Ricebirds prepare for La Marque rematch
By KRIS BAGLEY sports@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Chris Barbee Run On, Ricebird Quarterback Tyler Woods (46) rounds the corner against the Lamar Consolidated Mustangs Friday while Anthony Terrell (30) trails the action. The Ricebirds will take on La Marque Saturday at Rosenberg for the first round of the playoffs.

24-4A Football DISTRICT STANDINGS

After El Campo's first-round playoff exit in 2006, the Ricebirds wanted another shot at taking on last year's eventual state champion La Marque Cougars.

In a game where only a couple of plays could have changed the fates for these two teams, the Cougars escaped El Campo's grasp with a 24-17 win.

El Campo's shot at revenge comes at 2 p.m. Saturday when the Ricebirds host the Cougars at Traylor Stadium in Rosenberg.

A first-round rematch with La Marque is not exactly what the 'Birds were hoping for, but with a state championship as the goal, the Cougars present both an obstacle and an opportunity to make a big opening statement to start the post-season.

"Obviously, I think anybody would rather not play La Marque in the first round because of their history," Bob Gillis, coach of the Ricebirds, said. "Certainly, we've got a lot of history between La Marque and El Campo. If you're going to face them, and I certainly think we have a chance to win, you might as well face them in the first round and get them out of the way."

Saturday marks the fifth playoff game since 1996 between the Ricebirds and Cougars. La Marque leads the series 4-0 and brings a stout playoff record to face El Campo.

La Marque's last first-round playoff loss came in 1985 against Pasadena Dobie. Since then, the Cougars have qualified for the post-season 20 times and claimed five state titles, including last year.

The Ricebirds are coming off a diffi- cult 41-22 loss to Lamar Consolidated. El Campo led the Mustangs most of the first half, but fell in the second half. The 'Birds took on one of the top programs in the state Friday and it could give them momentum moving into Saturday's game with La Marque.

"It's tough when you face two really good teams back to back - two of probably the top teams in the state," Gillis said. "As the old saying goes, 'You have to beat the best to be the best.' That's what we're going to try to do. Sooner or later we'll need to beat La Marque in order to win a state championship."

La Marque finished third in District 23-4A with an 8-2 record. Despite losses to Texas City and Dickinson, the Cougars are still considered a championship contender out of possibly the toughest district in the state.

"They're very good," Gillis said. "I don't think anybody needs to kid themselves. I know they lost two games and they're 8-2. They lost two district games, which normally doesn't hap- pen. They are a very, very good football team."

La Marque is facing the advantages and disadvantages of such a competitive district this week as the playoffs draw near.

"Obviously, the positive is that it gets you ready," Gillis said. "You face good teams and you understand that it's going to be a dog fight every week. I guess the negative is that it could get you beat up a little bit for the playoffs.

"The difference for La Marque is they didn't play last week. They were open last week, so they had a chance to not only prepare for El Campo, but to get some of their kids who were probably a little banged up back."

One of the Cougars strength is their speed on defense. La Marque holds opponents to an average 277 yards and are an efficient group.

"Defensively, I don't think they're huge, but they're real fast," Gillis said. "They can run to the ball. For us to have any type of chance, we're going to have to be patient and not get frustrated. If they do stop us, it's going to be a process in making yards because their defense is very quick."

La Marque's offense that poses a strong threat to the Ricebirds. Led by quarterback Jarius Kerlegan, the Cougars operate a spread attack. The formation can mean a lot of passing and running yards for this team.

Kerlegan's first start for La Marque was in the first round against El Campo last year.

This season, Kerlegan has completed 117 of 230 passes for 1,367 yards and seven touchdowns. The quarterback is also a threat on the ground. He has rushed for seven touchdowns and 306 yards this season.

Along with their quarterback, the Cougars use multiple running backs in their attack.

"They've got their quarterback back from last year," Gillis said. "He can throw the ball and he can run the ball. They've got two or three running backs and they all look the same to me. They're very quick, strong and fast."

Lamar Consolidated 41,

Ricebirds 22

El Campo played in a tough match Friday in Rosenberg for a shot at a share of the district title. The Ricebirds faced one of the state's best running backs in Jacquizz Rodgers and found out how an elite athlete can take over a game.

Rodgers, who has committed to play for Oregon State University, ran for two touchdowns, caught one and threw for another against El Campo.

"What I saw the other night was Jacquizz Rodgers and the athlete that he is, he basically took the game over," Gillis said. "There's not many kids in the state of Texas that can do that and he can do it. That performance is probably one of the best I've ever seen."

The final score is a bit misleading. Strong defensive play and consistent offense helped the Ricebirds take a 16-14 lead in the first half.

"I thought the first half, we played pretty good and I thought the second half, we didn't play good at all," Gillis said. "Part of that was Lamar Consolidated. That's probably the best I've seen them play in the second half. They turned it up a notch. They made the plays and we didn't. We had some crucial mistakes and they didn't, so they won the second half."

The first score of the game came on a field goal try blocked by Landon Appling. Thad Deiss grabbed the live ball and returned it from the Mustangs' 35-yard line to give the Ricebirds a 7-0 lead.

Lamar answered with two touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead, but a touchdown by Maverick Smith tied the game with 3:11 left in the first half.

A bad snap on a Lamar punt attempt into the end zone gave El Campo a safety and a 16-14 lead at the half.

GIVE THE 'BIRDS A GOOD SEND OFF

Saturday at 10:15 a.m., fans are asked to help line the drive out of the parking area behind the field house and down Pecan Street to help pump up the Ricebirds for their playoff game with La Marque.

Bring your pompoms, banners, signs, flags, horns, cow bells, balloons and, of course, your voices!