Longhorn Fan

Arp wins 60 - 15

What happened to Hosea Lee?

Looking for 3 teams from A - AAAA to fill out ETPP. Email [email protected] or call 903-714-7128

The schedule for the 2015 BOYS EAST TEXAS PLAYOFF PREVIEW IS SET. The venues are Arp HS and the University of Texas at Tyler. There are two tie breaker games in this years event. Out of District 19-4A, Rusk and Henderson will decide 4th place at 5 PM, Friday Feb. 20th at Arp HS. Out of District 18-3A, Frankston and Malakoff will decide the district championship on Saturday night at 7 PM at the University of Texas at Tyler. All games should be hotly contested. Will not be surprised to see some OT action! ARP HS 20-Feb-15 5:00 Rusk vs Henderson 6:15 Tenaha vs Quinlan Boles 7:30 Shelbyville vs Fruitvale 8:45 Tyler All Saints vs Carthage ARP HS 21-Feb-15 9:00 New Summerfield vs Brook Hill 10:30 OPEN 12:00 Miller Grove vs San Augustine 1:30 DeKalb vs Campbell UT TYLER 5:30 Hooks vs Waskom 7:00 Frankston vs Malakoff 8:30 Union Grove vs Yantis

As of right now, here is what is scheduled: 20 Feb. SITE: ARP HS 5 PM HENDESON VS RUSK (4th PLACE TIE BREAKER) 6:15 PM TENAHA VS QUINLAN BOLES 7:30 PM SHELBYVILLE VS FRUITVALE 8:45 PM TYLER ALL SAINTS VS CARTHAGE 21 Feb. SITE: ARP HS 10:30 NEW SUMMERFIELD VS BROOK HILL (TENTATIVE - PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED FOR 9 AM) 12 PM MILLER GROVE VS SAN AUGUSTINE 1:30 PM DEKALB VS CAMPBELL SITE: UT TYLER 5:30 PM HOOKS VS WASKOM 7 PM FRANKSTON VS MALAKOFF (DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME) 8:30 PM UNION GROVE VS YANTIS

Waskom is playing Hooks Saturday night at UT Tyler in the East Texas Playoff Preview.

Possibility that Henderson and Rusk will play at 6:15 PM on Friday night at Arp HS in the East Texas Playoff Preview.

In the old SWC days, there was Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Univ. of Houston, Arkansas, Baylor, SMU, TCU and Rice. In the original Big XII days, there was Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Nebraska, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Colorado, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Today in the Big XII Conference, we have Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State. The geography of the present day Big XII Conference has expanded to West Virginia. Not exactly a hop, skip and a jump for other member schools. So the question now becomes: WHO do we add to the Big XII Conference to bring the number of member schools to 12? Notre Dame would be a good one except they like doing their own thing. University of Houston would be a good one had Art Briles remained there and brought that program to prominence as he has done at Baylor. Colorado State would be looking at money as to what it will cost to participate in the Big XII Conference. BYU has the money. Only question is do they want to add that much travel to all of their teams. Arizona would be an attractive school for everything they bring to the table. The problem in bringing them in is the exposure of Arizona to potential recruits in the Southwest. What is the main reason the SWC and original Big XII Conference fell apart??? Money and Greed! The University of Texas was walking away from everybody when it came to money. Texas pretty much dictated how things were going to be thanks to Deloss Dodds. In some ways that was good and a lot of ways, it was bad. The now infamous LHN sent the Aggies to the SEC. This was the writing on the wall for the Big XII Conference. In fact, Texas almost bolted for the SEC before Texas A&M did. Political pressure in Austin prevented that. So now the question for today is what teams should the Big XII Conference pursue to get the number of member schools back to 12 and have the post season football championship game?

The dates for the 2015 East Texas Playoff Preview are set. February 13 and 14, 2015 for the girls and February 20 and 21, 2015 for the boys. Currently, sites are the University of Texas at Tyler's Patriot Center and Arp High School. We are looking at a site down South. Possibly Angelina Jr. College or Crockett High School. Admission at all sites will be $5 for adults and $3 for students. We are looking for corporate and private sponsors for this event. Costs for hosting this event has escalated to the point that it has cut deeply into the scholarships that we normally hand out. If you or your company are looking for a worthwhile cause to donate to or possibly would like the naming rights, contact us at [email protected]. Visit our website at www.easttexasplayoffpreview.org for more information.

I think it will be interesting as to how Gunter is going to stop Arp's running game and what's more, Arp's defense seems to be quicker than they were at the beginning of the year. The problem comes down to penalties. Arp has got be more disciplined and eliminate all of the penalties.

The Sweet Heat Traveling team from the Whitehouse area is looking for a few good girls to round out this year's team. Age group is 12. Contact Randal at (903) 944-8961.

Two other universities has inquired as to hosting the UIL State Tournament. Baylor and Texas A&M. I see a lot of negatives when it comes to Austin. The price of motels and hotels goes through the roof each year for this event and it makes for a very expensive trip to Austin. There are lots of places to go eat but more and more, I am seeing people bringing their portable grills and cooking and eating their meals in the garage. Not a bad idea really as long as the weather cooperates. The Erwin Center (Or as a lot of us like to call it "The Drum"), has become the destination for basketball teams. The University of Texas and the Big XII Conference insures that the University of Texas men and women's teams are not playing there during those two consecutive weekends. They need to change the seating preferences and allow the fans for participating schools to get closer to the floor. Will that happen though realistically? Probably not. It is all about the money down there. They are going to get the highest price on tickets they can. The other negatives is they need to find a way to play the Girls State Tournament when the Boys Regional Tournaments are not going on. Like perhaps playing the Girls State Tournament on Mon thru Wed and the Boys play Thur thru Sat. That would have a huge effect on the ticket sales for the Girls. As for the price of tickets, they have about priced themselves out with normal fans who would like to go watch.

We are looking for some solid 13 year old softball players. Tryouts will be announced this week. Please contact me at [email protected] with information on a potential player for this team. Team plays out of Whitehouse.

Looking for two state tournament passes for all games on lower level. email me at [email protected]

Have available - 2 premium tickets in Section 28L, Row 7, Seats 9 & 10. Folks, these tickets are looking down the 3rd Base Line down near home plate. This will be a great game!!! Derek Holland slated to go for the Rangers. $230 for both. Can meet before Friday to do the exchange. Message me on Smoaky or at (903) 714-7128. This is a cash deal only. No checks.

Have available - 2 premium tickets in Section 28L, Row 7, Seats 9 & 10. Folks, these tickets are looking down the 3rd Base Line down near home plate. This will be a great game!!! Derek Holland slated to go for the Rangers. $230 for both. Can meet before Friday to do the exchange. Message me on Smoaky or at (903) 714-7128. This is a cash deal only. No checks.

It is now official that beginning this December, the 1st Annual East Texas Holiday Tournament will be coming to Longview. The dates are Dec. 26, 27 & 28. This tournament will feature both boys and girls action. The schools will mostly come from 3A thru 5A and efforts are ongoing to bring in some teams from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Currently, boys teams entered to play are: Center (3A), Pleasant Grove (3A), Gilmer (3A), Tyler Robert E. Lee (5A), Prairieland (2A), Pine Tree (4A) and several that we are awaiting final ok. We are still looking for teams to finish out this tournament for both boys and girls. For more information on this tournament, contact Barry Barnett at (903) 714-7128 or Mark Watson at (903) 241-8789 or go to www.easttexasplayoffpreview.org for more information on becoming a sponsor or participating in the tournament.

The schedule has been revised. Please see the above schedule as it is now current.

The following is the schedule for the ETPP Boys Preview: UTT - BOYS Friday - Feb. 15th 5:00 PM Miller Grove vs Broaddus 6:15 PM LaPoynor vs Elkhart 7:30 PM Nacogdoches vs Corsicana (SEED IN GAME) 8:45 PM White Oak vs Tyler Chapel Hill UTT - BOYS Saturday - Feb. 16th 10:00 AM Wills Point vs New Boston 11:30 AM Brownsboro vs Frankston 1:00 PM Clarksville vs Lufkin Hudson 2:30 PM Kerens vs Saltillo 4:00 PM Hooks vs Grapeland 6:00 PM Oakwood vs Palestine Westwood 7:30 PM Cayuga vs High Point Academy LETU - BOYS Friday - Feb. 15th 6:15 PM Tatum vs North Forney LETU - BOYS Saturday - Feb. 16th 11:30 AM Honey Grove vs Quitman

Feb. 8 - 5:30 PM @ UT Tyler: Saltillo vs Centerville Feb. 8 - 7 PM @ UT Tyler: Diaboll vs Tatum Feb. 8 - 8:30 PM @ UT Tyler: TBA Feb. 9 - 1:00 PM @ UT Tyler: Zavalla vs Bullard Feb. 9 - 2:30 PM @ UT Tyler: Winnsboro vs Kerens Feb. 9 - 4:00 PM @ UT Tyler: Pittsburgh vs Howe Feb. 9 - 5:30 PM @ UT Tyler: Martins Mill vs Mexia Feb. 9 - 7:00 PM @ UT Tyler: Teague vs Malakoff Feb. 9 - 8:30 PM @ UT Tyler: Avery vs Chireno

They will NOT be playing Pittsburgh on Saturday.

There have been quite a few calls this morning regarding the different previews going on. The Preview which is trying to be organized by a few officials from the Longview Chapter is NOT part of the East Texas Playoff Preview. It is being played at a high school in the Longview area. The East Texas Playoff Preview is being played at the University of Texas at Tyler and LeTourneau University in Longview. It provides thousands of dollars in scholarships annually and there is no cost to the teams to play.

This is the updated Girls schedule for the Preview. NOTE: ALOT OF TEAMS ARE STILL WAITING UNTIL AFTER TONIGHTS GAME TO FINALIZE EVERYTHING. COACHES CAN TEXT, CALL OR EMAIL THE ETPP THIS EVENING TO SECURE SPOTS AFTER THEIR GAME THIS EVENING: GIRLS: Martinsville, Diaboll, Pittsburgh, Lindale, Saltillo, Kerens, Zavalla, Winnsboro, West Rusk, Tenaha, Teague, Martins Mill, Elysian Fields, Fruitvale, Avery Feb. 8 - 5:30 PM @ UT Tyler: Saltillo vs Centerville Feb. 8 - 7 PM @ UT Tyler: Diaboll vs Tatum Feb. 8 - 8:30 PM @ UT Tyler: District 16-3A District Championship Game Feb. 9 - 1:00 PM @ UT Tyler: Zavalla vs Bullard Feb. 9 - 2:30 PM @ UT Tyler: Winnsboro vs Kerens Feb. 9 - 4:00 PM @ UT Tyler: Pittsburgh vs TBA Feb. 9 - 5:30 PM @ UT Tyler: Martins Mill vs Mexia Feb. 9 - 7:00 PM @ UT Tyler: Teague vs Malakoff Feb. 9 - 8:30 PM @ UT Tyler: Avery vs Chireno

On the Boys side, the following games are confirmed: White Oak vs Tyler Chapel Hill and Tenaha vs Edgewood. Everything else is soft at this point: Cayuga will be playing New Boston, Tenaha is scheduled to play Edgewood pending no ties in district for Edgewood, Clarksville will be playing Lufkin Hudson and Hooks will be playing Grapeland. More changes coming.