BH's Sexton returning to form after ankle injury (From the Baytown Sun)

[kensington]

Sexton returning to form after ankle injury

By Michael Pineda

Baytown Sun   

Published October 4, 2007

Every team has one guy that has to be game planned for. Joe Sexton is that guy for Barbers Hill.

The senior linebacker is the most decorated returning starter this season among area teams. In the past two years, Sexton has been named all-district defensive player of the year twice as well as a 4A All-State selection.

Sexton’s 2007 campaign got off to a slow start because of a high ankle sprain that left him less than 100 percent in the first three games of the season. Now the senior is at 100 percent and ready to take on Crosby, the first serious contender to wrest away the Eagles’District 21-4A title.

“We’ve had good practices so far and we have a good feel for them,†Sexton said of the Cougars. “Coach has done a good job preparing us for them. This game will determine if we play for the district title. Last year it determined the district title.â€

In the 2006 meeting at Crosby, the Eagles walked out with a 10-0 victory over the Cougars. Barbers Hill went on to claim the district title and Crosby finished second in the district with a 6-1 record.

Barbers Hill is once again poised to make a run at a district title after a slow start.

The Eagles fell to Jasper after narrowly defeating Wharton in the season opener at Pearland. A win over Bellville provided momentum to a young Eagle team that is only starting to learn how to spread its wings.

“I thought we would come together when district started,†Sexton said. “Everybody was saying we wouldn’t be as good as last year, but we’re always going to be good. We’ve come a long way right now and I think we’re pretty good.

“We all just came together in the Bellville game. A lot of young guys saw we could do anything if we set our mind to it.â€

With only three starters returning this season, Sexton has been in the trenches and earned his stripes.

“We designate captains every Friday, but there is no doubt Joe is a leader on the field,†Barbers Hill head coach Don Price said. “It’s a calming effect, kind of like a security blanket. There is a comfort zone for the team and the coaches. He is one of those guys that plays bigger then he is. They don’t have anything to measure his heart or his perseverance.â€

Sexton is undersized at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds. He makes up for his lack of size with speed (4.6 forty) and a nose for the ball. Despite playing at five pounds less than he did last season, Sexton has not suffered a drop off in his performance other than his ankle injury. Now that he is playing at full strength, there is nothing that Sexton would like more than a repeat performance from last season, a win over Crosby.

“They have improved some, but so have we,†Sexton said. “We can’t give up big plays and we have to watch out for trick plays.

“A great performance would be a shutout, but we want a win.â€