Three things I think, three things I know about high school sports
Move aside basketball playoffs – football continues to headline the news, and scrutiny might be the right word to describe the past 72 hours.
On Monday, DeSoto school district voted to put superintendent David Harris on leave.
The month-long battle between Southlake Carroll and football coach Hal Wasson continued on Tuesday, and announced that the fate of Wasson’s job will be put into the hands of superintendent David Faltys.
Faltys, the Carroll attorney, Wasson and his attorney, Karl “Tiger” Hanner, are in negotiations for a buyout. Wasson is in the middle of completing the first half of a two-year contract. I bet he gets another year's pay tacked on.
On Wednesday, North Crowley reassigned football coach Eugene Rogers after five seasons. One of the reasons was because he “misrepresented a student athlete signing.” The player was a preferred walk-on and not a scholarship signee.
Throw in the news from the Dallas Mavericks and there’s a dark cloud over the Metroplex – and we’re not talking about all the rain that’s come through.
Hopefully this all gets over quickly so we can move on to better things like basketball playoffs where the girls teams are moving on to the regional tournament and boys finish up the second round later this week.
Three things I think
1. Really Crowley ISD? Apparently now you can get fired for having a signing day for a preferred walk-on. That seems to be the case for Eugene Rogers, who spent the past five years as North Crowley’s head football coach. He went 12-38 with the Panthers, who have been 22-68 since making their last playoff berth in 2008. Dave Campbell’s Matt Stepp was the first to break the news on Twitter. Rogers didn’t respond after the Star-Telegram attempted to reach him Wednesday afternoon. It’s not as if a preferred walk-on signing is anything new – others around the area did the same without anyone batting an eye. If that’s what really happened, it’s a shame that the Crowley school district would allow this, which comes nearly a week after Crowley coach Chris James resigned after eight years. James is the winningest coach in program history.
2. From Day 1, Carroll ISD handled the Hal Wasson investigation unprofessionally. One reason why Wasson wasn’t fired on Tuesday was because the board didn’t have enough on him to force a termination. Overall, this doesn’t look good for everyone at the administration level. Wasson, who’s been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 24, has had support including from a meeting on Feb. 5 where seven people, six parents spoke publicly. On Tuesday, Wasson’s son, daughter and brother were at the board meeting as well as Jack Richards, father of a former Carroll player and former Dallas Cowboy Jay Saldi, who also had sons that played for the Dragons. Even board secretary Danny Gilpin showed his disappointment saying, “I wanted to express that I am personally disappointed in the overall process and how this investigation was initiated and how it was conducted.”
3. Which girls basketball teams are clinching a state tournament berth? By my count, 16 teams from DFW are playing in regional tourneys this weekend. Two wins and you earn a spot in San Antonio. Two-time defending 6A champ Duncanville clinches and will go for an 11th championship at the Alamodome. Colleyville Heritage makes it to Snyder for the second straight season, and Saginaw Boswell is in the regional tourney for the first time in 25 years, but both have their work cut out. I'll pick 19-time state champ Canyon from 5A Region I, and Mansfield Timberview in 5A Region II. Give me Glen Rose in 4A Region I and Brock in 3A Region I.
Three things I know
1. Don’t mess with District 10-5A basketball. This district has been one of the best around in multiple sports, but most notably on the hardwood. It showed earlier this week when the UIL boys playoffs started. Waxahachie, the No. 1 team in Class 5A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, routed Burleson Centennial 90-33. The Indians led 54-10 at halftime. The defending state champion No. 3 Mansfield Timberview ran past Crowley 100-71. No. 8 Midlothian beat Cleburne 57-45 and No. 11 Lancaster defeated Burleson 79-58.
2. Remember the name Brailey Wasik. I’ve been covering softball for four years and I can’t remember a player with the kind of week Wasik had. Even more surprising – she’s a freshman. In her high school debut vs. Arlington Martin on Feb. 13, Wasik went 3 of 4 with her first career home run and four RBIs. In seven games, Wasik batted 11 of 18 with six home runs and 15 RBIs. The Elks went 5-2 in those games and Wasik was voted softball player of the week on Twitter.
3. Rain, rain go way. Hundreds of games from softball, baseball and soccer have either been canceled or postponed this week. This includes a softball tournament at Bob Jones Park in Southlake from Thursday-Saturday which included Keller, winner of the past two 6A state titles. District soccer games have also been affected. Some stuck it out on Tuesday while others have already been pushed back two days to Thursday night. Baseball teams officially start this week, but some schools haven’t begun yet because of the weather.
This story was originally published February 21, 2018 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Three things I think, three things I know about high school sports."