'Outgunning Rangers' Ricebird battle cry
Undefeated Ricebirds put 5-0 record on line in Rosenberg against Terry
By KRIS BAGLEY sports@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Chris Barbee The One That Got Away Bobby Jack Polasek almost wrestled Brazosport's quarterback Melvin White to the ground Friday. The two collided in mid air and fought for a few seconds before White got rid of the ball to avoid the sack. El Campo will take on Terry Friday.

District begins Friday and for El Campo, the first game has a bit of a revenge factor as the Ricebirds travel to Rosenberg to play the Terry Rangers.

Last year is too familiar to Head Coach Bob Gillis. He said he does not want to start district off again with a loss to Terry.

"The first district game is a big game," he said. "Not that the other ones aren't important. We started off 0-1 last year in district after going 5- 0. We're in the same situation, recordwise. We just need to play better football than we did last year. Hopefully we can come out on top against Terry."

The Ricebirds finished district strong last year and only lost one other game, to Lamar Consolidated. El Campo made it to the playoffs with only two district losses, so Gillis knows even if his team stumbles, they won't be out of the playoff picture.

"If you take care of your business in the next few weeks, it doesn't hurt (too bad)," he said. "You can still come back. Any team would rather be 1-0 than 0- 1. But it's just like everything else, if you're 1-0, that doesn't guarantee you anything and if you're 0-1, it doesn't mean that you're out."

The opening week of district play should have a large impact in the race for the post season.

After El Campo and Terry face off at Traylor Stadium, Lamar Consolidated plays host to Bay City Saturday on the same field. Thursday, Foster hosts Seven Lakes there as well, so Lamar Consolidated has quite the advantage to start off district play.

"This first week is going to be real big for our district," Gillis said. "All the Rosenberg schools have the home-field advantage this week. A team with one loss, and some even with two losses, are still going to make the playoffs. But this is a big week for all the teams."

With the top three spots in district advancing to the playoffs, speculation is it's going to be a four-team race. El Campo, Terry, Lamar Consolidated and Bay City all bring momentum into the first district week.

Gillis said he feels encouraged by his team's play.

"The confidence I have in our team is that I know our kids are going to play hard," Gillis said. "I think any football coach will tell you that if your team will play hard, then you have a chance. I know our guys are going to play hard and do the best that we can do."

Terry will put a lot of stress on the Ricebird defense.

El Campo enters district with the best defense. The 'Birds have outscored opponents 142- 24 so far this season and only gave up, on average, 203.7 yards per game.

The Rangers are coming off a 46-32 win over Class 5A Conroe Oak Ridge where they gained a total of 363 yards.

Along with the outstanding offensive game, Terry's Anthony Brown returned two kick-offs for touchdowns against Oak Ridge.

Gillis said Brown's skills are scary at running back, receiver and returner.

"They've moved Anthony Brown from cornerback and receiver to tailback," Gillis said. "He had a monster game last week. They've changed their offense up to try to get him the ball, which is probably a smart thing to do."

Brown rushed for 113 yards and received 118 while scoring two touchdowns for the offense. Combined with his kick-returning game, Brown totaled 411 yards and four touchdowns.

"They beat Oak Ridge by 14 points and Anthony Brown scored two touchdowns on kickoff returns," Gillis said. "There's maybe not the difference, but a major blow to Oak Ridge. The kicking game can beat you."

El Campo's special teams have a lot of experience with speedy returners. In pre-district competition, the Ricebirds have done a good job limiting their opponents' returns.

"I've been real, real pleased with our kick-off team," Gillis said. "(Brazosport) had a lot of fast guys the other night and we kicked it deep and held them inside the 20-yard line, or right at the 20, a majority of the time."

Along with the special teams, Gillis said he knows his defense can do their jobs against even the toughest of opponents.

"We're not real fast, but I think we're pretty quick," he said. "For us to be successful, we've got to take the correct angles and be in the correct position. We don't have the speed to make up a misalignment."

That is exactly what happened Friday when El Campo topped Brazosport.

Ricebirds 34, Brazosport 7

El Campo's offense exploded while the defense held Brazosport to minimal yardage in a big win for homecoming.

One of the Ricebirds' top standouts of the game was fullback Anthony Terrell. He ended a great pre-district performance with 201 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries.

Landon Appling added on to Terrell's touchdown scores with a 20-yard run in the fourth quarter to give El Campo its 34 points.

El Campo's defense preserved the win by only allowing 239 total yards to the Exporters.

"I think our defensive tackles did a pretty good job," Gillis said, recognizing Bryan Skow, Gerrod Farrow and Daniel Tice for their excellent play. "Then we put Troy Lawson in and he did a good job.

"(The line was) Getting off their blocks and going to their spot when we moved them. That freed a lot of linebackers up. If linebackers are making plays, you can bet that the defensive front four are doing their job."

El Campo's linebackers are key to the defense's success and the line sets them up for big plays. Even if the linebackers are held up, the line usually comes in to help.

Kris Escobar, Christopher Raun and Parker Herrmann complete El Campo's primary defensive line rotation and are a strong combination.

"You can bet that the tackles and ends were doing a good job up front because our linebackers were making plays," Gillis said. "If they start blocking linebackers, then the defensive line starts making plays."

Along with strong play by the defense, Gillis recognized Tyler Woods for stepping up at quarterback and playing well.

"Tyler had a lot on his plate and he did a real good job for us," Gillis said. "For a guy who hasn't started a game at quarterback since his freshman year, calling the plays on offense, setting the defense and then doing the kicking game, most teams don't ask kids to do that. He's done very well and handled it."

24-4A FOOTBALL DISTRICT STANDINGS