Tyler Chapel Hill Chooses New Head Coach

March 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The Chapel Hill Bulldogs have hired Thomas Sitton as their new head coach and athletic director. Sitton has been the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at New Braunfels for the last four years.

Coach Sitton was the only coach interviewed that did not previously have head coaching experience. He helped lead New Braunfels to the postseason three of his four seasons there. During his second and third seasons, New Braunfels went a combined 23-3 and fell in the playoffs to the eventual Class 4A Division I state champion (once in the semifinals).

Sitton played in the defensive backfield at Stephen F. Austin during his playing career. He has also coached at Jacksonville (five years), Alto (one year) and Lake Worth (three years). He will replace Phil Castles who left earlier this month to become the head coach and athletic director at Corsicana. Castles led the Bulldogs to a 24-22 record over the last 4 seasons.

Filed Under: 3A, East Tagged With: , ,

2009 UIL football practice schedules

March 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Dates to begin practice for UIL football programs

If a school DID NOT participate in Spring practice

August 3
> First Day of Conditioning

August 7
> First Day of Contact Drills

August 15
> First Scrimmage Date

———————————————
If a school DID participate in Spring practice

August 10
> First Day of Conditioning

August 14
> First Day of Contact Drills

August 22
> First Scrimmage Date

Filed Under: Central, DFW, East, Gulf Coast, Houston, North, West Tagged With: ,

Corsicana Will Host Big Game

March 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Corsicana’s three year old Tiger Stadium will be the location for what is sure to be one of the best high school football games for the upcoming year. Southlake Carroll and Galena Park North Shore, two of the states top high school football programs have agreed to play their non-district game there on Saturday, September the 26th.


The game is tentatively set to play at 6 p.m. The schools were scheduled to play a home-and-home series starting in 2008, but last years game at Carroll was cancelled because of Hurricane Ike.

Tiger Stadium has hosted 18 high school football playoff games in the last three years, including 11 in 2008.

North Shore currently has the longest regular season winning streak in Texas high school football history with 78 consecutive wins. The Mustangs do have an early season game at defending 5A Division II state champion Katy on Satarday, August 29th.

The head coach for Carroll is Hal Wasson who was an assistant coach at Corsicana during the 1982-86 stretch when the Tigers were 55-7-4 with a 4A state finals appearance in 1982.

By: Michael Wright
Lone Star Gridiron

Filed Under: 5A, DFW, Houston Tagged With: , ,

Comfort Names New Head Coach

March 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Chip Mayfield has been selected as the new head coach for the class 2A Comfort Bobcats. Mayfield has been the head coach at 4A Del Valle for the last four years.

Coach Mayfield had a record of 16-24 while at Del Valle. None of his teams made the playoffs. The Cardinals did go 6-4 in 2006 though which was only the schools third winning season in the past 25 years.

He was selected from a field of 58 candidates and will be the Bobcats third coach in the past three seasons. Comfort went 4-7 last year in District 27-2A.

Del Valle and Cameron Yoe are the only Central Texas schools still looking for a head football coach.

By: Michael Wright
Lone Star Gridiron

Filed Under: 2Ac, 4A, Central

Clash of the Champions II

March 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Defending Class 5A Division II state champion Katy will take on perennial power Bellevue Washington in a “Clash of the Champions II”. The game will be played at Katy’s Rhodes Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday September 12th. In 2007, defending state champions Southlake Carroll and Miami Florida Northwestern played in Dallas in the “Clash of Champions.” The event attracted a sellout crowd of more than 31,000 fans at Ford Stadium in Dallas.

The Bellevue Wolverines have won seven 3A state championships, including six in the last eight seasons. In 2004, Bellevue knocked off Concord California De La Salle who at the time had a record 151 game winning streak. Bellevue also defeated another national power, Long Beach California Poly, in 2005 and has an overall record of 4-0 against out-of-state competition. Bellevue will also play the California state champion Grant High School of Sacramento in the CBA Football Classic on Saturday, September 19th at Seattle Memorial Stadium.

Butch Goncharoff, the Head Coach for the Wolverines is 100-8 since taking over in 2000. Goncharoff won state titles in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008. He is also the first coach in Washington state history to win four consecutive state championships.

Katy has won back to back 5A state championships and has played for a state title in four of the past six years. Katy’s only out of state matchup has been a 31-6 triumph over Weston Florida Cypress Bay last season. Cypress Bay, which plays at 6A as one of the nation’s largest high schools, did not lose another regular-season game and finished 11-2.

Katy’s Head Coach Gary Joseph has a 68-7 record since being elevated to head coach in 2004. He was an assistant for 22 years before that. The Tigers are one of only 11 Texas high schools to win six state championships.

By: Michael Wright
Lone Star Gridiron

Filed Under: 5A, Houston Tagged With: ,

Beaumont Ozen Hires New Coach

March 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Beaumont Ozen hired former West Brook assistant football coach, Jeff Nelson to be their fifth head football coach in 12 years. Ozen will be looking to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

Nelson coached the last four seasons at Beaumont West Brook, where he was an assistant coach. The Bruins won at least one playoff game in each of those four seasons. He replaces former coach Ishan Rison, who resigned in February to care for a sick family member. Rison coached Ozen to a 7-12 record over two seasons.

Coach Nelson had applied to be a head football coach on two other occasions. He applied to coach Ozen in 2007, when the district hired Rison. Nelson also applied to coach Central during this off-season, but the district promoted longtime Central assistant Andrew Washington to the head job. He has 11 seasons of football coaching experience. He served as a Central assistant for seven seasons before being hired him at West Brook.

By: Michael Wright
Lone Star Gridiron

Filed Under: 4A, East

Longview's Head Trainer Receives Award

March 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Longview’s head trainer Lee Reynolds has been named the Texas High School Coaches Association’s 2009 Trainer of the Year. Reynolds has worked at Longview High School since 2000 and has been an athletic trainer for 30 years.

The head coach at Longview, John King nominated Reynolds. King talked to a member of the THSCA Board of Directors and Reynolds was nominated at a THSCA meeting in February.

Reynolds showed his skill and heroics on May 8 of last year. During a spring practice, a player suffered a spinal-cord injury after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit. When the player quit breathing, Reynolds administered CPR, handling the chest compressions and breathing parts of the procedure himself. After being hospitalized for a month, the player has recovered and walks normally.

This is the 30th year as an athletic trainer for Reynolds, He graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1979. He then earned a Masters degree from SFA in 1983 and received his trainers’ certification in 1980.

Reynolds worked at Pine Tree from 1980 to 1989. He then worked with two local therapy and sports medicine centers from 1989 to 2000, in which he worked with other area schools such as Spring Hill, White Oak and Sabine. Reynolds also had an internship with the United States Olympic Committee training facility in San Diego in 1996.

By: Michael Wright
Lone Star Gridiron

Filed Under: 4A, East Tagged With:

Space City Classic

March 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The 2nd Annual Space City Classic in Houston will be played on March 21 at Berry Stadium. The rosters have been announced and both sides have players who have already signed DI scholarships.

Star players like Phillip Steward (Fort Bend Hightower), Andy McCloud (The Woodlands), Broderick Jackson (Kirbyville), De’Anthony Sims (Houston Westbury), Ivory Wade (Dickinson) and Radermon Scypion (Port Arthur Memorial) will all be showcasing their talents.

Each player on both rosters with the exception of Fort Worth All Saints TE Hutson Prioleau is from the greater Houston area. Both Katy (5A DII champions) and Fort Bend Hightower (5A DI runner up), are well-represented.

For More Information : Call 281-416-0835

ROSTERS:

Red Team
Alveston Alexander N/A RB Houston King
Keitrell Anderson N/A WR Aldine
Tiki Anderson 5-10, 180 ATH Aldine
Jared Beard N/A OT Clear Lake
Jessie Beauchamp 6-0, 205 LB Klien Collins
Tavon Bolden 6-2, 190 S Aldine
Dwayne Buggs N/A CB Lamar
Nick Darling N/A LB Klein Collins
Jessie Dickson 6-2, 225 LB Alief Taylor
Dakota Dill 6-3, 185 WR Spring
Emerson Evans 6-1, 220 DE Alief Taylor
Broderick Jackson 5-11, 203 S Kirbyville
Ashton Jefferson 6-2, 210 RB Alvin
Kelvin King 6-1, 225 LB Alief Taylor
Andrae May N/A CB Galena Park North Shore
Andy McCloud N/A QB/ATH The Woodlands
Stephen McCormack 5-9, 170 WR Seven Lakes
Natreon Moose 6-1, 170 WR Deer Park
Rodney Owens 6-2, 200 QB Alief Taylor
Ed Preston 6-4, 285 OG Dickinson
Hutson Prioleau 6-5, 245 TE All-Saints
Thaddeus Randle 6-1, 255 DT Galena Park North Shore
Thomas Robertson N/A OT Westfield
Charles Simms 6-0, 185 RB Westbury
Hugh Stewart N/A K Strake
Travis Swanson 6-5, 275 OT Kingwood
Broderick Thomas 6-3, 180 ATH Madison
Ladrian Waddle 6-6, 315 OG Columbus
Ivory Wade 6-5, 305 DT Dickinson
Justin White N/A DE Galena Park North Shore
Michael Williams 5-10, 170 CB Aldine
Michael Yoder N/A OG Kingwood

White Team
Emone Bailey 6-2, 308 OG/RT Elsik
Raul Balbuena 5-9, 160 K Katy
Timothy Bryant 6-1, 190 ATH St Pius
Eric Dago 6-4, 220 LB Westside
Cody Davis N/A DT Klein Oak
Keith Davis 5-10, 170 CB Westside
Lucas DeVillers 6-0, 185 QB Cy Woods
Pressely Godson N/A OT Lamar Consolidated
Colby Goodwin N/A TE Cy Fair
Jelani Johnson N/A DE Hightower
Dele Juniad N/A S Hightower
Joe Mitchell 6-4, 225 QB Morton Ranch
Emmanuel Olorunyomi N/A OL/C Elsik
Robert Primes 6-1, 180 WR/KR Furr
Tahare Ray 6-3, 220 S Spring
Jaz Reynolds N/A WR Eisenhower
Chris Roberson N/A FB Katy
Shane Ros 5-11, 185 QB/ATH Katy Cinco Ranch
Logan Rowe 5-10, 190 WR/PR The Woodlands
James Scott 6-3, 226 LB Coldspring
Radermon Scypion 6-4, 235 DE Port Arthur Memorial
Kyle Serres 6-4, 185 WR Northland Christian
Josh Skinner 6-4, 220 DE Silsbee
DeAnthony Sims 6-3, 300 DT Westbury
Phillip Steward N/A LB Hightower
Elvin Tapang 6-1, 240 DT Katy
Cherron Tillman N/A OG Booker T Washington
Cameron Travis 6-3, 240 OL Katy
Woodrow Turner N/A RB/FB Elsik
Michael Venson N/A RB/DB Morton Ranch
Chris Walker 5-8, 195 RB Cy Woods
Patrick West 6-2, 225 CB/MLB Cy Woods
Devin Williams 6-2, 217 DE Katy Cinco Ranch

By: Michael Wright
Lone Star Gridiron
www.lonestargridiron.com

Filed Under: 2Ac, 3A, 4A, 5A, Houston, Schools Tagged With: ,

Will a Private School Win A UIL Championship?

March 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Six years after the UIL opened its door to private schools Dallas Jesuit and Houston Strake Jesuit, this weekend could produce a private school state champion. The championship would be in basketball but it will be interesting to see how everyone reacts to it. The only thing that could top Strake Jesuits appearance this weekend would be a trip to a 5A football championship game for one of these two schools.

The Crusaders from Houston and the Rangers from Dallas are the only two private schools among about 1,300 in the states governing body for public school sports. Critics argue that these schools can pull students in from anywhere and some claim that private schools exist to build sports dynasties that dominate the national rankings. This would mean they have to recruit star players.

The UIL addressed the concerns over private schools recruiting from a wide area. Each school is assigned the same attendance zone as the nearest UIL member school. Student athletes from outside that attendance zone are also not allowed to play varsity level sports for one year. This includes freshmen as well as upperclassman.

The Jesuit schools are boys only schools. Houston Strake Jesuit has enrollment just shy of 900 and Dallas Jesuit has an enrollment of nearly 1000. If you double those numbers to mirror the coed UIL schools then both would qualify to be Class 4A schools. The UIL carefully changed its rules to create opportunities for some private schools that were not eligible for membership in another league. They would be required to compete in Class 5A though, which is the states largest classification. The present minimum for the 5A level is 2,085.

The schools had been without a league since the Texas Christian Interscholastic League had disbanded after the 1999-2000 school year and their enrollments were too large for eligibility in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. Their teams were forced to play as independents, resulting in scheduling problems and long road trips.

The UIL’s decision, which was crafted to limit inclusion to the Jesuits, came after Dallas Jesuit had sued in federal court seeking admission. That case was thrown out, but the court battles are not over. San Antonio Cornerstone Christian has an appeal pending after its attempt to gain UIL admission was thrown out by a judge. Bills related to private schools and the UIL are common in the Texas Legislature as well. Texas is one of the few states nationally that doesn’t allow open competition between public and private schools.

The Jesuit schools receive a Lone Star Gridiron salute. They have been model citizens since competing in the UIL leagues. Let them play!!!

Playoff Appearances in football, basketball, soccer and baseball:

Dallas Jesuit:
Football 3 appearances (1-3 record); second round in ’04
Basketball 5 appearances (0-5); second round (via bye) in ’04
Soccer 5 appearances (16-5); state semifinals in ’06
Baseball 4 appearances (4-4); third round in ’04 no playoff appearances

Houston Strake Jesuit:
Football 3 appearances (2-3 record); second round in ’05 and ’08
Basketball 3 appearances (6-2); Still playing in 2009 state tournament (37-0 record)
Soccer 4 appearances (6-4); regional semifinals in ’05 and ’08

By: Michael Wright
Lone Star Gridiron
www.lonestargridiron.com

Filed Under: 5A, DFW, Houston Tagged With:

Chris Soza Takes Over At Alice

March 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The Alice Coyotes have found their new head coach. Chris Soza is leaving Beeville Jones for Alice. Both of these teams are in 4A and they usually match up in the Area and Regional rounds of the playoffs, so this should make things a little more interesting.

Jones will take over an Alice team that was 12-1 last season under coach Brent Davis. Davis recently resigned for the job at San Angelo Central.
During Sosa’s five year stay at Beeville Jones, the Trojans were 36 and 24. They also made the playoffs four of those five years.

By: Michael Wright
Lone Star Gridiron
www.lonestargridiron.com

Filed Under: 4A, Gulf Coast
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