Forman Flashes - mikeforman's Blog

Forman Flashes - mikeforman's Blog - Victoria Advocate http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman If you think you know sports, here's your chance to talk about it. We'll start with area high school and college football and go from there. If you think you know sports, here's your chance to talk about it. We'll start with area high school and college football and go from there. en-us Heisman time approaching http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9566 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9566 I recently received a notice that my Heisman Trophy ballot would soon be on the way. Decision time is nearing. Obvious candidates are Big 12 quarterbacks Graham Harrell or Texas Tech, Colt McCoy of Texas and Sam Bradford of Oklahoma. A strong case could be made for Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree and I wouldn't count out Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the award last season. Alabama's Javier Arenas is an interesting choice as a defensive back. Don't forget, Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson beat out Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning for the award. What do you think? The deadline to vote is Dec. 10 and I'll be happy to take your suggestions under consideration.   First-Round Success http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9515 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9515 Back from San Antonio's Farris Stadium where Cuero opened the Class 3A, Division I playoffs with a 47-22 bi-district win over Somerset. The Gobblers overcame a strong wind by rushing 43 times for 300 yards and six of their touchdowns came on the ground. Outstanding performance by Cuero's offensive and defensive lines. Freshman Trent Jackson carried ony 11 times for 123 yards and had touchdown runs of 43 and 36 yards. He appeared ready to break Robert Strait's freshman rushing record before injuring his groin and leaving the game early in the second quarter. Advocate-area teams had a successful start to the postseason overall. They had a 12-5 record with three games scheduled for Saturday. Rice Consolidated, East Bernard and Hallettsville gave District 26-2A a 3-0 start. Refugio, Industrial and Karnes City also won in Class 2A. Shiner and Ganado enter the Class 1A playoffs after bi-district byes. Another busy week ahead for area teams.   Playoff Fever http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9444 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9444 Students rushing the field. No, we're not talking about AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, but Memorial Stadium in Victoria. Memorial beat San Antonio East Central 38-28 on Friday night to wrap up the fourth playoff berth in District 27-5A setting off a scene rarely seen in these parts. The Vipers won't be the only Advocate-area team heading into postseason play. St. Joseph will also be returning to the TAPPS playoffs, albeit as the second seed in Division II, District 3 after losing 24-6 to San Antonio Christian. The playoff qualifiers include El Campo, Calhoun and Beeville in Class 4A, Wharton, Cuero, Yoakum and Goliad in Class 3A, Rice Consolidated, East Bernard, Hallettsville, Karnes City, Industrial, Tidehaven and Refugio in Class 2A, Shiner, Ganado, Yorktown and Woodsboro in Class 1A and Hallettsville Sacred Heart and Shiner St. Paul in TAPPS Division IV. You can argue about whether the playoffs have been watered down with four teams advancing in Class 5A and 4A and three teams getting bids in Class 3A, 2A and 1A. But there's no doubt this is the best time of the year for high school football fans.   Tricks and Treats http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9378 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9378 Bay City and El Campo continued the state's oldest and longest continuous rivalry on Halloween night at Ricebird Stadium. Bay City pulled off most of the tricks. On its first play from scrimmage, Chris Brown hooked up with Jo'Len Sidney for 50 yards on a halfback pass. The Blackcats also got a first down when punter Derek Montgomery ran 11 yards for a first down. But the treats belonged to El Campo, which lost leads of 21-2 and 28-8 and won 31-28 on a 19-yard field goal in overtime by Gabriel Lara. The difference was special teams. El Campo made one mistake when punter Anthony Cruz had trouble with a snap and ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety. The Blackcats had multiple sins. They missed two extra points, had an extra point blocked and missed a field goal in overtime. They also gave up an 89-yard touchdown return by Landon Appling and a 32-yard punt return by Appling that set up another touchdown. El Campo clinched a playoff berth and Bay City must hope Richmond Foster beats Rosenberg Terry on Thursday to make it to the postseason. Bay City coach Robert Blackmon was proud of his team's effort for coming back in the second half. El Campo coach Bob Gillis celebrated his third consecutive win over Bay City. The fans got see why the rivalry is one of the best in Texas. No telling what's in store next year.   Week 8 Report http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9299 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9299 Back from Cuero where the Gobblers rolled to a 63-6 win over Goliad. Another outstanding night for freshman running back Trent Jackson. Six carries for 208 yards and touchdown runs of 15, 52, 4 and 57 yards. Quarterback Tyler Arndt was 6 of 7 for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Arndt also threw a downfield block on Jackson's final touchdown run. Cuero's Troy Ruiz and Jake Moeller returned interceptions for touchdowns. Goliad had 27 rushing attempts for a negative-36 yards against the Cuero defense. With Yoakum beating Gonzales, Cuero appears headed for the Division I playoffs. Yoakum also seems likely to make the playoffs. The third playoff berth likely to be decided when Goliad and Edna play next week. Elsewhere, Bay City got back in the playoff picture by defeating Rosenberg Terry. Calhoun rallied past Beeville and will likely be the top seed in the Division II playoffs. Wharton maintained a share of the district lead. Rice Consolidated beat Schulenburg for the first time in three years and appears headed for the Division I playoffs. The other two playoff spots in District 26-2A are still up for grabs, but Hallettsville remains in good position. Karnes City maintained a share of the district lead with Navarro. Refugio kept rolling. Shiner took over sole possession of the district lead by beating Somerville, thanks to Ganado's win over Burton. Woodsboro and Falls City are tied for the district lead and play next week. I could not let this week end without mentioning the passing of my friend and colleague Wes Underwood of Port Lavaca. Wes, 47, died Monday. He was of great assistance to me and other sports writers around the state as the founder of the Collier-Sharp Report. He loved high school football and his Calhoun Sandcrabs. I will have more on Wes later in the week, but I want to send my sympathy to his family and friends. Wes will be missed.     Rally Time http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9232 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9232 Shiner trailed Ganado 21-7 at halftime, but scored on all five of its second-half possessions to win the District 27-1A game in Ganado 42-21. Shiner made good adjustments at halftime on offense and defense. The Comanches remained tied for the district lead with Burton, which beat Louise 42-21. Shiner has good size on the line. Quarterback Matthew Hibbs does a good job of executing the veer and Josh Greathouse is a powerful running back with good moves. The Shiner defense is aggressive and after some early problems, did a good job containing Ganado. Shiner also has a good punter in Brady Beal and a good kicker in Drew Stafford, who missed one extra point after a bad snap. Shiner's biggest weakness may be the lack of breakaway speed. That could be a factor against Burton and in the playoffs. Elsewhere around the area, Calhoun will take a tumble in the polls after losing to Gregory-Portland and Goliad established itself as a playoff contender with a win over Gonzales.   Young Gobbler runs wild http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9145 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9145 I was watching the Crain 8th grade team my son played on last year against Cuero. My son was disappointed because Cuero had won, thanks in a large part to the efforts of one of its running backs. I told my son not to be disappointed because the running back was running over defenders and making cuts 8th graders usually don't make. I also told my son he would  be reading about the running back in the future.  The running back was freshman Trent Jackson, who rushed 18 times for 222 yards and four touchdowns in Cuero's 49-14 District 28-3A win over Yoakum on Friday night at Gobbler Stadium. Jackson has shown signs of his ability in previous games, but finally put together a complete performance against the Bulldogs. He scored on runs of 53, 33, 2 and 53 yards. The most recent Cuero running backs to play on the varsity as freshman were Robert Strait in the 1980s and Melvin Barnett in the 1990s. Strait and Barnett went on to play at Baylor. Jackson should have a bright future and he gives the Gobblers an even better feeling about the present.  Yoakum running back Trey Hights was also impressive, rushing 23 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Cuero and Yoakum appear headed to the playoffs.    A Jones for trouble? http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9114 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9114 Media reports out of the Dallas area say Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones was involved in a physical confrontation with his bodyguard Tuesday night at a Dallas hotel. No arrests were made and no charges were filed, according to the  reports. This is not good news for Jones or the Cowboys. Jones was suspended from the NFL last year for numerous problems related to his conduct. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones acquired Adam Jones in a trade with the Titans and he was later reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goddell. Goddell made it clear that Adam Jones was walking a thin line. Supposedly, Jerry Jones had recently warned Adam Jones about being too visible. The Cowboys sent the Titans a fourth-round pick for Adam Jones and would get the pick back if he were to be suspended. But the damage to the Cowboys, who are struggling in the secondary and have been playing without injured cornerback Terrence Newman, would be immense. Jones played well in last Sunday's win over the Bengals. Quite a few people will say the Cowboys are going to get what's coming to them. Ironically, Goddell visited  Valley Ranch on Wednesday. Adam Jones may escape a suspension for what supposedly happened Tuesday night, but the Cowboys and their fans have reason to wonder for how long.   Working Overtime in Hallettsville http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9056 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/9056 Rice Consolidated and Hallettsville put on an entertaining performance in their District 26-2A game. Rice Consolidated won 19-13 in double overtime. The Raiders had been shut out for before tying the game in the fourth quarter. Neither team scored in the first overtime. Rice Consolidated running back Zaccheaeus Foster was the difference. He rushed for 202 yards on 28 carries. He scored on a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 21-yard run. Foster rushed for 146 yards in the fourth quarter and the overtimes. He's strong, fast and makes excellent moves. Both defenses played well. Rice Consolidated is extremely quick. They do a good job of closing holes and tackling. Hallettsville had a good game plan, but sometimes great athletes are hard to stop. The night was not a total loss for Hallettsville coach Rick Masek. His daughter, Jenna, was named homecoming queen. Rice Consolidated improved to 2-0 in district, while Hallettsville lost its district opener. Schulenburg and Weimar are also 2-0. Weimar stunned East Bernard, dropping the Brahmas to 0-2. The race for the three playoff spots should be very interesting.   Interesting night in Refugio http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/8984 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/mikeforman/8984 Refugio and Industrial went to the fourth quarter of their game in Refugio tied at 18. Refugio, ranked No. 4 in the state, went on to win 32-15, but both teams can take away positives from the game. Refugio got the win and upped its record to 4-0. The Bobcats are young at the skill positions and seem to be getting better in every game. Their running game has really improved and Terrence Smith topped the 100-yard mark against Industrial. The passing game produced over 200 yards and will improve when quarterbacks Kyle Hendley, a junior, and Aaron Perez, a sophomore, get better at reading defenses, which will come with experience. Industrial is a young team that shows a lot of promise. Matt Anderson is the real deal at running back and sophomore quarterback Austin Smalley shows promise. If the Cobras can improve in the passing game, they will be a difficult team to stop.