Editor's note: Former Daily News sports writer and current Fort Bend Sun sports editor Corey Roepken was present for the season opener for the La Marque boys basketball team against Fort Bend Bush. La Marque's performance inspired him enough to write a guest blog for us. Here's what he thought about La Marque's 71-67 win over Bush.
Dear La Marque fans,
Are you still down in the dumps about the football team not making the playoffs again this season? If so, I have some news that should cheer you up.
That boys basketball team you have over there has a chance to be pretty special.
I don’t work for the Daily News anymore, but I watched the Coogs play Tuesday night as part of my new job covering Fort Bend ISD. Heading into the game at Bush I didn’t expect a blowout, but I certainly would not have picked La Marque to win it.
I knew even before La Marque scored 11 points in the final 1 minute, 31 seconds to rebound from a seven-point deficit and win the game, 71-67, that it would be a good team this year. The Coogs return seven players, including University of Texas commit Julien Lewis, and are ranked No. 10 in the preseason state coaches poll.
By beating Bush on Tuesday La Marque turned even more heads than critics probably expected it to. Why? The Broncos are supposed to be pretty good, too.
District 23-5A inarguably is one of the most competitive in the state with different teams winning all the time. Heck, you don’t even need to win the district to go deep in the postseason. Ball High fans may remember losing to Elkins in the first round of last year’s playoffs. Did you know that Elkins team needed to win a tiebreaker game just to get into the postseason? Did you know that Elkins team also went all the way to the regional semifinals?
Two years ago Dulles finished third in 23-5A and went all the way to the state championship game. Hopefully you get the point. This district is fantastic, and your Coogs just beat the team that is expected to win it this season.
Bush has won four playoff games the last two seasons. It is coached by Ronnie Courtney, who led Willowridge to back-to-back state titles at the beginning of this decade. It has a star player in Darius Richardson, who had 31 points and nine rebounds Tuesday.
La Marque overcame more than great coaching and talent Tuesday. The Coogs never seemed to get a break with the officials. They overcame all of that and never let the game get away from them. The lead went back and forth even when Lewis sat out six minutes of the third and fourth quarters because he had four fouls.
Everybody knows about Lewis, but it’s the supporting cast that is going to make the Coogs the best in Galveston County be season’s end (if not already).
Jordan Dotson was his usual heady self. Darrian Provost Johnson made five 3-pointers, got seven rebounds and had four assists. Wes Henderson was a rebound machine (14) who also made a pair of 3-pointers on his way to 14 points. Quevin Cams had six assists from his forward position.
La Marque easily could have walked into Bush’s gym and been intimidated. You could tell from the get-go that wasn’t going to be the case. Coach Cedric Mason has these guys coached up pretty well already.
The past couple of seasons the Coogs have been late chargers. There will be no sneaking up on anybody this season.
I’m not here to tell you La Marque is going to win the state title. I’m not even going to tell you it can win the regional title because there is a certain team that goes by the name of Jack Yates up in Houston that won last year’s state championship and dropped 140 on Dickinson on Monday.
I’m here to tell you that if you give this team a chance, it could give you Coogs fans something to be extremely proud of.
Sorry for the lack of updates this week. For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to move the same week as the start of the playoffs. What was I thinking?
The regular season may be over, but our high school fantasy football game has one more week remaining. As you can see by the standings below, I’m holding onto a comfortable lead, though with some of the point totals we’ve seen this season, it’s hardly a guarantee I’ll be victorious.
Standings 1. Joshua Buckley — 851 (81 last week) 2. Ian White — 817 (67) 3. Corey Roepken — 788 (75) 4t. Evan Mohl — 766 (131) 4t. Kevin Cox — 766 (56)
This week we only had six playoff teams to draw from — Ball High, Dickinson, Clear Springs, Friendswood, Santa Fe and Hitchcock. With Ball facing a brutal match-up against Hightower, it made it that much harder.
One of the positives from a shallower draft pool was that we saw a few new players make an appearance. Congrats to Friendswood’s Keith Canada, Dickinson’s Tyrell Preston and Springs’ Dmitri Donald for making their first appearances of the season. Those three have been pretty solid in recent weeks, and this is a good reward for that production.
So here they are, the final teams of the season. I also included the top point getters heading into this week. I’ll post an update on this later this weekend.
PHOTOGRAPHER KEVIN M. COX QB: Morris Tuck, Hitchcock (1) RB: Darius Dotson, Hitchcock (3) WR: Jonathan Johnson, Friendswood (2) DEF: Ball High (4) WC: Scotty Williams, Hitchcock, WR (5)
KEVIN’S TAKE: Kevin decided to take a cruise this week (I hate him!) so I (Buckley) picked his squad. As you can see, Kevin’s hopes of finishing out of last place rest squarely on the performance of the Hitchcock Bulldogs. That’s not a bad thing this week.
Of course, if you decide to take vacation on one of the busiest weekends of the year, you are going to get hosed in some way. Our way of rewarding Kevin — he got Ball’s defense against Hightower. Sorry Kevin. Maybe next year you’ll pick a different time to hit the high seas.
SPORTS WRITER EVAN MOHL QB: Peter Maetzold, Friendswood (1) RB: Dominique Brown, Ball (5) WR: Deche Milburn, Springs (2) DEF: Springs (3) WC: Keith Canada, Friendswood (4)
EVAN’S TAKE: Finally, I was rewarded with a big week. 131 points, to be exact. It may be too little, too late to do much more damage, but hopefully I can end this season out of the cellar with some respect. Or maybe not.
With my first pick, I snatched Pete Maetzold. I saw him last week, and he’s really growing up. He’s consistent, completing more than 60 percent of his passes and throwing to a lot of different receivers. With Andrew Cole’s role in question and slim quarterback pickings this week, I like Maetzold for another 30-plus point performance.
I quickly grabbed Deche Millburn next. It’s been awhile since I had Millburn on my team, but he may have the most upside of any receiver this week. He’s one of the most talented in the county, and I’ll take him on my team.
Next, I selected Springs defense, much to the laughter of some of my colleagues. I know Elkins has a great offense, but I’m going on more than stats here. I like the Chargers at home, and I think their defense is the most capable of scoring and creating turnovers. I took a bit of a risk here, but I got to go big.
Lastly, I took Dominique Brown. Ball High has the toughest matchup, no doubt. But Brown will get carries and chances. I like that. And he always finds a way to score in big games.
FORT BEND SUN SPORTS EDITOR COREY ROEPKEN QB: Phillip Miller, Springs (1) RB: Andrew Cole, Friendswood (2) WR: James Cunningham, Springs (3) DEF: Dickinson (4) WC: Domingo Morales, Santa Fe, WR (5)
COREY’S TAKE: Once again I find myself holding strong in third place, and I’m confident I’ll improve my final standing this week.
I got my No. 1 QB and my No. 1 RB, though Cole often doesn’t have big games when he’s on my team. Let’s hope for Friendswood’s sake that trend ends tonight. I also got my No. 1 defense after three others had been selected. I couldn’t believe that at first, but then I realized the guys playing against me don’t know the Fort Bend ISD teams at all. Willowridge could score some points, but its players are new to the playoff stage. Heck, they know what it’s like to lose 18 games in a row. The postseason may bring more nerves than they can imagine.
Clear Springs’ Deche Milburn has the biggest numbers of the wide receivers, but Cunningham easily could have a big night. I’ve seen the Elkins defense plenty this season. It has done well in spots, but it also has looked porous at times. Clear Springs has the offense to make it a long evening for the Knights.
APPLAUSE EDITOR IAN WHITE QB: Clay Honeycutt, Dickinson (1) RB: Corey Thomas, Dickinson (2) WR: Dmitri Donald, Springs (4) DEF: Friendswood (3) WC: Tyrell Preston, Dickinson, RB (5)
IAN’S TAKE:
SPORTS EDITOR JOSHUA BUCKLEY QB: Garet Davidson, Santa Fe (5) RB: Joseph Walton, Santa Fe (2) WR: Devonte Provost, Hitchcock (1) DEF: Santa Fe (3) WC: Trevon Randle, Springs, RB (4)
BUCKLEY’S TAKE: Well obviously picking fifth isn’t a good thing when there the draft is four quarterbacks deep this week. Although, I say that, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Davidson could post a solid double-digit performance.
With the big name QBs gone, I decided to take Walton and Provost. As you can see below, they finished the regular season as the top scorers at their positions. Provost is especially impressive, considering he only played in seven games this year.
With my wild card, I went with another boom or bust selection. It won’t surprise me to see Randle get quite a few carries for the Chargers in the second half, especially around the goal line. With the draft pool not being very deep this week, I think that was a good chance to take.
I’m confident these guys will be more than enough to hold off any challengers and help me retain the crown as Galveston County high school fantasy football champion.
Here were the top scorers for our game in the regular season
Running back 1. Joseph Walton, Santa Fe — 244 2. Corey Thomas, Dickinson — 208 3. Justin Branch, Texas City — 191 4. Andrew Cole, Friendswood — 182 5. Tim Wright, La Marque — 146 6. Darius Dotson, Hitchcock — 144
Receiver 1. Devante Provost, Hitchcock — 181 2. Jonathan Johnson, Friendswood — 166 3. Deche Milburn, Springs — 163 4. C.J. McElroy, Creek — 143 5. Michael Gilmore, La Marque — 124 6. James Cunningham, Springs — 121
Running a little short on time today, so I'll have to come back later and update with the details and some witty commentary. Until then, here are the standings heading into the final week of the regular season, as well as this week's squads.
Standings 1. Joshua Buckley — 770 (31 last week) 2. Ian White — 750 (83) 3. Kevin Cox — 710 (45) 4. Corey Roepken — 713 (91) 5. Evan Mohl — 635 (53)
SPORTS WRITER EVAN MOHL QB: Morris Tuck, Hitchcock (1) RB: Justin Branch, Texas City (2) WR: Devonte Provost, Hitchcock (3) DEF: Texas City (4) WC: Rodney Artmore, Ball, QB (5)
EVAN’S TAKE:
PHOTOGRAPHER KEVIN M. COX QB: Jarryd Garza, Creek (1) RB: Corey Thomas, Dickinson (3) WR: Deche Milburn, Springs (2) DEF: Creek (5) WC: Emanuell Williams, La Marque, QB (4)
KEVIN’S TAKE:
FORT BEND SUN SPORTS EDITOR COREY ROEPKEN QB: Peter Maetzold, Friendswood (4) RB: Andrew Cole, Friendswood (1) WR: Brent Comardelle, Creek (3) DEF: Santa Fe (5) WC: Joseph Walton, Santa Fe, RB (2)
COREY’S TAKE: I really wish I was allowed to tell all of you great readers about my strategy this week, but sometimes we are privy to information that we're not allowed to reveal.
In that case let's just say I'm extremely confident in my picks this week. I think there are six good QBs this week, so I was fine with waiting to get one. That allowed me to jump on Cole with the third pick. He is the one non-QB with the highest upside every week.
I feel like Joseph Walton's value has dropped since Santa Fe's hot start, but this week easily could be the one he makes a big return. This is a huge spot for the Indians program, so I expect them to come up big on Friday.
With Clear Creek's C.J. McElroy questionable for this week's game Brent Commardelle's stock gets a big boost. He's had a good season anyway. Imagine what he can do when he's the top WR target in that high flying offense.
APPLAUSE EDITOR IAN WHITE QB: Clay Honeycutt, Dickinson (1) RB: Marcus Mata, Creek (2) WR: Michael Gilmore, La Marque (3) DEF: Dickinson (4) WC: Garet Davidson, Santa Fe, QB (5)
IAN’S TAKE:
SPORTS EDITOR JOSHUA BUCKLEY QB: Phillip Miller, Springs (1) RB: Tim Wright, La Marque (4) WR: Jonathan Johnson, Friendswood (2) DEF: Springs (3) WC: James Cunningham, Springs, WR (5)
BUCKLEY’S TAKE:Phillip Miller fell to me at No. 5? Are you kidding me. Apparently everyone wants me to just go ahead and take the suspense out of the final week of our game next week.
Not only did I get the top player in our game, I also got one of his top two targets — with my last pick.
I feel great about my combo of Jonathan Johnson and Tim Wright as well. Anyone that was at last year's La Marque-Friendswood contest knows what type of a shootout these two teams are capable of getting in.
I expect a lot of points to make up for my disappointing week last week. Time to finish off the Limey and the rest of them once and for all!
Wow, it seems like only yesterday I was working on the season preview for high school football. Now, we have just one week left in the regular season. Time flies.
It’s looking like six out of nine county schools are going to make it to the postseason this year. Even better, a couple of them appear to have a chance at a deep playoff run — maybe even a region title.
Here is the penultimate power poll for this season. As always, feel free to let me know how big of an idiot I am, or perhaps tell me how biased I am against Clear Springs…
1. Clear Springs: 7-2, 5-1 (2) — The offense didn’t put up its typical gaudy numbers against Clear Brook, but the defense was outstanding. In the playoffs, that is what will matter the most to get a shot at two-time defending state champion Katy.
2. Friendswood: 6-3, 4-2 (3) — The Mustangs are playing really solid football right now. Defensively, they may be playing better than they have in years. That’s a good sign for a possible deep playoff run.
3. Dickinson: 6-3, 4-2 (4) — The Gators showed a lot in their second half at Ball High on Friday. The passing game still isn’t doing as well as they would like, but the running game and defense are already proving to be playoff ready.
4. Ball High: 5-4, 4-2 (1) — It’s going to be another tough break from Ball if it is left out of the playoffs despite having four victories. Winning at Brazoswood is not easy though, so the Tors probably need to hope for a Creek loss to keep their season alive.
5. Santa Fe: 6-3, 3-3 (6) — Based on a few other results in 24-4A last week, the Indians are in good shape to make the playoffs even if they don’t win. Basically all that could keep them out of the playoffs is Manvel upsetting undefeated Angleton or a struggling La Marque squad taking out the defending region champs. Don’t be surprised though if Santa Fe takes care of business with a win at home against Dawson.
6. Clear Creek: 4-5, 3-3 (5) — How valuable is C.J. McElroy? With the star junior receiver, the Wildcats have one of the most entertaining and explosive offenses in the Houston area. Without him, Creek couldn’t get anything going on the road against the worst team in the district. Even without their banged up receiver, the Wildcats still have a pretty strong chance at making the playoffs with a win and a little bit of help.
7. Texas City: 3-6, 2-4 (7) — This just hasn’t been Texas City’s year. Too many injuries and a brutal schedule have resulted in a rough year. However, the fact that the Stings stayed in the hunt for as long as they did is a credit to a coaching staff that kept the kids from giving up. That’s easier said than done — just ask Clear Lake.
8. La Marque: 4-5, 2-4 (8) — This season has been more frustrating than last year for Cougar fans because the team has enough talent to be near the top of this poll and District 24-4A. It’s probably too late, but La Marque can still salvage the season with a win against Friendswood and some help.
This time of year, I always get the same questions — “What does my team have to do to get into the playoffs?”
Well, I’m beating every one to the punch this year. After creating a handy point differential chart and going over every scenario possible, I’ve broken down the District 24-5A and 24-4A races as best I can.
If you have any further questions, post them below and I’ll do my best to answer them.
District 24-5A Current standings x-Clear Springs — 5-1 x-Brazoswood — 4-2 Ball High — 4-2 Dickinson — 4-2 Clear Creek — 3-3 Clear Brook — 2-4 Clear Lake — 1-5 Alvin — 1-5 x-clinched playoff berth
Springs and Brazoswood both clinched playoff spots with victories this week. After that, Creek’s loss to Alvin made the playoff picture a lot clearer for the final two spots.
Here are the important 24-5A match-ups this week. Thursday • Springs at Dickinson Friday • Ball at Brazoswood • Creek vs. Lake
It is possible for Creek, Dickinson and Ball/Brazoswood to all finish tied at 4-3 in the standings.
Keep in mind though, with a three-way tie-breaker, if a team has beaten the other two squads it is tied with, then it advances to the playoffs. After a three-way tie is broken, the final tie would then be broken based on head-to-head results.
Brazoswood has beaten Creek and Dickinson, meaning if it lost to Ball next week, it would still win any tiebreaker. Thus, the Bucs are already in the playoffs.
Creek has beaten Dickinson and Ball, so if the Wildcats are in a three-way tie with them, they advance to the postseason.
Here are the exact scenarios for the three teams competing for the final two spots.
• Ball clinches with a win OR a Creek loss
• Creek clinches with a win AND a Ball or Dickinson loss
• Dickinson clinches with a win OR a Creek loss OR a Ball loss
An interesting tidbit — should Dickinson and Ball claim get the final two spots, then Ball would go in the Class 5A, Division I (big school) bracket. That’s right, a school with 4A enrollment would have to play in the biggest division bracket in the state.
The reason is because, when the realignment occurred in 2008, Ball had the sixth lowest enrollment in the district. Springs and Dickinson were ranked seventh and eighth.
Only in Texas high school football.
Now on to 24-4A…
District 24-4A Current standings y-Angleton — 6-0 x-Friendswood — 4-2 x-Dawson — 4-2 Santa Fe — 3-3 Texas City — 2-4 La Marque — 2-4 Manvel — 2-4 Brazosport — 1-5 y-clinched district title x-clinched playoff berth
For the second straight year, it appears that no one wants the final playoff spot from this district. It’s also starting to look as though a 3-4 district record will once again get a team in the playoffs.
Before going over the scenarios, here is the week 10 schedule: • Manvel at Angleton • Brazosport at Texas City • Dawson at Santa Fe • La Marque at Friendswood
Santa Fe holds the advantage in this district and will get that last playoff spot should it win. Easy enough.
Now for the confusing part. Should Santa Fe lose, it sets up numerous different scenarios for that final spot.
In three- or four-way ties, if one team hasn’t beaten the others involved, then it comes down to point differential. There’s a maximum cap of 18 points and a minimum of -18 points when combining the point differential from each game of the participating teams.
Without confusing everyone further, here are the scenarios and which team would get in for each. Remember, each scenario assumes that Santa Fe loses, and the winning teams tie the Indians at 3-4 in the standings. Point differential number is in parenthesis.
• La Marque, Texas City and Manvel win — Manvel clinches (+8) • La Marque and Manvel win, Texas City loses — Manvel clinches (+12) • La Marque and Texas City win, Manvel loses — La Marque clinches (+5) • La Marque wins, Texas City and Manvel lose — La Marque clinches (head-to-head over SF) • Texas City wins, La Marque and Manvel lose — Santa Fe clinches (h2h over TC) • Manvel wins, La Marque and Texas City lose — Manvel clinches (h2h over SF)
That leaves one more scenario: • Texas City and Manvel win, La Marque loses
Here’s the problem — with the point differential with that scenario, all of the teams would even out. Manvel beat Santa Fe by four, Santa Fe beat Texas City by four, and Texas City beat Manvel by four.
So what is the next tiebreaker? I have to find that out, but it could possibly come down to a coin flip. Yes, a coin flip, ala Friday Night Lights fame. When I find out for sure, I’ll pass along that info.
Buckley’s predictions So how do I see this shaking down? Well don’t be shocked to see a four-win Ball High home get left at home, while a three-win Santa Fe team sneaks into the playoffs.
District 24-5A Springs — 6-1 (Division II, top seed) Brazoswood — 5-2 (DI, top seed) Creek — 4-3 (DI, bottom seed) Dickinson — 4-3 (DII, bottom seed) Ball — 4-3 Brook — 3-4 Lake — 1-6 Alvin — 1-6
District 24-4A Angleton — 8-0 (DII, top seed) Friendswood — 5-2 (DI, top seed) Dawson — 5-2 (DI, bottom seed) Santa Fe — 3-4 (DII, bottom seed) Texas City — 3-4 Manvel — 2-5 La Marque — 2-5 Brazosport — 1-6
What are your predictions heading into the final week of the regular season?
With just three weeks remaining in our game (two regular season games, plus first round of the playoffs), I’m feeling pretty comfortable with my 72-point lead. It’s not insurmountable, but I feel like the other four guys are playing for second place.
Then again, it’s probably pretty dumb for me to think that way. After all, with the performances several players have had this season (like Phillip Miller, Jarryd Garza, Joseph Walton, Clay Honeycutt and Corey Thomas) no lead is safe.
Here are this week’s teams. Feel free to tell us who you think has the best squad.
SPORTS WRITER EVAN MOHL QB: Phillip Miller, Springs (1) RB: Joseph Walton, Santa Fe (2) WR: Brent Comardelle, Creek (3) DEF: La Marque (4) WC: Corey Thomas, Dickinson, RB (3)
EVAN’S TAKE: This is not good news. For the third straight week I find myself in last place. It makes me lament the days when I was upset for just being in third.
But I will not give up hope. Which makes this week important. And I’m going to need some help.
With my first pick overall, I took quarterback Phillip Miller. He’s been one of the highest scorers the last month. I probably should have taken him first last week, but hindsight is 20-20 right? I’m betting the bank on Miller and I don’t think he’ll disappoint against a suspect Brook defense.
My next two picks surprised some of our players, prompting someone to say I’ll stay in last place. He may be right. But I need to take some chances. So I took Joseph Walton and Corey Thomas. Thomas has scored in every game in October and also, as sports editor Josh Buckley pointed out, has been given an increased workload. I expect 20-30 touches, and even though it’s a tough defense in Ball High, Thomas should get some scores and yardage.
Walton may surprise people the most. He only gained 14 yards last week against La Marque. But Angleton has been known to give up a few points and I’m not sure how the Wildcats will handle a power runner. Plus I expect a rebound week for Walton. And even with those 14 yards, he did score twice. I expect Walton to reward me for keeping the faith.
With my last two picks, I chose the La Marque defense going against a weak Manvel offense. Then I chose Mr. Brent Comardelle. He hasn’t been drafted much this year, despite ranking among the top 6 in receptions in District 24-5A. I like this pick, especially against a very weak Alvin team.
Alright boys, time for a comeback.
FORT BEND SUN SPORTS EDITOR COREY ROEPKEN QB: Jarryd Garza, Creek (1) RB: Marcus Mata, Creek (3) WR: Jonathan Johnson, Friendswood (2) DEF: Friendswood (5) WC: Emanuell Williams, La Marque, QB (4)
COREY’S TAKE: So it appears I have slipped back to fourth place. I have no excuses and I will not whine. I simply got my butt kicked last week. I have licked my wounds and I plan to come back strong - like Texas vs. Colorado strong.
I was happy to get Garza with my first pick. I had him ranked ahead of Miller this week because of what Miller did to the same Alvin team Garza gets to play this week. Combining him with Mata means I get pretty much every Creek TD against a bad Alvin team unless Chief Joseph McElroy scores on a rush.
Johnson should get back to his scoring ways against a below average Brazosport team, and Mandy Williams should do well against Manvel. I even was the fourth person to draft a defense and took my No. 1 ranked team in Friendswood. I can't believe these other guys took a defense as early as they did and did not take Friendswood.
In other words, I like the upside of my team this week. I'm probably too far behind to catch Josh, but I like my chances to end up in second place after this week.
PHOTOGRAPHER KEVIN M. COX QB: Peter Maetzold, Friendswood (4) RB: Tim Wright, La Marque (2) WR: Deche Milburn, Springs (1) DEF: Springs (3) WC: Rodney Artmore, Ball (5)
KEVIN’S TAKE: Sorry for my lack of updates in recent weeks. I've been up and down, it seems like every week I think I've got a great team I don't do so well and when I think I've had a bad draft I end up doing great.
I'm pretty happy with me team this week, hopefully that doesn't mean I've jinxed myself again. I'm fairly confident I'll pass up Ian (who I only trail by two points) but it remains to be seen if Corey will catapult past both of us into second place.
APPLAUSE EDITOR IAN WHITE QB: Clay Honeycutt, Dickinson (2) RB: Andrew Cole, Friendswood (1) WR: Michael Gilmore, La Marque (3) DEF: Creek (5) WC: James Cunningham, Springs, WR (4)
IAN’S TAKE:
SPORTS EDITOR JOSHUA BUCKLEY QB: Morris Tuck, Hitchcock (1) RB: Justin Branch, Texas City (3) WR: C.J. McElroy, Creek (2) DEF: Dickinson (4) WC: Derrick Bernard, Texas City, QB (5)
BUCKLEY’S TAKE:Once again, I managed to hold on to my lead. A big reason is Creek quarterback Jarryd Garza, who kept slipping to me for some reason in the later rounds.
This week, Corey smartly picked Garza No. 2 overall, forcing me to go a different route. I decided to take Tuck with my top pick, despite him going up against a good defense. I trust Tuck, especially at home, to put up some passing numbers despite the opponent.
My next two picks I felt were steals. McElroy is a stud at receiver, and should have a monster game against Alvin.
Branch has surprisingly gone undrafted the last two weeks. Not smart by us, seeing as he has scored five touchdowns in those games. Mr. Rodney Dangerfield has a spot on my team this week.
With my last pick, I took a chance and in the process made everyone else in the league a little upset. You see, Bernard has been out for most of the year with a serious knee and ankle injury.
Well, Bernard has been active the last two weeks after getting cleared by doctors. At Texas City practice on Tuesday, I saw him taking snaps at quarterback, running back and receiver. Lots of snaps in fact.
I’m not certain how much Bernard will play on Friday, so it’s a chance. But I like the upset and am hopefully he’ll give me an edge this week.
Heading into a critical week of high school football, I’m giving readers another two-for-one blog entry. Here is this week’s power poll as well as a high school fantasy football update.
Power Poll Its weeks like these when I really regret starting a Galveston County power poll.
With the recent string of upsets and roller coaster performances of some squads, the power poll has become an absolute mess. The madness is especially high among the 4A teams, where Friendswood, Santa Fe, Texas City and La Marque are all beaten each other up.
What it basically means is that I am in a no-win situation with the poll. I doubt I could find a single person that will completely agree with my order. Heck, I’m not even sure if I’m comfortable with where the teams are ranked this week.
In past weeks, I’ve tried to put a premium on head-to-head results. However, for this week, I’m trying to look at the whole body of work heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.
Hopefully this week’s action will sort out a few things, making next week’s poll much easier. Until then, feel free to blast this week’s poll. I won’t blame you at all.
1. Ball High: 5-3, 4-1 (1) — This is the one team that I gave an advantage to in the poll due to its head-to-head victory over Springs. Currently, the Tors and Springs are the top two teams in the county. Until the Tors lose again, the top spot is theirs.
2. Clear Springs: 6-2, 4-1 (2) — The Chargers have certainly made an argument to be No. 1 after their performance the last two weeks. They have been dominant in nearly every phase of the game. If Ball falls at home to Dickinson this week, Springs will be there to claim the top spot.
3. Friendswood: 5-3, 3-2 (5) — There is definitely a big drop off from No. 2 to No. 3. Not saying that Friendswood isn’t a good team. With a healthy Andrew Cole, the Mustangs have a great shot at repeating as region champs. However, they still have some problems, as evident by last-place Manvel taking them to quadruple overtime last week.
4. Dickinson: 5-3, 3-2 (6) — Here is where things get a little controversial. I’m putting the Gators ahead of a Creek team that they lost to just a few weeks ago. Why? Well, because I think Dickinson is playing a little better defense right now. But it has a tough match-up this week against Ball. A loss, and the Gators could be eliminated from the postseason race and perhaps slip down to the bottom of the power poll.
5. Clear Creek: 4-4, 3-2 (4) — If this were an offensive power poll, Creek would probably be first or second. Unfortunately, defense counts. Creek’s has disappeared in recent weeks, resulting in two straight defeats. The Wildcats do catch a break this week, though, with last-place Alvin on the docket.
6. Santa Fe: 6-2, 3-2 (3) — If head-to-head was the ultimate basis this week, then the Indians may have fallen all the way to bottom of the poll. But that’s not fair to a Santa Fe squad, which is still in control of its own destiny for the playoffs. Of course, with Angleton on the schedule this week, the Indians aren’t in a great spot right now.
7. Texas City: 3-5, 2-3 (7) — Give the Stings credit – they played Angleton pretty tough on Friday. Tough enough to keep them from dropping down to the bottom of the poll this week. Texas City has a big game this week against Dawson. A win, and the Stings are in pretty good shape to make the playoffs.
8. La Marque: 4-4, 2-3 (8) — Yes, the Coogs just beat sixth-ranked Santa Fe on the road. But La Marque could have lost that game had there been a few more seconds on the clock. Plus, the Coogs still aren’t in control of their playoff destiny. They need another win this week to earn their way out of the power poll basement.
H.S. Fantasy Football This year’s game continues to have record scoring, thanks to some jaw-dropping numbers being put up by the county’s offensive stars.
Last year, I won our fantasy game with a final total of 580 points in eight weeks due (we missed a couple weeks of action due to the hurricane.) The year before that, Corey won with a total of 791 points in 11 weeks.
This year, through eight weeks, it is possible that all five of us could surpass the winning total from season one.
Of course, I’m on the fast track for a repeat championship after another big week. I had the third-highest scoring team of the week, but was didn’t give up much room to Kevin and the Limey.
With three weeks to go in our game, here are the standings, as well as the scoring leaders at each position.
Keep in mind, there are several other players not on the leaderboard that are playing a key role in a game. Ball’s Rodney Artmore and Dominique Brown, Creek’s Marcus Mata and Hitchcock’s Scotty Williams have all been solid point scorers this year.
Standings 1. Joshua Buckley — 739 (118 last week) 2. Ian White — 667 (122) 3. Kevin Cox — 665 (130) 4. Corey Roepken — 622 (70) 5. Evan Mohl — 582 (83)
Running back 1. Joseph Walton, Santa Fe — 212 2. Corey Thomas, Dickinson — 171 3. Andrew Cole, Friendswood — 149 4. Justin Branch, Texas City — 143 5. Tim Wright, La Marque — 126 6. Darius Dotson, Hitchcock — 105
Receiver 1. Deche Milburn, Springs — 152 2. C.J. McElroy, Creek — 143 3. Jonathan Johnson, Friendswood — 139 4. James Cunningham, Springs — 114 5. Michael Gilmore, La Marque — 96 6. Devante Provost, Hitchcock — 93
Defense 1. Santa Fe — 77 2. Springs — 68 3. Dickinson — 50 4. Friendswood — 40 5. Texas City — 33 6. La Marque — 31
About Joshua Buckley
Joshua Buckley is sports editor of The Daily News. He worked previously for The Cullman Times in Alabama, where he won numerous writing awards, including the state's best sports page in 2005.
He graduated from the University of Montevallo in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in Mass Communication. Follow Joshua on Twitter
A die-hard Chicago Bears and Cubs fan, Buckley lives just north of League City. He spends most of his free time playing XBox 360 and managing his championship fantasy baseball team, "The Evil Empire."
