PN-G football looking for last line of defense
By RYAN S. CLARK
Beaumont Enterprise
April 28, 2010
Posted: April 28, 2010, 7:15 PM CDT
The message is clear to anyone trying to nab one of the four defensive back spots for the Port Neches-Groves football team.
If the other team scores, it's your fault.
"They know and you can ask any one of my guys, who's fault it is if the other team scores a touchdown," said defensive backs coach Dustin Templin. "It's ours. If someone scores on the pass it's our fault and if they score on the run, it's our fault. We are the last line of defense. We are the last thing stopping the other team from scoring so its up to us to make sure they don't score."
There were many things that led to PN-G's undefeated 10-win regular season campaign last year. One of those things was the team's defensive backs led by Class 4A all-state selection and Texas A&M-Commerce signee Dre Dunbar-Rivera. In all, PN-G finished the year 11-1, with a loss in the second round of the playoffs to state finalist Brenham.
PN-G's defensive backs helped stabilize a defense that surrendered an average of 15.6 points per game and had 18 interceptions, with one in every game except for two.
But as Templin and head coach Brandon Faircloth will quickly point out, none of those starters are coming back and PN-G has to find four new players to fill those holes.
That's a major reason why PN-G opted to have spring practice.
The University Interscholastic League, the state's governing high school sports body, allows Class 5A and 4A schools to hold 18 full-contact practices within a 30-day window. Schools that choose to hold spring practices are required by the UIL to wait a week longer to start practices in August than schools that did not hold spring practices.
PN-G, which plays in District 20-4A, started spring practice April 22 and will finish May 20.
"This year there are some things that are different compared to last year," said Faircloth, who is finishing his first season at PN-G. "Last year, when we came in, it was about knowing the kids and teaching more of the 'Xs' and 'Os.' Now, our kids know our system so with the defensive backs for example, we're teaching them things like how to read coverages."
Faircloth, who played defensive back and receiver at Brownwood, said he and Templin have eight players competing for the four spots.
Faircloth joked that restocking his defensive backs is nothing new at this point. Faircloth and his staff were placed in that same position last year as it had to find four new defensive backs.
The choices they made seemed to work, as PN-G had its first undefeated regular season since 1977.
Junior Hunter Knox, who is competing for one of the four spots, is one of four soon-to-be seniors that Faircloth and Templin could rely on next season.
"The competition has been tough but it's making us all work hard," said Knox, who missed the first half of last season with a fractured back. "I just think that me and the other three seniors are going to have to step up and be leaders."
Faircloth, who also played college baseball at Sam Houston State, compared playing defensive back to playing centerfield.
He said that, like a centerfielder, when a defensive back makes a mistake, everyone in the crowd knows about it and talks about it.
And speaking of crowds, only six people were at Wednesday's practice.
"It's a change from last year," Faircloth said of the crowd. "Last year, there were hundreds of people in the stands everyday and at least three reporters asking you question. Now that's not the case. I kind of like that."
By RYAN S. CLARK
Beaumont Enterprise
April 28, 2010
Posted: April 28, 2010, 7:15 PM CDT
The message is clear to anyone trying to nab one of the four defensive back spots for the Port Neches-Groves football team.
If the other team scores, it's your fault.
"They know and you can ask any one of my guys, who's fault it is if the other team scores a touchdown," said defensive backs coach Dustin Templin. "It's ours. If someone scores on the pass it's our fault and if they score on the run, it's our fault. We are the last line of defense. We are the last thing stopping the other team from scoring so its up to us to make sure they don't score."
There were many things that led to PN-G's undefeated 10-win regular season campaign last year. One of those things was the team's defensive backs led by Class 4A all-state selection and Texas A&M-Commerce signee Dre Dunbar-Rivera. In all, PN-G finished the year 11-1, with a loss in the second round of the playoffs to state finalist Brenham.
PN-G's defensive backs helped stabilize a defense that surrendered an average of 15.6 points per game and had 18 interceptions, with one in every game except for two.
But as Templin and head coach Brandon Faircloth will quickly point out, none of those starters are coming back and PN-G has to find four new players to fill those holes.
That's a major reason why PN-G opted to have spring practice.
The University Interscholastic League, the state's governing high school sports body, allows Class 5A and 4A schools to hold 18 full-contact practices within a 30-day window. Schools that choose to hold spring practices are required by the UIL to wait a week longer to start practices in August than schools that did not hold spring practices.
PN-G, which plays in District 20-4A, started spring practice April 22 and will finish May 20.
"This year there are some things that are different compared to last year," said Faircloth, who is finishing his first season at PN-G. "Last year, when we came in, it was about knowing the kids and teaching more of the 'Xs' and 'Os.' Now, our kids know our system so with the defensive backs for example, we're teaching them things like how to read coverages."
Faircloth, who played defensive back and receiver at Brownwood, said he and Templin have eight players competing for the four spots.
Faircloth joked that restocking his defensive backs is nothing new at this point. Faircloth and his staff were placed in that same position last year as it had to find four new defensive backs.
The choices they made seemed to work, as PN-G had its first undefeated regular season since 1977.
Junior Hunter Knox, who is competing for one of the four spots, is one of four soon-to-be seniors that Faircloth and Templin could rely on next season.
"The competition has been tough but it's making us all work hard," said Knox, who missed the first half of last season with a fractured back. "I just think that me and the other three seniors are going to have to step up and be leaders."
Faircloth, who also played college baseball at Sam Houston State, compared playing defensive back to playing centerfield.
He said that, like a centerfielder, when a defensive back makes a mistake, everyone in the crowd knows about it and talks about it.
And speaking of crowds, only six people were at Wednesday's practice.
"It's a change from last year," Faircloth said of the crowd. "Last year, there were hundreds of people in the stands everyday and at least three reporters asking you question. Now that's not the case. I kind of like that."
