SPORTS UPDATE #108

WELCOME!

*** FRIDAY – NOVEMBER 31, 2007 ***

• North Shore, Cy-Fair set for playoff clash (w/ previews) — Whether North Shore can disrupt Cy-Fair’s running game just might determine who advances from tonight’s 5A playoff game at Berry Center. The Bobcats’ Sam McGuffie ran for 1,618 yards despite missing three games

• Coaches not familiar with UIL testing details
  Steroid testing won’t likely begin until after football season

• Coaching search nears finish line
  Scott Joseph of the Lee coaching staff was among those who made the first cut for the head coaching job at Goose Creek Memorial.

• ‘No excuses’ Rangers take on South
  With star runner out and many others hobbling, the Smithson Valley Rangers limp into today’s 5A-II regional semifinal.

• Inspirational words ring loud, clear in Crawford 

• November 30, 2007: High school football playoffs capsules (West Texas)

• November 30, 2007: Mustangs need big game from linebackers (Andrews – Abilene Wylie)

• Streaking Dayton set for Livingston challenge
  One week past Thanksgiving and the Dayton Bronco football team is still going strong.

• Newton heads to regional title game

• Waller won’t sneak up on

• Newton passing its way to regional title game

• New WO-S boys basketball coach enjoying challenge

• Pirates to meet Celina in regional semis

• Danbury downed in 3rd quarter
  NEEDVILLE — The third quarter has been Danbury’s Achilles heel in four games this season. Thursday afternoon in the opener of the Needville Tournament, the third period came back to haunt the Panthers.

• Area basketball roundup
  Sweeny tipped off play in the Brazos Tournament on Thursday and walked off the court with a 52-48 win over Edna.

• 24-5A’s elite volleyballers honored
  Pearland and Alvin hoped their volleyball season would have lasted longer than the 2007 campaign actually did. But both teams put together a successful year and each were honored for the effort, netting players on the 24-5A All-District First Team.

• Swimmers dive toward Freeport
  FREEPORT — The Brazosport Natatorium will become a bevy of activity the next few days during the Brazosport Swim Invitational.

• Only one county team goes gold in tournament
  LEAGUE CITY — Clear Creek moved to the gold bracket in the Clear Creek classic Thursday. La Marque qualified for silver bracket, and Texas City for the bronze.

• Navarro teams, Marion girls in finals
  GERONIMO — Thursday was a good day for Navarro basketball fans.

• Canyon, SV advance at Cougarette Classic
  Both teams post big first-round wins, while NB falls to 10th ranked Roosevelt

• Yoemen bounce over Bartlett  -  The Yoemen made their first home-court appearance Tuesday night and rallied late for a narrow 51-49 victory over Bartlett.

• Best games for McGuffie, Cobb

• Hightower aims for 10th straight win after slow start

• Clements refuses to stay down for long

• North Shore vs. Cy-Fair; Thoughts on TD Club nods

• Broncos expect plenty of fan support for today’s state quarterfinal game
  The tough thing about being a high school baseball player is knowing that if your team wins a state championship, nobody is around to notice.

• Farmers in seek of revenge for opening loss
  Keith Wright was admittedly skeptical when various preseason polls tabbed his Farmersville football team as one of the 10-best teams in Class 2A.

• Broncos top Arl. Heights for first win
  McKinney Boyd got its first win of the season Thursday in the first round of the Collin County Round Ball Classic.

• Heritage takes down McKinney, 59-57
  McKinney head basketball coach Wes Watson called two timeouts with less with two second remaining with his team trailing by two points at the end of the Lions’ Collin County Round Ball Classic Opener

• Lady Bulldogs edge Denton, 41-39
  Members of the McKinney North basketball called a players-only meeting after their loss to Newman Smith Monday.

• Second-half surge lifts Lady Broncos over Howe
  Emily Holmes, Ashley Olvera and Kiana Evans combined for 45 points, including 29 in the second half, as McKinney Boyd defeated Howe, 56-52, in the opening round of the Collin County Round Ball Classic Thursday.

• Gipson lifts Birdville over Burleson   -  Whitney Gipson had 12 points in the final quarter to lift the Lady Hawks past the Lady Elks, 40-35.

• Western Hills hangs on to beat Arlington Seguin  

• Free throws fall short for Carroll vs. Granbury  

• Colleyville Heritage tops Eastern Hills at Mansfield tournament

• Kaufman Lions earn All-District honors  -  Kaufman varsity football players ended their season with a devastating loss, but the players hold top honors in this year’s District 13-3A football honors because of the outstanding season the team played.  

• Score against Salado’s defense? Not so much
  SALADO – Since early September, one advertisement continues to dominate the classifieds section on a regular basis.

• Cayuga peaking at right time  BETHEL — The Cayuga Wildcats look to be peaking at the right time.
  The Wildcats, coming off their first playoff win in school history, will be facing Maud Friday night in the Class A-Region III, Division II regional quarterfinals at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium in Kilgore.  Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.….more>>

• Grapeland tries to find way to stop Tenaha   GRAPELAND — Grapeland head coach Curt Faigle looks back to the Alto game as when he saw his defense coming together as the strength of the Sandies.

• Tatum, Newton both established winners   -  Tatum’s road to its third straight football state championship appearance takes it to Lufkin’s Abe Martin Stadium tonight against Newton, a foe with an established postseason reputation much like Tatum’s.

• ET playoff capsules 

• Raiders’ secondary facing challenge against Estacado tonight  -  The Rider pass defense was a mixed bag last week. A lot of spectacular plays, some not-so-great moments.Full story »

• ARP QB DEALING WITH DAD’S DEATH

• Plenty of toss-ups this weekend  -  At this point, there are still a few heavy favorites out there, but more often than not, football fans are going to find toss ups at their selected stadiums this weekend.

• Copperas Cove’s next playoff test is upstart McKinney Boyd
  WACO – McKinney Boyd coach Don Drake admits that before this football season, he wasn’t thinking playoffs.

• Granger battles similar Shiner for berth in state semifinals
  BUDA – Granger and Shiner are near replicas of each other on the football field.

• Extreme hoops slate finally favors Crosby    ANAHUAC — What a difference a couple of days make.

• 2007 All-Area Volleyball Team 

• Former Eagles soaring for Roosevelt

• 2-minute drill with … Nic Boyd, RB, Red Oak

• High School Basketball Box Scores  (Bryan – College Station)

• With losing behind them, EHS seniors reap reward
  Given his prowess on the diamond and the Estacdo baseball team’s track record for success, EZ Reyna could have easily walked away from football.

• Westerners hang tough, down Brownfield, 73-67
  When the Lubbock High boys basketball team started the season 0-2, it wasn’t a complete surprise considering the Westerners returned one returning starter this year.

• Despite offseason losses, Littlefield back in title hunt
  Littlefield head coach Bryan Huseman took fairly modest expectations into the 2007 football season.

• Frenship smashes Abilene 59-34
  WOLFFORTH – Frenship outscored Abilene High 20-7 in the final quarter, putting the final touches on a 59-34 first-round win at the Gene Messer Shootout on Thursday.

• Tigers win pair at tournament
  FLORESVILLE – The Frenship girls basketball team won its first two games at the Jaguar Classic to advance to today’s quarterfinals.

• High School Football Playoff Capsules
  CLASS 3A Division I Regional Final Andrews vs. Abilene Wylie 7:30 p.m., Mustang Bowl, Sweetwater

• Area High School Basketball Scoreboard.
  GENE MESSER SHOOTOUT (Lubbock)

• Carthage, Diboll athletes top 20-3A all-district football selections

• 11/30 Area basketball scores   (Lufkin)

• Lady Mavs, Ladycats fall twice in Spring Hill tourney   (Marshall)

• Elysian Fields set to face off with Crawford  

• Farmersville to face unbeaten Caddo Mills in regional finals Friday

• Celina takes on Pittsburgh in Mesquite on Friday

• Nederland cruises past HCYA….more>> 

• Memorial dominates Houston Heights 

• WO-Stark gears up for La Vega 

• MAKING IT HAPPEN
  Just for this game, the Los Fresnos Falcons defensive line decided to create a new motto just… 

• Converse Judson carried by its traditionCONVERSE — Losing three of the last four games of the season isn’t something that happens often at Converse

• Maidens flirt with win  -  The Lake View High School girls basketball team came within one point of its first win of the season, but for the seventh straight game the Maidens came up just short. 

• Football: No Parking  -  ARGYLE — Ask Ben Parks what he’d most like to do on a football field, and he’ll respond without much hesitation. The Argyle senior has never been in a situation where he’s had to attempt a game-winning field goal in the final minutes or seconds of a game, and after a bit of thought, that’s a good thing. It’s not that the kicker/punter/defensive standout hasn’t hit a big field goal in his career, just not a for-all-the-marbles

• Bobcats give scouts plenty to ponder
  Scouting Celina is similar to a root canal: the end result is apparent prior to the procedure but if it is not done, the pain will only be greater later.

• Wranglers learn from past experiences to make historical run
  During the past two seasons, there has been plenty to celebrate for West Mesquite’s football program.

• West Mesquite continues to rewrite record book
  West Mesquite quarterback Kendall Thomas threw for a school-record 390 yards in last week’s victory over Whitehouse. But that is just one of several records that have fallen this season during the Wranglers’ record-breaking run.

• Mesquite falls to defending champions in state tournament rematch
  The last time the Mesquite boys met up with Duncanville, it was last March at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, as the two squared off in the Class 5A state semifinals.

• Allen rally still short
  In what’s becoming a pattern for this team, Allen fell into trouble early Tuesday night against Coppell, put forth a furious rally late, yet ultimately fell short of the win, 59-56.

• Young roster, well seasoned
  When District 9-5A girls basketball competitors look at the schedule this season, one name really jumps off the page.

  Wylie boys beat 5A Weatherford in 51-50 thriller  -  After playing from behind for most of the game, the Wylie boys basketball team mounted a fourth quarter comeback to beat Weatherford 51-50 at the Joshua Tournament.

  Football playoff pairings 

  Lake Travis receiver is one tough Bird

  High school football playoff notebook  (Austin – Central Texas)

  Bulldogs down Lions to continue state title hunt   WALLER – The Waller Bulldogs continued their march through the state playoffs with a 28-14 win over the previously undefeated Yates Lions last Friday at Rhodes Stadium in Katy.

  Area hoops teams begin tournament play   -  A trio of Montgomery County high school boys varsity basketball teams begin hosting their tournaments today, with a host of other area boys and girls squads dotting the Houston area and beyond in other tourneys.

  College Park’s Carson coaching finalist  -  THE WOODLANDS – College Park’s Richard Carson is among the eight finalists chosen by the Touchdown Club of Houston for the 2007 high school football Coach of the Year Award.

  Eagles eager to battle Carroll  -  As the final minutes ran down on Southlake Carroll’s 52-0 win over Abilene High’s football team two years ago,

  Abilene squads open with wins

  Title-hungry Bulldogs focused on Andrews  (Abilene Wylie)

  Cisco girls basketball coach reassigned

  AHS’ Brooks was loved by teammates  (Abilene High)

  Hard work paying off for Beach  -  It’s the little things that have made Brenham High School junior Kara Beach emerge as one of the Cubettes’ top swimmers this season.

  Browning tops All-District Football Team  -  To the surprise of nobody, the District 13-3A coaches have named Mabank’s multi-talented junior quarterback Kolton Browning as their Most Valuable Player.

  All-HC Area Volleyball Team announced    -  Miranda Groom of Mabank was named Hitter of the Year on the 2007 All-Henderson County Area Volleyball Team released last week, and her teammate Katie Cross was selected as Server of the Year.

  Area Hoops Roundup   So, enough with this football, already. (Mabank area)

  Calallen knows how to have fun  -  Thanksgiving has come and gone, which means the number of teams left in the playoffs is beginning to dwindle. Only four teams remain in the Region IV-4A Division II bracket, including 12-0 Calallen. It’s not much of a surprise the …

  Area H.S. Football playoff capsules  -  CLASS 4A ‘DIVISION II REGIONAL SEMIFINALS BEEVILLE (10-2) vs. CIBOLO STEELE (11-1) When: 8 p.m. today Where: Alice’s Memorial Stadium Last Week: Beeville 35, Edcouch-Elsa 21; Steele 28, Fredericksburg 21 Next Round: Calallen or Austin Lake Travis Beeville Player to …

  Lions claw past Sunnyvale  -  Sunnyvale’s freshmen proved a little more difficult than Blooming Grove imagined.….more>>

  Bates gets double-double in rout of Abbott  -  BLOOMING GROVE — A young Frost boys basketball team grew up a little in their opening game of the Blooming Grove Tournament.

  Area Boys Basketball Roundup: Tigers top Red Oak JV    -  The Tigers got off to a slow start Thursday, but got it together and went on to defeat Red Oak, 85-62 at Tiger Gymnasium to begin the Corsicana Winter Blast Tournament.  (Corsicana)

  Corsicana Winter Blast Tournament Schedule

  Alto, Joaquin clash in regional quarterfinals Friday

  Area scores, briefs (Jacksonville)

  Area football teams looking to move on in playoffs   (Nacogdoches – East Texas)

  Dragons defeat Tyler Lee behind Hall’s 25 

  Big Mac Classic begins Friday
  The Queens have one more quiz before the district test begins. (Del Rio)

  Half-court bucket gives Irish win in double OT
  Years from now, Alex Loya likely will look back on Nov. 29, 2007, as one his greatest days in high school sports.

  AREA BASKETBALL 11/29   (Nacogdoches – East Texas)