AGGIE82H2

Don't see how they could remain 3-A. I do work for the general contractor that has been expanding their campus over the past year and a half.... They have nearly doubled their stadium capacity and are completing Phase 2 of their building expansions.... It is a beautiful school and it's size makes it hard for me to believe that amount of expansion is for a hundred students or so. Guess we'll find out in about a month or so.

Very HARD question, and no simple answer. When I was a junior in HS, we went from 6-man to 11-man football, with a new coach. We weren't very good in 6-man and had 8 guys show up for 2-a-days.... All Ronnie Bourland told us, was to find 3 more players, because that was all we needed to play. He was a FIREBAll and had a POSITIVE attitude. We went 7-3, my junior year, and we won the district my senior year (9-2)and lost in the second round of the playoffs. He moved on to bigger and better schools, but he didn't find the same spark of success that we had. Ft. Davis continued to have winning teams after he left, but did it only take 2 years to build a winning program? Or, did it take 2 years to teach the athletes that they could win? Plus, he didn't stay to continue HIS program.... In 2008, Wills Point went 1-9 under 1st year coach Kevin Garvin. He brought much needed discipline to a team that needed it. Just a handful of seniors stayed with the program, last year, and only 10 juniors stayed for their senior year in 2009. However, Wills Point was 9-1 this year, district champions, and there are 20+ juniors returning for next season. Both coaches had quick turnarounds, but I think coach Garvin is building a winning "program" because I believe he wants to stay in WP, and continue HIS success. Some coaches are trying to build a program, and others are trying to build a resume... Still doesn't answer the question does it? 4 years would be my limit, but who am I???

The farmers need to dry it up and go on. I'm sure that after Friday night, 16AAA knows 14AAA came to play. Making excuses and arguing after-the-fact is worthless. If my team causes a turnover and wins, I credit our tenacious defense coming through. If my QB throws the ball right to a defender and we lose, it's because he's inexperienced. That's what happens when 16-18 year olds play football.....it also happens to the pro's. Here's some stats that I used: Wills Point held Farmersville to 67 yards on 41 carries, and Farmersville had 267 yards on 45 carries against Lovejoy. I "assumed" that WP would run WILD against Lovejoy.... But, 7 turnovers worth 39 points, and a QB that was VERY good helped Lovejoy run WILD. During the regular season, Quinlan Ford lost to the 4th and 5th place teams from our district. Playoffs roll around and they beat the 2nd place team. Did Van say anything about how many injuries they had suffered? I could go on and on, but Turnovers, Referees, Injuries, Coaching, etc. is all part of the game, and every game has a winner and a loser. WP exceeded all expectations and won a DISTRICT CHAMPION title, and my son (a Senior) made ALL-DISTRICT. My little world is still pretty good. I do want Lovejoy to win it all, so I can say we nearly made a stunning comeback against them, and Farmersville can say that they beat them. Good luck to the winners and....oh yeah, is LUCK part of the game?????

Eustace is going into the playoffs after 2 critical losses, so their coaches must get them back up... They played a close game with WP during the first half, but appeared to get tired in the second half. Didn't see the Van game but it wasn't close either. Farmersville is rolling into the playoffs with a Championship and lots of confidence. Mentally, the edge has to go to Farmers. Physically, Eustace has a HUGE line and can move people around, but Farmersville has more speed. On a turf field, I give the edge to Farmers..... Farmersville 35 Eustace 21

Coaching become MORE important, now. I have no doubt the Van coaches will have the Vandals ready.

WP is in the AAA D1 bracket. Let's take them one game at a time. I'm just happy with a 1-9 to 9-1 turnaround.

Check the stats....WP had 5 turnovers, too, and the final score was 28-21. WP faced 5 playoff teams in non-district, and beat the 13AAA & 14AAAA District Champs..... I admire the biased opinions and I am included in that group. WP is the home team and I look forward to Friday.

Did not know that.... My mistake. I was NOT trying to dis Van's defense at all. They held WP to 15 pts. But I do think WP's defense is very tough, too.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Wills Point held Farmersville to 63 yards rushing and 80 yards passing(40 of which came on 1 VERY good play before halftime)... Farmersville rushed for 263 yards vs Lovejoy. Vans 1st team defense gave up 57 points in district, WPs 1st team defense gave up 52. Canton is a PASS oriented offense averaging 34 points per game... WP held them to 18, Van held them to 22. In my BIASED opinion, 14AAA has 2 VERY good defenses going into the playoffs, both are very fast to the ball and I saw little difference between them. As a side note: Every opponent, that WP faced in pre-season, made the playoffs and included victories over the 13AAA and 14AAAA district champions. We may not win another game, but after going 1-9 last year, we're very excited about our chances.

Field conditions at WP were basically the same during both games...MUDDY. Van used M. Terry as their running back for most of the game, and I think Chase Raibe (sp) only carried the ball a couple of times. Yet, he carried the load vs Canton, so I don't know what that was all about. I said that if Van's offense ran the ball, they could beat Canton, and they did. Eustace did a good job of running the ball vs WP, for the first half, and were VERY effective with the counters and traps. WP's safeties were both banged up and 1 only played about 4-5 plays, so it's hard to compare the offenses. My opinion is that they are very similar and equally effective...... So defense may be the difference, and I have to give the edge to Van..... My guess for the final score: Eustace 28, Van 35 because I like the linebacker from Van.

I watched the film again, just to make sure what I say is correct: 1) The young man from Kemp was clearly 3+ yards away from #3 when the whistle sounds, and I think he could have stopped , if he heard the whistle. 2) EVERYONE else on the field has clearly stopped for the play. 3) The Kemp player does not make an attempt to wrap up #3, he leads with his helmet and forearms when he hit the WP player.... It is clearly not a clean "tackle" attempt, but he does not drive "through" the WP player. All that being said, I am convinced that the Kemp player was frustrated and took an open shot, but the whistle was close enough that the hit was not what I would call a cheap shot.An extreme HEAD-BUTT is my description. The Kemp player was a head-hunter and had made, and continued making LOTS of clean hard hits. He was a defensive standout and I had spotted him early on. I DO NOT think he should have been ejected or punished. Now if he had hit MY son, my opinion might be different.....

You misunderstood, I'm not predicting a Vandal victory, by any means!! Using WP as the benchmark, Canton wins just because the eagles scored 18 pts against the WP defense and Van scored 0. Canton's offense is established, however I think Van is still trying to find its offense. I was impressed with Van when they ran the ball, but not when they tried to pass. However, Canton had the wind for 2 qtrs. and they only scored 2 TDs. That's not neccessarily moving the ball at will, and WP did pressure your QB. All that being said....I'm jealous of both, because your game will be on a dry turf field instead of the mush pit at WP. Good luck to both teams.

Van wins if they can run the ball. This will shorten the game and keep the Canton offense off of the field. The vandal defense must pressure the QB which lowers his production(18pts vs. WP). However, if Van tries to establish a passing game, it will be a long night for the Vandals.

"Dude", you started this by dreaming, and talking ####, about MV being able to win either 13AAA or 14AAA. Even when WP was down over the past few years we would scrimmage MV and beat them. (I know.....scrimmages don't count, but everyone keeps score) With the exception of '06 and last year, WP has been to the playoffs for the past several years. It's always fun to speculate about who will play who, when teams start clinching playoff spots, but if your gonna use a common opponent to degrade other districts, you can't dismiss the other common opponent who handled your team at home, and was beaten by WP and Spring Hill. Let's be fair.....Change of pace: My brother in law played for a Coach Manley(spelling?) at Quinlan Ford about 20 years ago and i was curious if its the same man?