proper blocking calls when he has reached the line of scrimmage and has completed his reads on the defense. "Last year, all of those calls we made was like trying to learn a foreign language," he said. "It's really unbelievable how much that all of that has improved. The two young players (junior Khoby Moore and sophomore Ben Jones) have stepped up and fit in good." The challenge intensifies Friday night as Nederland (3-1 and 3-0) visits Beaumont Central (3-2 and 2-1) in Beaumont's Babe Zaharias Stadium at 7:30. This 20-4A shootout pits David and Goliath in the trenches when Terracina lines up against Jaguars' defensive tackle Chris Johnson (6-1, 250). Terracina stands two inches shorter and 60 or more pounds lighter. "He's a pretty big guy," the Dogs center of Johnson. "I'm always outmatched because of my size. I'll just try to stay in his way and try to keep him busy." Just avoiding holding penalties alone on Friday night would make Trey a most valuable player indeed. Bulldog Bites: If you had 10 guesses, you would not pick Nederland's defensive captain this week either. That's how well Asa Cardenas played on defense with an interception and some key tackles at LC-M.... The top grades at LC-M belonged to QB Kirby Bellow (94) and receivers Brent Salenga (91), Jude Vidrine (89), and Ryan Brady (87)... Top tacklers at LC-M were Jordan Landry (5 and 3) and Jackson Broussard (5 and 1).... Salenga sustained a hip pointer at LC-M but returned to practice and was regarded as probable for Central.... The Bulldogs were weakened a bit in Tuesday's practice because of a virus which sidelined a pair of starters, outside backer Nick Cardenas and left guard Khoby Moore.... The Nederland-Beaumont Central game will be televised by the Port Arthur News Friday Night Experience crew with the game airing on Cable 18 next Tuesday night at 7 p.m....

Good start!

Warren over Kountze 3-2

Predictions?

Bobcats look to bounce back vs. H-J Gabe Pruett The Orange Leader ORANGEFIELD — Any district loss is a tough loss to get over in a week. Try losing in overtime in the first District 21-3A game of the year after leading 13-0 at halftime. The Orangefield Bobcats (1-3, 0-1) will try to overcome last week’s loss to Hamshire-Fannett (3-2, 1-0) with a homecoming game Friday against Hardin-Jefferson (2-3, 1-0) “We took a rough one last week,†Orangefield Coach Blake Morrison said. “One of the deals after a loss like that, with a team who is supposed to be one of the top dogs, is it shows we can win football games. If we continue to practice and play hard, good things will happen the rest of the way.†One of the bad things to come out of the loss to the Longhorns was an ankle injury to senior running back Zach Peevey. Peevey rushed the ball 28 times in the contest for 107 yards and a touchdown. Peevey is on a day-to-day basis to play on Friday. The Bobcats had a great first half on defense, limiting the Longhorns to 30 yards of offense before the break. Hamshire-Fannett put up 145 in the second half and overtime period. Now the Bobcats must deal with the Hawks who put up 368 yards, 312 on the ground, against the Bridge City Cardinals. Morrison said his defense will keep an eye on running backs Jacoby Turner and Trey Burrell while also watching quarterback Blake Venable. “H-J right now is playing well,†Morrison said. “They are playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of that stems from that comeback win over Anahuac. Burrell, Turner and that quarterback post a lot of threats on the field.†Turner had 187 yards and three touchdowns against the Cardinals while Venable finished with 71 yards rushign and a score and Burrell had 31 yards on four carries. “Defensively we they just come get you,†Morrison said. “We are going to have to controlt the ball on offense and we cannot have any busted assignments on defense. It is our homecoming night so I hope we get a big crowd. We have not had a home game since the hurricane so hopefully we pack the house.†Peevey leads the Bobcats’ offese with 350 yards rushing on 84 carries and two touchdowns. Steven Stone has been a touchdown-machine with four scores and 140 yards on the ground. Quarterback Jace Statum has rushed for 100 yards and one touchdown. The Bobcats offense averages 198.8 yards and 15.5 points a game while the defense is allowing 276.8 yards and 20 points a conest.

Mustangs look to extend streak at H-F Van Wade The Orange Leader WEST ORANGE — After dodging a bullet against Silsbee in thrilling 14-7 District 21-3A overtime win last week, the third-ranked West Orange-Stark Mustangs will look to extend their 25-game district winning streak in Class 3A when they visit Hamshire-Fannett Friday night to face the Longhorns. The Mustangs (4-0, 1-0) simply made the plays when it counted against Silsbee (1-4, 0-1), coming up with eight sacks against the Tigers and riding the legs of senior quarterback Ortavious Hypolite. The Longhorns (3-2, 1-0) put in a little extra time against Orangefield (1-3, 0-1) last week, erasing a 13-0 deficit to come back to win that one 27-21. “Hamshire gritted one out just like we did,†said long-time Mustang coach Dan Hooks. “They made a lot of key plays late to take down Orangefield. The thing with Hamshire, going as far back as their Claude Tarver days, is that they don’t make many mistakes.†The Longhorns have been beat up all season long injury-wise but it hasn’t crushed their spirit. Quarterback Jake Minaldi has competed 29-of-69 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 267 yards and two TDs on 57 totes. Tailback Chris Bell has 400 yards and four TDs on 66 carries while fellow back Justin Simmons has 136 yards and two TDs. Jeremy Pinder is a solid receiver with seven catches for 99 yards and two TDs. “You never expect anything fancy out of the Longhorns,†said Hooks. “They’ve ran that sound running game for a lot of years. They like to grind it out with power football and take time off the clock with long scoring drives. Power football has given us a problem in the past. We’re very quick on defense but we’re not that big. If we can force some early turnovers, we’ll be in pretty good shape.†The Mustangs are allowing just a mere 144.5 yards a game. Offensively, Hypolite continues to power the WO-S arsenal. He’s completed 32-of-57 passes for 467 yards and four TDs and has rushed for 305 yards and four TDs on 53 carries. He muscled his way to 130 yards on 27 strong carries against Silsbee and made a couple key defensive stops in the fourth quarter and overtime. “Hypolite showed how much he means to this team again the other night,†said Hooks. “He’s not going to do anything fancy but he will come right after you. He has such a competitive fire about him. He’s got that will to win and everyone else picks up on that. He’s just a winner all the way around.†The Mustangs are pumping out 343.5 yards a game offensively. Tailback Quintavious Garrett leads the way with 512 yards and nine TDs on 71 carries. Receiver Trey Franks has 13 receptions for 249 yards and two TDs and Josh Gloston has nine catches for 135 yards. “Offensively, we kinda sputtered against Silsbee,†said Hooks. “I thought we ran the ball pretty decent but our passing game definitely needs some work and we’ll be doing a lot of that in practice this week.†There’s no question, all the teams in 21-3A is trying hard to knock the Mustangs off their pedestal. “We’ll get everybody’s best shot, count on it,†said Hooks. “Silsbee has given us fits now for three straight years. Everyone gets fired up for us, it’s like their Super Bowl, so we’re going to have to be ready each time we step out there.â€

Come on Rays!

Looks like the Phillies may take it.

[Hidden Content] Kirbyville at the top in 2A.

GC by 10.

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