Huntsville's view on the Brenham game tomorrow...

[BrenhamFan]

[b]August 24, 2011
Sometimes, the waiting game is the hardest part
Hornets figuring out ways to pass time, get to sleep as season opener approaches
By Tom Waddill
Sports Editor[/b]

HUNTSVILLE — Everything seems to be moving in slow motion for Huntsville defensive tackle Demonte Byrd. Hours seem like days, days drag on for weeks and the past week has lasted more than a month. Or so it seems.

Huntsville linebacker Cameron Shirley can’t sleep at night. During class this week, he daydreams about making plays, popping the ball loose or making a critical goal-line stop late in the fourth quarter.

Hundreds of high school football players all over the country are experiencing the same things this week. The 2011 season kicks off tonight for some schools in Texas. Many more teams begin their campaigns Friday night. And some have to wait another week before getting the new year under way.

The Hornets are grateful because they crank things up Friday night in Brenham. The wait, and all of the craziness that comes with it, has dragged on long enough.

“It’s like time hasn’t been moving fast enough,” Byrd said after practice Wednesday. “I’m ready to step out on the field and get started. I’ve been waiting for this game all year, all summer, since last November really.”

The fact that the Hornets open the season against the sixth-ranked Cubs, their longtime rival, has made the wait even more difficult.

“Everybody’s hyping this up because we’re playing Brenham,” Byrd said. “We always want to beat Brenham more than anybody we play.”

Long ago, the Hornets circled August 26th on their calendar. As opening day creeps up, the players say they think about Brenham 24/7.

“All week, I’ve been focusing on this game,” Hornets cornerback Kent Albert said. “I’ve been going to sleep at about 2:30 every night because I’ve been so anxious.”

“When I go to bed, beating Brenham is the only thing that’s on my mind,” offensive lineman Denzel Bradford added.

For his severe case of insomnia. Shirley has devised a unique remedy.

“I go to bed with huddle,” Shirley said of the website where players and coaches can access game tapes of all kinds. “I’ll watch film until my eyes get tired. Then I can finally go to sleep.”

Sleeping has been a problem for most of the Hornets this week, but none of the players are reporting any troubles eating. Not yet, anyway.

“I’m eating steak — grilled and fried,” Byrd said with a smile.

“Groceries. Anything I can put in my stomach, that’s what I’m looking for before this first game,” added Bradford.

“I eat a lot, too,” said Shirley. “A lot of peanut butter. Peanut butter and honey sandwiches, that’s my addiction.”

The players say they wash down their groceries with water. Lots and lots of water.

“I drink a gallon and a half every day,” Bradford reports. “I drink a lot of water between every class.”

As the season’s first Friday night draws near, Huntsville’s varsity veterans say their nerves have gotten more and more frayed. They have figured out ways to deal with the anxiety that comes this time every year.

“I listen to a lot of calm music,” Byrd said, “and keep my mind focused on what we’ve got in front of us.”

“I go to God and ask for strength,” added Bradford. “I give everything to God.”

Shirley concluded, “I just keep my mind calm. Brenham’s got a lot of hype, but they’re 16- and 17-year-old kids just like us. We can’t be intimidated by those guys."

[TradinUp BH]

It's just a dream, this will be a blowout! Cubs 49-7

[daytonfan]

[quote name="Scalp'em" post="1040692" timestamp="1314302779"]
It's just a dream, this will be a blowout! Cubs 49-7
[/quote]

I dont think Brenham can put up 49 points just yet.

[BrenhamFan]

[quote name="daytonfan" post="1040711" timestamp="1314305428"]
[quote author=Scalp'em link=topic=87148.msg1040692#msg1040692 date=1314302779]
It's just a dream, this will be a blowout! Cubs 49-7
[/quote]

I dont think Brenham can put up 49 points just yet.
[/quote]

I don't  think we'll score more than 31 at the most. (17 or 24 is more likely) My prediction is 24-14.  I'm only giving them 14 cuz they return 9 on offense.  With our offense, you have to remember, we have an inexperienced QB this year.  Coach West is pretty much handing him the keys to a porsche, and saying don't crash.

[bearkatfan]

Huntsville always talkes noise and never backs it up. They have great talent but never can use it correctly. They always beat teams the should beat and never beat teams that are coached better. 

[BrenhamFan]

Brenham's take on tomorrows game....

Article from the Banner-Press...

[b]This time, Hornets have the experience -- Cubs return just four offensive starters, but defense looks to be strength once again
By RICHARD BRAY/Sports Editor
Published: Thursday, August 25, 2011 2:39 PM CDT[/b]

Last year, the Brenham Cubs were the experienced veterans heading into their season-opening 28-2 victory over the Huntsville Hornets.

This year, Cubs head coach Glen West says, it will be the Hornets who enter the first game of the season with experience on their side.

Specifically, he looks at a Huntsville offense that boasts nine returning starters, including a third-year starting quarterback in Daniel Hazlewood and its leading rusher from 2010 in Henry Ford.

“They were a really young football team last year with a new head coach,” said West, who enters this season with a 124-37 record in 13 seasons with the Cubs. “They had one scrimmage under their belt and we were an experienced ballclub with a lot of players back from a state finalist team. We had a great advantage a year ago.”

The Cubs held Huntsville to 167 yards of total offense in that ballgame, applying constant pressure on Hazlewood, who completed 9 of 25 passes for 104 yards and an interception.

Early in the fourth quarter, with his team down 21-2, Hazlewood attempted three consecutive quarterback sneaks on the goal line, but each time the Cub defense stopped him short, ending any chance of a Hornet comeback.

Not only do the Hornets remember that sequence, but they especially remember the man in the middle of those plays - defensive tackle Malcom Brown, who returns for his senior year after committing to the University of Texas during the offseason.

“We have to keep the beast contained,” Huntsville running back Henry Ford told the Huntsville Item. “We’re going to see what he’s made of Friday. Brenham’s defense flows really fast, plus they’re pretty big. We’ve got to slow down their penetration, even if it’s just getting a chip on them, we’ve got to slow them down someway.”

Brown is part of a Cub defense that includes fellow Texas commit Tim Cole, Texas A&M commit Troy Green and Texas State commit Jerrid Jeter-Gilmon. Cole and Green are both linebackers and Gilmon is a safety.

While the Cubs return many of the pieces that stifled Hazlewood last season, West said this isn’t the same Hazlewood.

“When we saw him at their scrimmage against Conroe, we didn’t recognize him,” West said. “He runs the ball well, he throws the ball extremely accurately and he has a lot of poise.”

After that scrimmage, Martin told the Item, “I felt like Daniel Hazlewood played with great confidence,” Hornets head coach Shane Martin said after last week’s workout against the Conroe Tigers. “Not only was Daniel confident in his own ability, he was confident in his teammates. He trusted his offensive linemen and knew they were going to give him time he needed to throw the ball. He was not fixing to get smoked from the back side because he knew his guys were blocking.”

Hazlewood will be joined in the backfield by another three-year starter in Ford, who ran for 52 yards on 17 carries against the Cubs last season. He finished the year with 1,143 rushing yards.

Defensively, the Hornets feature an aggressive style of play led by middle linebacker Bridge Blount.

“They’re very athletic and they get to the football,” West said. “One thing we know about Coach Martin and his defense is they believe in pressure. They’re not going to sit back in their base defense, they’re going to get after it.”

And that could prove a challenge for a Cub offense that returns four starters in guard Adrian Bellard, wide receiver Tre’mund Moore, center Ty Johns and running back Green, who moves from tailback to fullback this season.

“We have to expect some inconsistencies,” West said. “There’s no way around it.”

Leading the crop of new faces are senior quarterback Dean Haveman, who backed up three-year starter Ty Schlottmann last season, and senior running back Klartel Claridy.

“Everything we’ve seen from both players says they’re ready for this situation,” West said. “I feel like in a lot of situations Dean could have been the starting quarterback for a lot of teams a year ago. The only thing holding Dean back is the fact he hasn’t had any starts under his belt, but as we get into district play you’re going to see him really, really improve and be a really good player for us.”

But with so many new faces on the field Friday night, West has no idea what’s going to happen. And while that may make the game more entertaining for the fans who come out to Cub Stadium, West has another word for it.

“It might be fun to be the spectator, but from my standpoint it’s nerve wracking,” he said.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Prior to the game, the Cubs will recognize the family of former Brenham All-American offensive lineman Trason Maresh, who died in Jan. 2010. A jersey honoring the former Cub standout will be presented to his family and then hung inside Kruse Field House.