KFDM COOP Posted October 26, 2008 Report Posted October 26, 2008 It’s Lee’s turn for North Shore now By Dave Rogers Published October 26, 2008 There are benefits to playing high school football games on Thursday nights, like being able to get your day-after work done during the week and take Saturday off. Another for coaches is the ability to personally scout your next opponent on Friday night. Dick Olin got an eyeful Friday night on his trip to Galena Park ISD Stadium. “When you see people on tape, it’s a whole lot different than when you actually see them in person,†the Robert E. Lee coach said. “On tape, they look big. In person, they actually are big. “And they’re awfully fast, too.†Olin was talking about the No. 2 state-ranked North Shore Mustangs, seen plenty close up by Sterling coach Herb Minyard. North Shore romped to a 49-3 win over Minyard’s Rangers Friday night in a matchup of two teams that had been District 21-5A co-leaders. “They are an exceptionally talented football team,†Minyard said of a North Shore squad that won its 76th straight regular-season game by holding the Rangers roughly three touchdowns below their season norm. “But we fought until the bitter end,†said the Sterling coach. “I like my team a lot and this does not affect our ultimate goal of making the Texas high school playoffs. “We’re just going to learn from this and improve.†The Rangers, 5-2 overall, fell to 2-1 in 21-5A, which puts them behind both North Shore and Beaumont West Brook, which joined North Shore at 3-0 by beating Port Arthur Memorial 26-0 Friday. Sterling plays at West Brook Saturday afternoon before finishing up with a Nov. 7 home game against Channelview. The Rangers need to win one of those two games to break a 23-year playoff drought. Lee’s 10-7 win over Channelview Thursday puts the 2-4 Ganders at 1-2 in district. It leaves them needing a single win – over North Shore or Port Arthur — to get into the playoffs, assuming Port Arthur (0-3, like Channelview) doesn’t finish with a 2-0 sprint. It’s expected West Brook and North Shore will decide the district title when they play at Galena Park ISD Stadium Nov. 7. Although his team managed only a three-point win over a winless team, Olin was upbeat about the Ganders Saturday. “I thought defensive we really played well,†he said. “They had a pass of 45 yards (for Channelview’s touchdown) that we didn’t do a good job of defending. Other than that, we gave them like 95 yards of offense. “We cut down on mistakes as far as penalties, but when you go from an average crew to a good crew (of officials), it usually works that way.†After drawing 16 and 19 penalty flags in back-to-back losses, Lee was penalized just four times for 30 yards against the Falcons. The veteran Gander coach said there were a lot of high points to his night in the Galena Park press box. “It’s a nice atmosphere over there,†Olin said. “The food in the press box was tremendous. We enjoyed that part of it.†And the prospect of playing North Shore’s Mustangs? “When it got to be 49-3, we left,†said Lee’s coach. “We left and we were trying to figure out a way to get them off our schedule.â€
sahen Posted October 26, 2008 Report Posted October 26, 2008 after watching North Shore play I dont see how anyone is gonna beat them, much less Lee.... the Sun has Lee's playoff chances right but they screwed up Sterlings...even if Sterling loses this week but Channelview also loses to Port Arthur then Sterling is in....if Sterling wins this week vs. West Brook or next week vs. Channelview then they are in (the Sun did say that one)....if Sterling was to lose both games against West Brook and Channelview and Channelview beat Port Arthur this week and Lee beat Port Arthur the last week of the season then Sterling would be in a 3 way tie w/ Lee and Channelview, 2 of which would make it to the playoffs....i hope Sterling just wins saturday and none of it matters (though it could not even matter then if Channelview loses friday night) but even if Sterling manages to lose both games they still have a great chance of getting in...
gary-us-bonds Posted October 28, 2008 Report Posted October 28, 2008 I would venture to guess that Lee will give NS a better game than Sterling because of the way they matchup. Sterling has a much better offense than Lee, but that was going to be neutralized by NS's defense anyways. Lee has a better defense than Sterling, so the Ganders should be able to cause a little more resistance to the NS offense than Sterling could. Lee will need to play mistake free ball. Cut down on penalties and turnovers. The Ganders will also need to score on special teams or defense once or twice. The Ganders had West Brook right where they wanted them except for the 4 turnovers and 15 penalties killing them. Even after all of those mistakes, it was a 7 point loss. I could see a scenario where Lee is able to hang with NS. Is it likely that Lee will win? Not very. But there is a slim chance.
sahen Posted October 29, 2008 Report Posted October 29, 2008 panama...i dunno, i think after watching north shore play they are in a class all their own...west brook is good but north shore is a level above them, maybe 2 levels....Lee has a great defense but the prob is they are small, all of North Shore's guys arent just big but they are lightening fast, their tightend would be an actual lineman on most teams but prolly runs a 4.5 or so, he caught one in the sterling game and just ran away from the defensive backs...Lee might be able to stay with North Shore for a little while but their bigger offense is gonna wear Lee down pretty quickly and turn the 2nd half ugly I think, unless if Lee discovers some way to not go 3 and out almost every offensive posession which is highly unlikely...also, Lee's corners better be ready cause if they blitz like they did against Stelring that QB of North Shore is gonna have a field day... its possible for Lee to hang w/ North Shore but its gonna take a lotta mistakes by the Mustangs for Lee to close come the 4th quarter...but it is high school football and stranger things have happened....
gary-us-bonds Posted October 29, 2008 Report Posted October 29, 2008 No doubt, North Shore will have to make some mistakes. Lee will be able to get pressure on the qb. The wearing down is a huge concern obviously. Lee is very small, and a power running game could chew them up. I don't see any way of avoiding the three and outs. It would take some extreme moves. Maybe put Bates at qb and run the option or something lol
Guest Ozen Posted October 29, 2008 Report Posted October 29, 2008 I hope Lee win but NS has to much speed.
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