'Riders, Rams open 2010 with Home Contests - August 25, 2010
By John Krueger, Sports Corrspondent

A Center Roughrider offensive lineman turns the corner and prepares to make a block for CHS running back Tre Sudds during scrimmage action against San Augustine last week. The Roughriders will open the 2010 season at home Friday against Rusk at 7:30 p.m. (Photo by John Krueger)

The games might not be district encounters, but Shelby County teams know the importance of getting their seasons off on the right football as a pair of local teams opens their 2010 campaigns at home this week.

Three Shelby County teams advanced to their respective playoffs a year ago and are hoping for return trips. Center, which posted an 8-4 last season, will take on Rusk at Roughrider Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, while the Joaquin Rams entertain cross-county rival Tenaha at Ram Stadium beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Shelbyville will be one of the few teams across the state which will play on Thursday when the Dragons take part in the Brook Hill Classic. SHS will face Troup in Arp at 7:30 p.m. Timpson will travel to Pineland to face off against West Sabine Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Rusk at Center, 7:30 p.m.
After playing as district foes for a number of years, Center and Rusk will tangle in a non-league fashion this Friday at Roughrider Stadium after this spring's realignment.

Rusk was transferred to District 17-3A and will join Athens, Brownsboro Tyler Chapel Hill and Bullard, while Center stays in District 18-3A and will battle newcomer Kirbyville this fall.

Last season the Eagles, who finished 5-5 on the season and one game behind Center, threw a scare into the Roughriders, who had to come from behind at Eagle Stadium to capture a 14-10 victory.

Roughrider Carmane Lane returned a fumble 43 yards for the go-ahead score with 34 seconds left in the third quarter to register the win. Center won the game despite being outgained 307-54 by the Eagles. Justin Lovett, who went on to earn all-state honors as a defensive lineman for CHS, scored the other TD for the 'Riders on a 19-yard fumble return in the first quarter.

The Eagles return two offensive and three defensive starters off last year's squad, while Center, which advanced two rounds deep in the Class 3A D-II playoffs, has five offensive and six defensive starters back.

Tenaha at Joaquin, 7:30 p.m.
Any time Tenaha and Joaquin get together one thing is for sure: it will be a spirited battle. Despite the fact that the two squads are no longer battling in the same district - or classification - they'll take part in an exciting contest when they meet Friday at Ram Stadium.

Joaquin which finished 10-4 a year ago and advanced to the Class 1A D-I state semifinal contest, was on the bubble as far as reclassification and found itself moving up to Class 2A D-II. The Rams will be a part of District 9-2A D-II and join state-ranked Arp and West Rusk, along with Frankston, Union Grove and Winona this season.

Tenaha enters this week's game ranked No.1 in Class 1A D-II and is the favorite the claim not only the District 12-1A D-II championship over the likes of Beckville, Mount Enterprise and Union Hill, but is the choice to claim the state title. The Tigers won their first 12 games last season before losing in the third round of the playoffs.

This battle is always heated and this year proves to be no different. The Rams could be a rebuilding mode with only three offensive and three defensive starters returning. Tenaha has six starters back on offense and seven on defense.

Last season Tenaha led 12-0 at halftime at Tiger Stadium before pulling away in the second half for a 30-8 victory. THS outgained Joaquin 292-132.

Shelbyville vs. Troup (Thursday, at Bullard), 7:30 p.m.
The Shelbyville Dragons hope to avert the injury bug that hurt them last season and improve on the 2-8 record in a non-playoff 2009. All of East Texas' eyes will be on Brook Hill in Bullard as the Dragons face Troup in the first of three games in the Brook Hill Classic on Thursday.

The Tigers have four offensive and three defensive starters back from a 2009 squad that struggled to a 2-8 mark. Troup also is under the direction of first-year Head Coach Chuck Griffin. Griffin was the offensive coordinator at Class 5A Georgetown last season.

The Dragon defense will have to stop Tiger running back Ryan Nichols. Nichols finished 2009 with 1,032 and 12 touchdowns.

Shelbyville's offense will be led by quarterback Brad Estes and running back Jesten Brown. Estes completed 75-of-162 passes (46.3%) for 910 yards, four TDs and only five interceptions a year ago. Brown rushed for 770 yards and six touchdowns despite missing action with a severe ankle sprain.

Timpson at West Sabine, 7:30 p.m.
West Sabine clipped Timpson 6-0 last season in the first league matchup for both teams. The two squads won't be in the same district this fall, but that doesn't mean the Bears won't be looking for some measure of revenge when the two squads meet Friday at Tiger Stadium.

West Sabine, which only outgained the Bears 203-147 in the win last year, has a lot to be excited about in 2010. Eight starters are back on both sides of the football, including quarterback Devonte Thomas, who completed 180-of-240 (75%) of his passes for 2,000 yards, 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions despite the team's 4-6 final record.

The Bears are welcoming back senior LaDerius Bryan this season. After successful 2008 season as a sophomore with 637 yards and nine touchdowns before being injured.

The contest should be a good measuring stick for Timpson, who are looking to improve on their 3-7 record of a year ago.

Timpson Bears come up empty vs. Burkeville - August 25, 2010
By John Krueger, Sports Correspondent

Scrimmages are for learning experiences and the Timpson Bears picked up a valuable lesson Friday night when they traveled to Burkeville with an over-confident demeanor heading into the final tune-up for the 2010 regular season.

After disposing of the Mustangs 30-0 in the second game of the 2009 season, Timpson Head Coach Kenny Washington said his team was a little too confident going into the Friday scrimmage and the result was a 2-0 win by Burkeville.

The Bears will now try to learn from the lesson this weekend when they open the regular season at Pineland Friday with a 7:30 p.m. contest with West Sabine.

"We went down [to Burkeville] thinking that they were going to just let us have [a win]," Washington said Monday. "I think, in a way, it was probably the best thing we could have done because [a coach] can preach to the kids to not take anybody lightly and go out and play everybody hard, but until that light comes on for them you're kind of talking into the wind.

"By the time the scrimmage was over our players knew what they had done. They had thought Burkeville was going to lie down, but as it turned out they scored twice and we weren't able to put the ball in the endzone."

Despite the disappointment of the overall attitude going into the scrimmage, Washington said there were some signs of life from his team.

"When you look at the scrimmage on film, you see that some of our problems were just a matter of staying with a block a little longer, or a back hitting a hole a little bit harder or making a fundamental tackle just a little bit better," the coach noted. "These are things that we stress and stress, but until that player, as an individual, sees the importance of it, you're not quite there.

"After they scored their two touchdowns we came back and started tackling better and even moved the ball up and down the field better; we just didn't put it in the endzone."

Washington said if his team was going to learn that mental lesson, he was glad it was in scrimmage action. Now that it's out of the way, he said he hopes the squad can move forward.

"The 'win' that came out of the scrimmage for us was the fact that we learned a valuable lesson that everybody puts their pants on just like we do and if you don't come into every game with the right mental capacity you can get beat," Washington reasoned. "Now if they're just better than you, that's something else. But if the talent level is the same and you're not ready to play, you're in trouble."

Washington said because his team was so successful against this same Burkeville squad last year played a big part in his team not being prepared.

"Last year we beat these kids pretty bad, but I told the kids they need to prepare for this scrimmage like it was gametime. Our mindset every time out needs to be, 'I don't care who we are playing, we're going to demolish you.'

Washington said he hopes his team can 'change gears' and be ready to play against the Tigers this week.

"West Sabine is very talented," he explained. "They can run and they get after the ball on defense. When they have the ball they have a lot of weapons.

"During the scrimmages, we only prepared ourselves. Beginning this week we'll prepare more for our opponent and the things they like to do. Hopefully that will also help us prepare and be ready to play."

Last season the Bears took a close 6-0 home loss to West Sabine during the fifth week of the season under very wet conditions.

Dragons, Rams score, fall in Scrimmage Action - August 25, 2010
By John Krueger, Sports Correspondent

The Joaquin offense runs the double-wing attack against Garrison last week. The Rams got rolling against Queen City last week, scoring four times in a 4-0 win. (Photo by John Krueger)

Area teams wrapped up scrimmage action last week against some tough competition. Now they'll get ready for the 'real thing' with the regular season getting underway beginning Thursday of this week.

Here's a look at some of the action around the Piney Woods:

Carlisle 3, Shelbyville 1 -- The Shelbyville Dragons worked on both scrimmage setting and a live quarter of play and the result was Carlisle taking a 3-1 decision in Carlisle last Thursday.

During the controlled action, the Indians were able to stick the ball into the endzone once, while holding the Dragons out. Shelbyville then scored on a 70-yard pass from Brad Estes to Nino Cartwright to put the Dragons on the board.

James Bradford had an outstanding effort catching the football, according to SHS Head Coach Jim Bradford, pulling in around 80 yards of receiving. Cartwright also stood out with approximately 100 yards on receptions.

"We worked on different things throughout the scrimmage and put some people in different spots to see how they would respond," said Coach Bradford. "We still had a few mistakes and some dropped passes, but hopefully we'll get these things worked out in the scrimmages."

Bradford said the competition was better than during the first week of scrimmage action when the Dragons faced Colmesneil and Kountze, which will better prepare his team for Thursday's season opener against Troup.

"We'll get back to work this week and fix the mistakes. I'm very proud of the effort. They really gave it everything they had and that's all we can expect out of them."

The Troup game will be part of the Brook Hill Classic this week as the Dragons will be one of a select few teams across the state to open the season Thursday night. Brook Hill is located in Bullard. The kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

"We're excited about playing in the Brook Hill Classic this week and being one of the first teams to be on the field to start the season," Bradford stated. "It's real special for our players and I know it will be for our fans."

Joaquin vs. Hughes Springs/Queen City -- The Joaquin Rams took on a pair of teams at Hughe Springs Thursday night, with the outcome being different as night and day on the scoreboard.

JHS players made it to the endzone four times in a 4-0 decision over Queen, while the Rams couldn't break the plane of the goal and dropped a 4-0 setback to Hughes Springs.

Kain Yates and Austin Bloodgood both found the endzone for the first time in the preseason as they each hit paydirt twice. Yates had runs of five yards and 60 yards, while Bloodgood went in from five yards out and also scored on a three-yard run.

The Rams will open the 2010 season Friday night when they host Tenaha at 7:30 p.m.