KFDM COOP Posted October 19, 2008 Report Posted October 19, 2008 Rangers partying, playing like it’s 1986 By Dave Rogers Published October 20, 2008 It remains to be seen if this will be Sterling’s first playoff season since 1985, but the Rangers’ 2-0 start in District 21-5A play is nothing to be sneezed at. It turns out that Coach Herb Minyard’s team is off to Sterling’s best start in district play since 1986. In Sterling football time, that’s six head coaches ago, on the watch of head coach Gaylard Fenley. Those long-ago Rangers opened league play with a 28-7 win over North Shore and a 13-0 victory over South Houston only to drop the next game, 7-17, to Pasadena Dobie and finish the year 5-5. The last time Sterling opened 3-0? It was that nostalgia-laden 1985 season, when coach Bill Bundy’s Rangers started 6-0 in district. They lost their regular-season (and district) finale to Dobie, 7-0, before beating Galveston Ball 17-7 in bidistrict and tying West Orange-Stark 14-14 in area. WO-S, now a Class 3A school, advanced via the old penetrations tie-breaker. The Mustangs lost to Houston Yates in the next round of the 1985 5A playoffs, dropped to Class 4A the next year and won back-to-back state titles. Sterling, of course, has stayed in 5A and avoided the playoffs ever since. ••• Sterling’s football team didn’t get a lot of time to celebrate – and won’t get a lot of time to heal up from – last week’s 17-10 win in a bruising defensive battle with Port Arthur. The Rangers’ reward for getting to 2-0 in District 21-5A? A trip to Galena Park ISD Stadium to take on No. 3-ranked North Shore Mustangs. That defense-dominated team blanked Channelview 38-0 last week for its 75th consecutive regular season win. Meanwhile, Baytown Lee gets a crack Thursday night at the team generally believed to be 21-5A’s worst team, Channelview. Of course, Lee and Channelview (and Port Arthur) are 0-2 in district. But the Ganders, who host North Shore in Baytown’s first televised high school game next week, are still alive for the playoffs. Their near-miss at Beaumont West Brook Friday night shows there’s no give-up in the Ganders. Too many turnovers and still too many penalties. But no give-up. ••• Turnovers and penalties have also been the bane of the Port Arthur team. The fact the Titans didn’t give up and roll over against Sterling surprised some of their own fans. Although they own one win this year (against Beaumont Ozen), many were calling Friday’s loss to Sterling, Port Arthur’s best game of the season. “We made a lot of costly mistakes,†Port Arthur coach Ronnie Thompson said after the game. “But I’ve got to hand it to Sterling. They were right in the middle of everything.†Thompson had applause, too, for Ranger quarterback Keagan Kogut, who kept getting up after being hit on every play by a fierce pass rush, eventually throwing the game-winning TD pass to teammate Andre Corley. “I guess he wanted to win more than he was worried about feeling good,†Thompson said of the Ranger QB. Sterling plays at West Brook next week before hosting Channelview to wrap up the regular season. It is likely the Rangers’ playoff fate will not be determined until the final game of the regular season. ••• Speaking of playoffs, veteran Baytown Sun correspondent Jerry Michalsky knows a little bit about what he writes. The 30-something Baytonian moonlights as a semi-pro football player. Two weeks ago, he kicked a 43-yard field goal in overtime to lead his Sugarland Sharks past the previously 10-0 Bay Area Gamblers in a first-round playoff game in something called the NAFL. That earned the Sharks a trip to St. Louis. Alas, the Mississippi River town was no fit place for ocean-swimming carnivores and Jerry’s team bowed out with a 32-7 loss. No word if Michalsky’s all-night drive (after covering the Dayton-Crosby game on Friday) was a factor. Dave Rogers is sports editor of The Baytown Sun.
sahen Posted October 20, 2008 Report Posted October 20, 2008 lets hope they are partying like its 1985 in a couple weeks...
82 5A State Champs Posted October 24, 2008 Report Posted October 24, 2008 Still got NS and the Brook to play! Nevertheless, they are having a great season!
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