Waco Defense Could Cause Lee Problems

[supercentex]

WACO DEFENSE COULD CAUSE LEE PROBLEMS
By CHRIS PARRY, Staff Writer
08/31/2005




The Waco Lions were held to a meager 97 yards of offense last week in their 21-0 season-opening loss to Schertz Clemens.

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But a closer look reveals Schertz Clemens did not dominate Waco as much as the stats suggest.

Waco held Schertz Clemens running back James Henry - rumored to be going to Oklahoma - to 96 yards on 24 carries. The Lions gave up 21 points, but also turned the ball over four times, giving Schertz Clemens a short field. And finally, Waco is breaking in youngsters on offense, as with junior quarterback Bryan Smith and junior wideouts Ronald Home and Ben Meadows.

Smith finished the game completing 12-of-21 passes for 66 yards and two interceptions.

"Waco High has 17 underclassmen and they will be a 4A school next year because their enrollment is under 1,800," said Lee head coach Mike Owens. "Defensively, they look as good as I've ever seen. Their offense is struggling a little bit with a bunch of young kids. You could not afford to turn the ball over, and they did just that."

Defensively, the Lions are built around Don'Tay Ward, a 295-pound senior defensive tackle, who had 56 tackles a year ago.

Owens said Waco also has senior Chris Johnson, who is a sibling of former Waco standout and current Kansas City Chief Derrick Johnson.

"Coach (Johnny) Tusa said it is the best defensive team he's had since he's been there," Owens said. "If that's the case, then they are some hosses."

The Lions made it to the Class 5A Division II bi-district round last season after finishing with a 7-4 record. One of those four losses was to Lee, which defeated Waco 35-14 at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

This is significant because Lee is 2-4 overall against Waco, all four losses coming at Waco I.S.D. Stadium. In fact, Lee won its first game ever at Waco I.S.D. Stadium during last-year's state title run when it defeated Round Rock McNeil.

[pack0808]

That is the only team Waco has an overall lead on in east texas. If they keep playing Lee every year there will be none left. ;)

[supercentex]

That is the only team Waco has an overall lead on in east texas. If they keep playing Lee every year there will be none left. ;)


No, we're still 2-ZIP over Marshall.........

[Mad Hatter]

I think waco will do very well in 4A.

[supercentex]

I can't wait until we drop down! Waco vs LaMarque in a state championship game.......

[Go Buffs]

I can't wait until we drop down! Waco vs LaMarque in a state championship game.......
No, Waco vs Clemens. We'll take care of LaMarque! :D

[FootballJunkie]

I can't wait until we drop down! Waco vs LaMarque in a state championship game.......Then WACO can start losing to Waco University every year!!!

[supercentex]

Then WACO can start losing to Waco University every year!!!


Yeah right...that will never happen. Got close a couple of years ago tho!

[Brant_Scott_76]

Then WACO can start losing to Waco University every year!!!


lol wouldnt that be some........

[clemensbuff]

WACO DEFENSE COULD CAUSE LEE PROBLEMS
By CHRIS PARRY, Staff Writer
08/31/2005




The Waco Lions were held to a meager 97 yards of offense last week in their 21-0 season-opening loss to Schertz Clemens.

Advertisement


But a closer look reveals Schertz Clemens did not dominate Waco as much as the stats suggest.

Waco held Schertz Clemens running back James Henry - rumored to be going to Oklahoma - to 96 yards on 24 carries. The Lions gave up 21 points, but also turned the ball over four times, giving Schertz Clemens a short field. And finally, Waco is breaking in youngsters on offense, as with junior quarterback Bryan Smith and junior wideouts Ronald Home and Ben Meadows.

Smith finished the game completing 12-of-21 passes for 66 yards and two interceptions.

"Waco High has 17 underclassmen and they will be a 4A school next year because their enrollment is under 1,800," said Lee head coach Mike Owens. "Defensively, they look as good as I've ever seen. Their offense is struggling a little bit with a bunch of young kids. You could not afford to turn the ball over, and they did just that."

Defensively, the Lions are built around Don'Tay Ward, a 295-pound senior defensive tackle, who had 56 tackles a year ago.

Owens said Waco also has senior Chris Johnson, who is a sibling of former Waco standout and current Kansas City Chief Derrick Johnson.

"Coach (Johnny) Tusa said it is the best defensive team he's had since he's been there," Owens said. "If that's the case, then they are some hosses."

The Lions made it to the Class 5A Division II bi-district round last season after finishing with a 7-4 record. One of those four losses was to Lee, which defeated Waco 35-14 at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

This is significant because Lee is 2-4 overall against Waco, all four losses coming at Waco I.S.D. Stadium. In fact, Lee won its first game ever at Waco I.S.D. Stadium during last-year's state title run when it defeated Round Rock McNeil.

What exactly does it take to be totally dominated in your opinion? Waco had 97 yds and Clemens right at 350! You keep forgetting to mention the fact that Clemens had two critical turnovers that stopped very good drives in Waco's end of the field and that Clemens had 11 penalties to Waco's 1. One of those penalties that showed up as a 10 yarder really cost Clemens about 40 yards of field possesion on an INT return. Clemens would have had a 1st and 10 inside of Waco's 20 yardline! If you were there like I was, you have to agree that Clemens could have scored at least 3 more TDs but not for stupid mistakes. I'm not taking anything away from Waco in any way, but take a second look at the score and the stats and I'd call that a dominating performance by the Buffs!

[clemensbuff]

WACO DEFENSE COULD CAUSE LEE PROBLEMS
By CHRIS PARRY, Staff Writer
08/31/2005




The Waco Lions were held to a meager 97 yards of offense last week in their 21-0 season-opening loss to Schertz Clemens.

Advertisement


But a closer look reveals Schertz Clemens did not dominate Waco as much as the stats suggest.

Waco held Schertz Clemens running back James Henry - rumored to be going to Oklahoma - to 96 yards on 24 carries. The Lions gave up 21 points, but also turned the ball over four times, giving Schertz Clemens a short field. And finally, Waco is breaking in youngsters on offense, as with junior quarterback Bryan Smith and junior wideouts Ronald Home and Ben Meadows.

Smith finished the game completing 12-of-21 passes for 66 yards and two interceptions.

"Waco High has 17 underclassmen and they will be a 4A school next year because their enrollment is under 1,800," said Lee head coach Mike Owens. "Defensively, they look as good as I've ever seen. Their offense is struggling a little bit with a bunch of young kids. You could not afford to turn the ball over, and they did just that."

Defensively, the Lions are built around Don'Tay Ward, a 295-pound senior defensive tackle, who had 56 tackles a year ago.

Owens said Waco also has senior Chris Johnson, who is a sibling of former Waco standout and current Kansas City Chief Derrick Johnson.

"Coach (Johnny) Tusa said it is the best defensive team he's had since he's been there," Owens said. "If that's the case, then they are some hosses."

The Lions made it to the Class 5A Division II bi-district round last season after finishing with a 7-4 record. One of those four losses was to Lee, which defeated Waco 35-14 at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

This is significant because Lee is 2-4 overall against Waco, all four losses coming at Waco I.S.D. Stadium. In fact, Lee won its first game ever at Waco I.S.D. Stadium during last-year's state title run when it defeated Round Rock McNeil.


By the way, James Henry is verbally committed to OU. And yes, Waco did a great job on slowing him down last Friday. But, he is not playing the position that OU wants him for. He will more than likely be playing DB at OU!

[clemensbuff]

I can't wait until we drop down! Waco vs LaMarque in a state championship game.......

Hey supercentex, don't count your chickens before they hatch. I'll put any of the top notch 4a squads against any of the top notch 5a squads and they will hold their own. If you want proof, just ask Austin Westlake. They couldn't win one in 4a, but they sure did it quickly in 5a! Look back to some of Stepheville's sqads in the 90's. I can't remember the exact year they did it, but do you remember the team that thrashed LaMarque in the final? That was far and away the best team in the state that year in all classifications and probably the nation. I'm not saying that Waco won't win it, but it isn't going to be as easy as you are making it out to be.

[Bootsdaddy]

Hey supercentex, don't count your chickens before they hatch. I'll put any of the top notch 4a squads against any of the top notch 5a squads and they will hold their own. If you want proof, just ask Austin Westlake. They couldn't win one in 4a, but they sure did it quickly in 5a! Look back to some of Stepheville's sqads in the 90's. I can't remember the exact year they did it, but do you remember the team that thrashed LaMarque in the final? That was far and away the best team in the state that year in all classifications and probably the nation. I'm not saying that Waco won't win it, but it isn't going to be as easy as you are making it out to be.

Kinda of like last year when state champ Kilgore beat John Tyler 7-6. And how many times in a row has Marshall lost to Longview? And JT beating highly ranked Texas High last week? Oh wait a minute...JT has been awful for 5 years.

[supercentex]

Coming on strong

By Brice Cherry Tribune-Herald staff writer

Friday, September 02, 2005

On a team full of quarter-pounders, Dan'Tay Ward is a double whopper with cheese.

It's no secret that Waco High is short on beef this season, except in the middle of the defensive line, where Ward takes up serious space. This 6-foot-2, 295-pound senior outweighs every other Lion player on the roster by at least 35 pounds.

He's not a handful, he's two handfuls.

“Dan'Tay sticks out on this football team,” Waco High coach Johnny Tusa said. “We'd like for him to be the norm, not the exception, but such is not the case.”

He's known, fittingly, as “Big Ward” around the Lion locker room, and his teammates and coaches expect him to have a heavy impact on Waco High's playoff chances in 2005. He already casts a rather imposing shadow.

“People know about him well in advance,” Tusa said. “Dan'Tay bruised his knee a little bit against Clemens last week, and I was talking to the coach at (Corpus Christi) Calallen today and he's already asking, ‘How's the big boy's knee?' They already know. They're already aware.”

With his combination of bulk and power, Ward is about as easy to move as a tree stump. But he's also blessed with some sweet skills to go along with his prodigious size, skills that have led to an early commitment to play at Baylor.

“Obviously his strength is his strength,” Tusa said. “Secondly, he's got very good feet for a big guy. Those are two prerequisites that regardless of what position you play, have to be manifested at all times defensively. Then he's been driving himself, working hard all summer, to prepare himself to hopefully play at the next level. All of those ingredients play a role in his progress as a defensive lineman.”

About the only thing small about Ward is his statistics. As a junior last year, Ward made 57 tackles, including 36 solos, in the middle of the Lions' defensive front, numbers that don't exactly pop off the page. Yet, as with most defensive linemen, his value can't be tallied in tackles.

“I just want to get my linebackers free,” Ward said. “As long as my linebackers are free, they're going to make the tackles and penetrate into the backfield. I'll make tackles, too, but my main goal is to free up my linebackers and let them make the tackles.”

“He may not have the numbers, and great defensive linemen don't,” Tusa said. “They don't have the tackles, the linebackers should have the tackles.”

Ward could probably notch triple-digit tackle numbers this season if he only had one blocker to contend with on every snap. But with his combination of muscle and hustle, he demands constant attention, and frequently occupies two or three blockers at a time.

“If they can spend five guys on four or six on five, then somebody's running free,” Tusa said. “That's pretty much how we try to play that. We try to put Dan'Tay in a position where he's got to be taken by the guard and the tackle or the center and the guard and if that transpires, then the mike linebacker has a better run at things.”

Ward said he doesn't mind sacrificing himself in that manner for the sake of team glory. In fact, he views the two- and three-member bear hugs he routinely draws from opponents as nothing more than tough love.

“I take it as a sign of respect, because if they didn't double or triple-team me, there's no telling what could happen,” Ward said. “I just know I'm a big guy and that they need more than one guy to handle me. It gets frustrating sometimes, because it gets ugly down there, big boys going against big boys. But it's a sign of respect to me that they have to double-team me. Plus, it opens up my linebackers, so I love it even more.”

That said, Ward has no problem getting in on the action himself. He said he's always on the prowl for a defensive touchdown – “The referees blow the whistle too fast,” he lamented – and he also has a fondness for sacks seldom seen outside of anyone but a grocery-store bag boy.

“Man, to us on the D-line, a sack is almost like a running back taking it in for a touchdown,” Ward said. “We kill to get a sack.”

Ward will get another chance to bag a quarterback tonight when the mighty Tyler Lee Red Raiders, the defending Class 5A Division I state champions, roll into town. Not one to back down from a challenge, Ward can't wait to throw his hefty weight around against Tyler Lee.

“My favorite part of football is the competition, and to upset people,” he said. “We're picked to lose a lot of games this year, but I just like to upset people and prove them wrong. That, and I like a little contact.”

bcherry@wacotrib.com

757-5714

—— WACO ISD HALL OF FAME GAME ——

Tyler Lee (1-0) vs. Waco High (0-1)

7:30 p.m., Waco ISD Stadium

Last year: Tyler Lee 35, Waco High 14 (at Rose Stadium, Tyler)

Notes: The Red Raiders are the defending Class 5A Division I state champions. ... Waco High is 12-1 all-time in non-district games at Waco ISD Stadium, and hasn't lost since falling to Longview, 24-6, on Oct. 6, 2000. ... New Waco ISD athletic Hall of Famers Charlie Pack, Julian Oates and Todd Haney will be recognized at halftime of tonight's game.

[pack0808]

No, we're still 2-ZIP over Marshall.........

I should have said the current 5a east texas schools.

[pack0808]

Kinda of like last year when state champ Kilgore beat John Tyler 7-6. And how many times in a row has Marshall lost to Longview? And JT beating highly ranked Texas High last week? Oh wait a minute...JT has been awful for 5 years.


You left out that Garland beat 4a kings Ennis last year. Garland lost in the 1st round in 5a while Ennis beat Marshall for the 4a div1 championship by 1 point. Oh yeah Longview beat Marshall 40-15 last year and just beat them again easily this year. Didn't some weak 5a team lose to Ennis by 1 point last week. FM Marcus i think?? I know they used to be good but now they are a weak 5a team. Sorry, In the past few years there is no comparison between 4a and 5a.

[bleedgreen]

Waco is 0-8 against Longview, if my memory is correct?? i don't think dropping down to 4A will assure you a shot at a state title....they would have to contend with LaMarque, Stephenville, Ennis, Marshall, Kilgore, Texas High--etc.......pretty salty teams in that list and many more that i don't have time to post right now.....any of those teams could beat good 5A teams, including Waco.....Tyler Lee whips Waco again this time around............

[pack0808]

Those teams could beat the good 5a teams but not the great ones Bleed. That might win one shocker if the 4a top 5 played the 5a top 5 but that is about it.

[KT2000]

Yeah, yeah, yeah we know Waco has a good defense but dangit when are yall going to get an offense to match and finally win state? ;)

[RedRage00]

I can't wait until we drop down! Waco vs LaMarque in a state championship game.......

Why would you be proud of having to drop a class just to win a state title :p :D

[Red Raiders]

I think waco will do very well in 4A.

I agree.

[Red Raiders]

Yeah, yeah, yeah we know Waco has a good defense but dangit when are yall going to get an offense to match and finally win state? ;)

Yes I know, Waco offense is terrible and so our offense is probably one of powerful in state. Our defense is so much improving so it will stop Waco offense and I expect this will be a better game than last week for us vs Chaminade Madonna (FL).

[TheDawghouse]

Waco is dropping to 4A? How is that possible?

[supercentex]

Waco is dropping to 4A? How is that possible?

For the past two years we have been playing with 4-A numbers....

This year we have under 1,700 students....

[Red Raiders]

For the past two years we have been playing with 4-A numbers....

This year we have under 1,700 students....

John Tyler is 2,000 right now I think.