supercentex
11-12-2005, 10:15 AM
Knights to face powerhouse No. 4 Lufkin
By Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS — After a tense final three weeks of the regular season, the Harker Heights Knights finally accomplished the goal of reaching the playoffs.
Their reward? A date with fourth-ranked Lufkin.
How good are the undefeated Panthers? Their average margin of victory is 31 points and their closest game was a 13-point win over Nacogdoches in their nondistrict finale.
"They're real good," Harker Heights coach Ross Rogers said. "Really, really fast.
"Nobody's played them good. They just blow everybody out. They are just a shinier version of Shoemaker — really poised, really quick and they make a lot of good things happen."
Lufkin (10-0) went 14-1 last season, led by the power running of current Texas A&M standout Jorvorskie Lane. This year's offense is more pass-oriented, based around a stellar receiving corps, led by Dez Bryant (38 catches, 844 yards, 12 TDs), Ralph Thomas (27-449, 3) and A&M pledge E.J. Shankle (16-250, 2).
Of course, receivers can only be as good as the quarterback feeding them the ball and the Panthers are set at that spot as well.
Junior Jeremy Claybon has had a brilliant varsity debut, completing 94 of 160 passes for 1,881 yards and 18 touchdowns, with only six interceptions. He can run, too, although he prefers to pass.
He was 7-of-8 passing for 217 yards in Lufkin's 48-0 win at Klein Collins in the regular season finale last week.
"He's a heck of a player," Rogers said of the left-hander. "You think you're watching Michael Vick.
"Even when he scrambles, he's going to try to throw the ball."
Lufkin coach John Outlaw's main concern when the season started was the offensive line.
"We lost all those guys and, actually, we only had two guys coming back that played at all," he said.
That unit, however, has helped the team average nearly 40 points and 360 yards per game.
As good as the Panthers are on offense, their defense may be even better. Most of the starters returned on that side of the ball and the unit is yielding only nine points per game. The Panther defense scored three times in a 42-17 win over The Woodlands. In the season opener, it limited Aldine Eisenhower to negative yardage.
Defensive back Leonard Hewitt and linebacker Mandela Roberts are the stars of the defense. Hewitt, an all-stater, picked off 11 passes last season and has seven so far this year.
"If you throw it near him, he's gonna get it," Outlaw said.
Lufkin's special teams are also superb. Kicker Jaime Fernandez routinely kicks the ball out of the end zone. He kicked three 40-plus-yard field goals in a 37-21 win against Klein Forest.
It seems like a bleak picture for the Knights, but they have played their best against the best teams on their schedule. Heights (6-4) had a fourth-quarter lead on No. 7 Copperas Cove and lost in the final minute against A&M Consolidated.
"We're going to have to have some things go our way," Rogers said. "It'd be fun to hang with them and be in the fourth quarter and have a shot.
"That could be to our advantage if we were able to stun them with something or get a turnover, because they haven't been in a close game.
"And that's a strength of ours," he joked.
Contact Mark W. Miller at markm@kdhnews.com
GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m. today at Waco ISD Stadium
RADIO: None (KNCT-FM 91.3 will provide live score updates every 10-15 minutes)
RECORDS: Harker Heights (6-4), No. 4 Lufkin (10-0)
LAST WEEK: At Harker Heights 28, Waco 20. Lufkin 48, at Klein Collins 0.
NOTES: One rating service lists the Knights as a 33-point underdog. ... Lukfin coach John Outlaw (231-72-5) is completing his 10th season with the Panthers. He's won 16 district titles and three state championships in his career. ... A send-off pep rally for the Knights will be held today at 10 a.m. in the HHHS student parking lot.
By Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS — After a tense final three weeks of the regular season, the Harker Heights Knights finally accomplished the goal of reaching the playoffs.
Their reward? A date with fourth-ranked Lufkin.
How good are the undefeated Panthers? Their average margin of victory is 31 points and their closest game was a 13-point win over Nacogdoches in their nondistrict finale.
"They're real good," Harker Heights coach Ross Rogers said. "Really, really fast.
"Nobody's played them good. They just blow everybody out. They are just a shinier version of Shoemaker — really poised, really quick and they make a lot of good things happen."
Lufkin (10-0) went 14-1 last season, led by the power running of current Texas A&M standout Jorvorskie Lane. This year's offense is more pass-oriented, based around a stellar receiving corps, led by Dez Bryant (38 catches, 844 yards, 12 TDs), Ralph Thomas (27-449, 3) and A&M pledge E.J. Shankle (16-250, 2).
Of course, receivers can only be as good as the quarterback feeding them the ball and the Panthers are set at that spot as well.
Junior Jeremy Claybon has had a brilliant varsity debut, completing 94 of 160 passes for 1,881 yards and 18 touchdowns, with only six interceptions. He can run, too, although he prefers to pass.
He was 7-of-8 passing for 217 yards in Lufkin's 48-0 win at Klein Collins in the regular season finale last week.
"He's a heck of a player," Rogers said of the left-hander. "You think you're watching Michael Vick.
"Even when he scrambles, he's going to try to throw the ball."
Lufkin coach John Outlaw's main concern when the season started was the offensive line.
"We lost all those guys and, actually, we only had two guys coming back that played at all," he said.
That unit, however, has helped the team average nearly 40 points and 360 yards per game.
As good as the Panthers are on offense, their defense may be even better. Most of the starters returned on that side of the ball and the unit is yielding only nine points per game. The Panther defense scored three times in a 42-17 win over The Woodlands. In the season opener, it limited Aldine Eisenhower to negative yardage.
Defensive back Leonard Hewitt and linebacker Mandela Roberts are the stars of the defense. Hewitt, an all-stater, picked off 11 passes last season and has seven so far this year.
"If you throw it near him, he's gonna get it," Outlaw said.
Lufkin's special teams are also superb. Kicker Jaime Fernandez routinely kicks the ball out of the end zone. He kicked three 40-plus-yard field goals in a 37-21 win against Klein Forest.
It seems like a bleak picture for the Knights, but they have played their best against the best teams on their schedule. Heights (6-4) had a fourth-quarter lead on No. 7 Copperas Cove and lost in the final minute against A&M Consolidated.
"We're going to have to have some things go our way," Rogers said. "It'd be fun to hang with them and be in the fourth quarter and have a shot.
"That could be to our advantage if we were able to stun them with something or get a turnover, because they haven't been in a close game.
"And that's a strength of ours," he joked.
Contact Mark W. Miller at markm@kdhnews.com
GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m. today at Waco ISD Stadium
RADIO: None (KNCT-FM 91.3 will provide live score updates every 10-15 minutes)
RECORDS: Harker Heights (6-4), No. 4 Lufkin (10-0)
LAST WEEK: At Harker Heights 28, Waco 20. Lufkin 48, at Klein Collins 0.
NOTES: One rating service lists the Knights as a 33-point underdog. ... Lukfin coach John Outlaw (231-72-5) is completing his 10th season with the Panthers. He's won 16 district titles and three state championships in his career. ... A send-off pep rally for the Knights will be held today at 10 a.m. in the HHHS student parking lot.