Week Four Preview

One Last Hurrah Before District Starts

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

EAST TEXAS – It’s getting to be that time of the season. It’s almost time for district play to begin and area teams only have one week left to prepare before the postseason jockeying begins.

Normangee Panthers (1-2) vs. Grapeland Sandies (2-1) – The Grapeland Sandies are coming off their worst game of the year as the Crockett Bulldogs beat up on the Sandies by a final score of 48-8. Despite the final score, had Grapeland not turned the ball over on their second possession, it might have been a whole different ballgame had they punched it in to take a 14-0 lead. As it was, the Sandies failed to capitalize on their opportunity to go up by two scores and never recovered.

The game was also costly to Grapeland as several Sandies were dinged up during the game and are questionable for the Friday night matchup against the Normangee Panthers.

This will be a gut-check game for the Sandies as they try and recover from the loss.

Normangee, meanwhile, comes into the contest after picking up their first win of the season – a 37-12 win over the Lovelady Lions. Panther QB Izaha Jones ran roughshod over the Lions and also showed he can throw the ball. The Sandies should bounce back after the Crockett loss, but they will have to contain Jones if they want to pick up the W at home.

Crockett Bulldogs (2-1) – BYE      

Sabine Cardinals (3-0) vs. Elkhart Elks (3-0) – The Elks are 3-0 for the first time this decade and are looking to move to 4-0 when they take on the Sabine Cardinals during Elkhart’s homecoming game this Friday.

Elkhart QB Cade Starr has started to click with TE Ky Thomas and wide-out Messiah Birdow, who both had two TDs last week against Troup. Throw in a dangerous RJ Moore in the Elk backfield and you have a recipe for success.

On the other side of the field, the Cardinals are also 3-0 and have posted big wins early this season. Sabine ranked #15 in Class 3A DI, has wins over Carlisle 34-3, Shelbyville 47-7, and Harleton 48-14. It should be noted, however, all three of their wins came against Class 2A teams. The Elks will be the first Class 3A team Sabine has faced. Look for the Elks to make the homecoming crowd happy on Friday night.

Leon Cougars (0-3) vs. Lovelady Lions (0-3) – The Lions are in desperate need of a win to give them some confidence heading into district play. Fortunately, they have a home game against the 0-3 Leon Cougars who are also struggling this year.

One of the big keys to the game will be turnovers. If the Lions can hold on to the ball they should be able to pick up the win. QB Seth Murray has shown a lot of promise and he has a solid group of receivers to throw the ball to.

The Cougars have moved to more of a balanced attack this season after years of ground-and-pound football. If the Lions can get to QB Jacob Robinson, they will disrupt the Cougars game-plan. Lovelady’s speed will be too much for the Cougars to handle and with the hometown crowd behind them, the Lions should get their first win of the season on Friday night.  

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].

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