Javelinas: Strong Front-line Force (with video)
KINGSVILLE - When the number 24 Javelinas take the field against third-ranked Delta State in the season opener Saturday, keep an eye on the guys in front of quarterback Billy Garza. They might just be the foundation on which an upset is built.
"If we go, the team will go," three-year captain Markeith Wesley said.
Wesley has reason to be confident. He leads an offensive line that returns all five of last season's starters and depth to spare. That unit helped the Javelinas rack up 430 yards and 31 points a game in 2008.
"So now, it's like the time where we come out and have fun. That's the most important thing about football. You can get all uptight and you've got to be able to have fun. We're able to come out and relax. We know what we're going to do. We know the system and we're able to get things done," Wesley said.
"It's always been my opinion that the offensive line is one of the key factors to how a team does. We will definitely take the burden on our shoulders and we're ready to run with it," center Tim Byerly said.
UCO's Jermelle Cudjo worth talking about
EDMOND — As a defensive coordinator at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Steve Patterson was all too familiar with Jermelle Cudjo, one of the Bronchos’ best players on defense. He tried to sway Cudjo to Miami, losing the battle but not the war.
"I tried to get him out of Lawton MacArthur, and he picked UCO,” Patterson said. "But I still get to coach him anyway.”
Their paths crossed again when Patterson came to UCO. Football coaches don’t often gush about their players, but Patterson has trouble finding much of anything Cudjo (6-2, 300) does wrong.
"He’s a great young man with great character,” Patterson said. "He goes to class. He makes good grades, and on top of that he’s a great football player. He’s special.”
The senior is a pre-season All-American after finishing last year with 60 tackles and 4.5 sacks. He wants a little more for himself and for UCO’s "Code Red” defense.
"Code red is preparation, playing hard, max speed and finishing,” Cudjo said. "If we do that all the time I don’t think anyone can beat us. We’ve had a lot of intensity, and we’ve bonded. Everyone is on the same page.”
Thompson takes on bigger role
Now that junior running back Kelvin Thompson is the main man of the West Texas A&M running game - at least for the time being - how does he compare to the injured Keithon Flemming, the Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the Year who has piled up 3,212 all-purpose yards during the past two seasons?
Go to the sources - Flemming and Thompson. Who would win a 40-yard dash between the two?
"Ah, you can't put us on the spot like that," said Flemming, who was sporting a large brace on his left arm Monday after suffering a dislocated elbow in WT's final preseason scrimmage Saturday.
Thompson's response? "I don't think we've done that (a 40-yard dash)."
The answer will have to come on the field, but the Buffs are confident the offense will keep humming. With Flemming out an estimated four to six weeks (results of a Monday MRI are expected today), Thompson takes one of the spotlight roles in the WT offense in a spotlight game - the 11th-ranked Buffs open the season Saturday against Grand Valley State, the No. 1 team in the nation.
"If I said I wasn't disappointed about the injury, I'd be lying," said Flemming. "But everybody knows what Kelvin can do. We'll be fine. There are a lot of good players on this football team. Hopefully, when I come back, I'll be able to go full out."
State college notebook: Tough road ahead for UCO
Central Oklahoma won’t waste any time testing its seven-game win streak dating back to last year when it faces No. 7-ranked Pittsburg State on Saturday night. It’s part of a string of difficult games to open the year. UCO also travels to West Texas and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
"For the first five weeks it’ll feel the same as if we’re in the national playoffs; it’s that caliber of team week after week,” UCO head coach Tracy Holland said. "We’re going to have to have that mentality to be successful.”
Tigers hit the road Thursday
ADA — If opposites truly attract, East Central University’s 2009 season opener at Nebraska-Omaha should feature quite a collision.
Other than their overall youth, Tim McCarty’s ECU squad and Pat Behrns’ Mavericks have almost nothing in common — starting with the head coaches. McCarty is beginning his his second tour as the Tigers’ head man, while Behrns is entering his 16th season at UNO.
ECU has a new offensive scheme but a veteran quarterback; the Mavericks have the same old system but a new man under center for the first time in three seasons.
McCarty has a re-tooled offensive line with only one returning starter; Behrns lost 21 seniors off last year’s 7-4 squad but returns his offensive line almost totally intact.
UNO has one of the best kickers in Division II in Greg Zuerlein; ECU hasn’t had a field goal of more than 40 yards since 2005.
And then there’s tradition.
NSU Opens Season Thursday Night
Tulsa - While teams like OU, OSU and Tulsa begin their seasons next week, there's plenty of football to talk about this week. Northeastern State begins its season Thursday night, hosting Arkansas Tech. The Riverhawks were 1-and-10 in Kenny Evans' first season as head coach. But, Evans enters his second season at NSU with optimism.
Quarterback Kaelin Woods (Miami HS) returns for his senior season after starting six games in 2008. He completed 101-of-192 passes for 1,207 yards and seven touchdowns. Kenny Davis (Adair HS) also returns at quarterback. As a freshman, Davis started five games and completed 55 percent of his passes for 757 yards and five touchdowns.
South Side players ready for college football
Diego McClain was about to burst at the seams last week, reveling in a moment he didn’t expect life to provide him and playing a position he associated with his late brother.
The Highlands High School alumnus arguably was the individual standout in the University of the Incarnate Word’s final preseason football scrimmage at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium. Saturday, he’ll play his first football game since the 2004 season.
“Diego did a great job,” Incarnate Word coach Mike Santiago said. “He was coming off the ball well and getting into the backfield. He did a great job of disrupting the offense.”
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Continuity key for Javelinas volleyball
CORPUS CHRISTI — KINGSVILLE — Optimism always is at a premium around the Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball camp at this time of year. Rightly so, one would surmise, considering none of the current Javelinas wants to continue the annoying trend.
Success hasn’t come often in Kingsville. Seventeen times losing records have been posted in 21 years. There have been appearances in postseason Lone Star Conference tournament, including two in the past four seasons. But the consensus is that enough is enough. With a core of nine returning players, a new path to success is in the works.
“It has been an issue. The turnover rate hasn’t been well. I really think this is the year to turn it around,” said 5-foot-10 senior outside hitter Kristen Chancellor, a three-year letterwinner who led the Javelinas in attack percentage, aces and blocks. “We do have nine coming back and it’s a solid nine and nine that have played so I think it’s going to be great for us to have the great core and then the freshmen that can step in.”
LSC Fall Sports Preview Series: Midwestern State
Since head coach Bill Maskill took over the program in 2002, the Mustangs have finished in the top half of the LSC standings and have enjoyed a winning conference record every season.
But getting over the hump and winning the conference has eluded the Mustangs, who finished 6-4 last season after starting the year 4-0. Maskill is hoping on senior leadership this year, with over 20 seniors, which more than doubles the number last season.
"We had a real young team last year with just 10 seniors," said Maskill, who has compiled a 56-24 record in seven years in Wichita Falls. "This year, we've got 20 seniors. I believe in senior leadership and I think it translates into team chemistry, morale and ultimately more victories."
LSC Fall Sports Preview Series: Texas Woman's University
There are plenty of reasons for Shelly Barberee to be excited about her team as she enters her seventh year as Texas Woman's head coach. Not only are the Pioneers coming off a 20-13 record and eight Lone Star Conference wins, the most since 2004, but the team also returns 11 letterwinners who should provide plenty of experience.
TWU finished fifth in the regular-standings, but qualified for the LSC postseason tournament, where they knocked off Midwestern State in the first round, before falling to eventual champion West Texas A&M in the semifinals. But despite the experience returning for 2009, this is not last year's team. Barbaree knows it won't be easy to replace three key seniors, including four-time All-LSC selection Kandis Schroeder.
"We graduated some amazing athletes this past season, but I feel confident in the players that are joining the program," said Barberee. "We have three great athletes as well as great people coming in to complete the 2009 team."
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