Rez

I read "Roughnecks" about 20 years. Fiction. Aimed more at high school kids than adults. I remember it as a good read. The whole story is a first-person view of a high school football star's thoughts in the last few days leading up to the state championship in Louisiana. [Hidden Content]

I read "Bleachers" years ago. It starts out as a good read, but it follows the plot of "Varsity Blues" so much its an entirely unoriginal book. I enjoyed the writing though -- Like all John Grisham books, the story is presented very well. But if you haven't seen "Varsity Blues," it's a relatively short book with a pretty good football story.

What is this “defense” you speak of?

I forgot about FB Marshall -- Call it PTSD after they ran us into the ground two years in a row. I also forgot about Huntsville. Unless there is a drastic drop-off, I see no reason both won't be solid this year. Huntsville was more vulnerable last year than the year before, so I don't know what direction they are trending. And FB Marshall is missing their Big 2, but they had a Fast 22 -- Unless it becomes legal to blitz before the ball is snapped, it will be hard for any of us to slow that team down. Even the guy running the flag down the track in front of the fans was faster than everyone on the PNG team. Tier 1: FB Marshall, Marshall, and A&M Consolidated, Tier 2: Hunstville. Tier 3 and down is everyone else, in whatever order you want. Barbers Hill, Crosby, PNG, and Nederland should be near the top of Tier 3. Barbers Hill had an extremely balanced, complete team last year. I don't know what they bring back, but they are going in an upward direction. I know they lost their star offensive lineman. He made a huge difference. Their QB last year was fundamentally good, but not flashy, world-ending great. Nederland was young last year and will probably have six to eight starters back on both sides. PNG brings back a lot of big pieces -- If the QB/WR connection can improve, and if the defense continues its year-to-year improvement we've seen the last two seasons, we are going to make some noise. Crosby started to look dangerous halfway through the season, but they aren't the Crosby of 2012-2013 anymore -- I don't know what that means they are becoming. They are in their second year with a new coach and system and all indications are that they are going to be, at a minimum, a solid team with a dark-horse high ceiling. I'm sure I'm leaving some region 3 powers off, but I'm not familiar with any other teams. Texas City used to be quite good -- They seem to have dropped off lately, so I think they are something of a dark horse.

For Region 3: I’d expect Marshall and A&M Consolidated to be at the top. Crosby looks like they are heading in an upward direction, but there is a lot left to prove there. Barbers Hill lost some key players, but I think they should be considered at least the favorite in their district, with hopes to win the region. Nederland and PNG are going to be in the thick of it. PNG and Crosby are dark horses, in my opinion. I don’t know anything about where Texas City is these days.

Knock on wood. I can't even imagine dealing with a hurricane in the coronavirus context. What a mess.

Anyone know who PNG is bringing back, other than Bost? And any good underclassmen coming up?

PNG won state in baseball

Mine hasn’t - I’ve never watched one. They just seem to be universally loved.

Everyone is hallmark guy, even those who don’t know it yet.

Absolutely.

Who has Wimberley played? Silsbee has played West Orange twice, Newton, Nederland, PNG. Granted, Silsbee went 2-5 against that group, and Nederland and PNG didn’t exactly have their very best years, but the competition explains why Silsbee’s stats might be a little depressed relative to Wimberley’s. Silsbee has played big schools and where they didn’t play big schools they played very good teams. Even with the weak district competition, Silsbee has faced a tough season.

That’s not an easy district.

It’s all that physical speed

I enjoyed their commentary. Even with the bias. I like their tone and attitude.

Anyone else having trouble with Texanlive? Trying to watch and website seems to be having problems.

Wish I could go to this game!!

Good season, BH!

I don’t mean their defense is bad- I mean it is the one weakness that stands out. They are still well-positioned to move on.

Barbers Hill’s biggest weakness is that defense. Otherwise they are about as complete as a team would want to be.

I think BH can beat Manvel. They won’t be the favorite, but it’s not out of reach

Sorry for that Crosby - Good game and a good showing.

I’m sure everyone is hoping BH can take down Manvel next week! Tall order. It’s a game I want to see.

What about Huntsville’s defense? I know Crosby’s offense has improved since the beginning of the season, but can they move the ball against that defense?

You’re talking about one or two idiots who were immediately and unequivocally lambasted from all sides, most forcefully by PNG fans. And you’re talking about a fanbase that has been loyal for nearly a century, through all kinds of success and failure. Crosby had about five minutes of success and became so unbearably obnoxious that it’s now something of a joke; then Crosby had about five minutes of failure and collectively lost its mind. Now things are looking ok and suddenly it’s the Mecca all over again. And, it’s not a glass house, it’s a teepee, and it’s holding up fine. Good luck in the playoffs, we’ll always be back next year. All success to Crosby come Friday.