IndianFan
Web Guy
Area football teams predicted to face rivals
By RYAN S. CLARK
June 14, 2010
Posted: June 14, 2010, 5:35 PM CDT
High school football doesn't kickoff until Aug. 27, but the recent edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine recently hit newsstands, giving people something to look forward to. The 50-year-old magazine, often dubbed "The Bible" because of its prominence as a guide for football fans, predicted several area teams will have deep playoff runs that could come to an end by playing familiar opponents.
If you're a Central football fan, the good news is your team has been picked to make it to the third round of the playoffs.
The bad news? Central has been penciled in to lose to Friendswood. Again. Friendswood has eliminated the District 20-4A school from the playoffs the last two seasons.
"When we were polishing off the 4A stuff, we realized that everyone at Central is going to be so upset with us," said Travis Stewart, the managing editor for new media for the magazine. "In their team capsule, we wrote they had a spectacular run of talent the two or three years but heading into the season, they will be building around a younger nucleus. When I combine that statement with the Friendswood pick, we will never sell another magazine there again."
Port Neches-Groves, along with West Brook, which plays in District 21-5A, were each picked to advance to the fourth round of the playoffs. PN-G was been predicted to have its playoff run ended by Brenham.
Brenham, which advanced to the state title game last season, defeated PN-G in the second round last season. PN-G's route to the fourth round might be considered a bit surprising because the team loses its entire secondary, a few defensive lineman and notably running back Caleb Harmon, whose 1,832 rushing yards last season were the second-most in school history.
Stewart said when the magazine assembles its predictions there are a lot of things they take into consideration. With PN-G, it was a multitude of items that started with the team's coaching staff led by head coach Brandon Faircloth, who in his first season led the school to its first undefeated season since 1977.
"If you go back to that Odessa Permian team in 2008 that lost to (state champion) Allen, they've had some coaches that have been successful," Stewart said. "Darren Allman was the head coach and last year he took Austin Westlake to a state final. Faircloth goes to PN-G and they go undefeated. Some may call it a first-year-fluke but we don't. With Faircloth in charge, we felt good about making that pick."
Stewart said PN-G and Stephenville are the two teams he felt the most sympathy for because of what happened to them last season.
Stephenville lost to Aledo, which won the state title last season after it defeated Brenham.
"PN-G and Stephenville are good enough to be contenders," Stewart said. "But they just happen to be playing with two teams in Aledo and Brenham that have once-in-a-decade talent."
Talent, Stewart said, is one reason why West Brook has been tipped to have a good season.
West Brook, which fielded a team filled with juniors, made a remarkable run to the third round of the playoffs. That run included an upset of No. 10 Fort Bend Hightower, which had entered the playoffs undefeated.
Stewart said the talent West Brook has in players like quarterback Bruce Reyes makes it an attractive pick.
"They are a good team and we knew that. What we try to do is give credence to the fact they have experience," Stewart said. "When you have a bunch of kids that went deep as juniors, that makes a difference. West Brook has 19 returning starters and as far as 5A and 4A go, that puts them in the top 10. You don't see that very often."
Something else you might not see two often are two potential state title contenders play each other in the regular season.
West Brook hosts Katy on Week 4 at the new Thomas Complex Sept. 18.
Katy defeated West Brook, 36-7, last season en route to losing to Abilene in the Class 5A Division I state championship game.
"I expect West Brook to be better against Katy this year than they were last year," Stewart said. "Playing Katy again makes a world of difference because it makes you more prepared."
Follow reporter Ryan S. Clark on Twitter at twitter.com/ryan_s_clark
THE EARLY LINE
Heading into every season, Dave Campbell's makes predictions on every district across the state. Here's a look at what they feel could happen in Districts 21-5A, 20-4A and 21-3A this season.
DISTRICT 21-5A
1. Galena Park North Shore
2. West Brook
3. Memorial
4. LaPorte
5. Baytown Sterling
6. Channelview
DISTRICT 20-4A
1. Central
2. PN-G
3. Nederland
4. Lumberton
5. LC-M
6. Livingston
7. Vidor
8. Ozen
DISTRICT 21-3A
1. WO-S
2. Silsbee
3. Bridge City
4. Orangefield
5. Hamshire-Fannett
6. Hardin-Jefferson
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/sports/local/96333299.html
