Those early losses never fazed Stephenville

Posted Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009 Comments   (0) Print Share Share Reprints
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By Carlos Mendez

cmendez@star-telegram.com

Stephenville does not have to think about bouncing back very much. The Yellow Jackets make it easy on a head coach that way.

But for two years in a row, Joseph Gillespie has had to get the Jackets back on track after an 0-2 start.

It happened last year when the team dropped its first two to Aledo and Denton Guyer. It happened again this year against the same teams.

But like last year, Gillespie has his team primed in time for the playoffs. The Jackets have won seven straight since a 45-14 loss to Guyer. Last season, they won seven of eight after the Guyer loss and then went four rounds in the playoffs.

Somehow, Gillespie has found a way to convince his team to hang in there both years. Actually, it wasn’t all that difficult.

"We had faith in them, and they had faith in themselves that they were going to be a good team," Gillespie said. "We had to replace all 11 starters on offense. On paper, you look at it and say, wow, there’s a lot of work to be done. We needed to get some experience and quarters under our belt, and the first two ballgames, those were two more-than-quality football teams."

One of the top priorities was developing a quarterback. The Yellow Jackets were going to have a tough time going anywhere if Connor Washington, a tall sophomore, didn’t hit his stride. Much is expected of Stephenville quarterbacks.

"He’s right where we thought he would be," Gillespie said.

"He’s very young. He had a big transition to make. But it was the same transition a lot of them had to make. They’ve all done that very well. But that is a huge credit to our quarterback because our offensive line was also completely new."

Running back James Myles takes some of the pressure off the young quarterback, but the on-the-job training will end soon for Washington and the rest of the team. The playoffs start next week.

"We were not at the level we needed to be to play those first two teams, but you don’t have to be at a playoff level Week 1 to Week 3," Gillespie said. "We just continued to get better each week. If we could get to Week 10, 11, 12, we could be at that level, possibly."

Briefly

A playoff quadrupleheader between Districts 5-5A and 6-5A is scheduled for Nov. 14 at Cowboys Stadium. Games will be at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Carroll coach Hal Wasson said that the Dragons will play at 5 p.m. Trinity will play at 11. Also, Districts 3-5A and 4-5A have doubleheaders scheduled Nov. 12 and 13. Games are at 6 and 9 p.m.

Nolan Catholic plays host to one of its top rivals, Addison Trinity, for the TAPPS Division I District 1 title on Friday night. Both teams are 9-0. But they often play for more than district titles. Nolan won a state semifinal meeting last season and a state championship meeting in 2005. So Friday night is not necessarily the last time these teams will play in ’09.

Fort Worth Carter-Riverside can end a 14-year playoff drought this week if it defeats Castleberry. It would be only the second postseason appearance for the Eagles in 50 years.

Arlington Sam Houston’s Jamal Turner finished his season as a 2,000-2,000 man. He rushed for 2,009 yards and threw for 2,049.

Poll watch

DeSoto, with only a season-opening loss against Cedar Hill, debuted in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 at No. 50. The Eagles can add to their credentials this week when they take on Tyler John Tyler, although a bit of luster came off the matchup after Tyler’s upset loss to Tyler Lee last week.

Cedar Hill remained No. 3 in ESPN, the National Prep Poll and the RivalsHigh 100 and No. 7 in the USA Today Super 25.

Southlake Carroll is No. 58 in Rivals and No. 12 in the MaxPreps.com computer.

Denton Guyer debuted in Rivals at No. 96.

Around the state

Victoria Memorial, under former Arlington and Cleburne coach Mickey Finley, can make the playoffs with a victory this week in its final season. The school splits in two next year to become Victoria East and Victoria West, and Finley becomes athletic director.

San Angelo Central ended a 21-game losing streak last week, its longest ever, with a 26-14 victory against Lubbock Coronado.

The most impressive touchdown-to-interception ratio in the state belongs to Austin Lake Travis junior Michael Brewer, who’s thrown for 28 TDs against one INT.

Staff writer Tobias Xavier Lopez contributed to this report.

CARLOS MENDEZ, 817-390-7407

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