82 5A State Champs

Sour ending to a great season. 11-2 isn't bad. Hold your heads high, young Bruins. Better season, next year.

Ozen is, and always will be, the Golden Child of the district. It was Thomas' baby.

Been saying that for a week, now.

Best defense West Brook has seen, aside from The Woodlands .

Not sure if Flanagan's presence would have made much of a difference in the score. I felt like, going into this game, West Brook was over matched. We've never played very well against Westfield, and haven't ever beaten them. Hoping our offense shows up, and makes it a competitive game, in the second half.

The situation is trivial , at best, but I understand why the district is taking the stance that they have. If what I'm hearing is true, it was kind of a dumb thing he did.

Hmmmm. Wonder what's up with that? Definitely lessens our chances of beating an already tough opponent, today. But, maybe those kids can thrive in the face of adversity !

Wow!

Incidentally, the 1982 Bruins set some records, that had never happened, at that point, and are still unbelievable. They were the first school in 5A to win a state championship in its infancy, or its first year of existence. They were the first school in 5A to win a title with a black head coach. They were the first school to win a state title from the Runner up position, in District, entering the playoffs (Thomas Jefferson was the district championship for 22-5A). And West Brook was the first school in 5A to win a state title with more than one loss. The Bruins posted a record of 11-4-1, that year. Just some fun facts that make this the Bruins fun to watch , and be a part of. If WB wins, against Westfield, they will make history, because it will be the first 12 win season in school history.

West Brook had so many things go their way, that year. The ball bounced their way a bunch of times, from Jerry Ball blocking a Sterling FG attempt, that would have won the game for the Rangers, in the Area Round, to the 4th and 33 yard conversion (botched punt attempt for the Bruins, that was thrown) for a TD, in the Semi Final game against Judson, the Bruins had a lot of luck. It's very, very difficult to get to a state title game, much less win one. I'm not suggesting they can't get back to another one, I'm simply saying they're going to have to have a staple win, or multiple wins. Beating Westfield would be a statement win. I hope our boys can pull it off.

Well, only 2 times school history, has WB made it to the 4th round. The 82 season, and the 97 season. The 82 team also had several players make it to the NFL. So, the talent level is definitely there. It comes down to coaching. Katy routinely has long playoff runs, and seldom puts players into the NFL .

It was more than just that one play, bud. Clemens was the better team, that day, and they won. Never mind that they got monkey stomped, the following week, by Katy. lol

I disagree, bro. If Durley doesn't have cancer, I think WB could have won another state title. The 83 season, they were undefeated, until Dickinson beat Brook, in the second round. Darley died in 84, before the season started.Then we get Leo Nolan, who coached for 2 seasons, and did ok, but didn't set the world on fire. Hentschel coached from 86 to 96, and had 3 undefeated seasons, but couldn't win in the playoffs. Al Rabb coached from 97 to 04, and we all know how bad WB was then, except for the Chip Ambres 97 team. Stump coached from 05 to 12, and had playoff wins in all of his seasons, as head coach, except for his last season, when little Stump was the QB. I'm proud of what this team has done, with this coaching staff. They have gotten a lot better, over the last couple of seasons. I hope we'replaying football, in December, but that's very difficult to do.

Well, the rain was our friend, in that game. When it stopped raining, it allowed Carr to go to work, and he torched our secondary. WB was up by 11, with 7 minutes left in the game, and lost 33-31. The rain forced FB Clemens, not Hightower, to run the ball, and we defended it well. When Carr started passing the ball, is when the wheels came off. If it doesn't rain, I think Clemens wins that game by alot more than 2.

West Brook is in a position to do something no Bruin team, in history, has done. In all of West Brook's years, and all the success they've had, no Bruin team has ever won 12 games in a single season. This 11 win season marks just the 6th time that feat has been accomplished. I'd love for us to get to 12, but my gut says Westfield will be too much. But, I didn't think we'd be sitting here, either, so maybe I'll be wrong. Go Brook!

Man, I'd love to agree with you, but I think our defense is too suspect. We can't keep outscoring opponents, if the defense doesn't help out. Plus, our history against Westfield, tells me they'll win easy. I hope I'm wrong, but I think this is a blowout loss for Brook.

Ok, who ya got? The record would say Brook, is the favorite. But, my gut says the Bruins lack of defense, gets us a trip to the losers lounge, and that the Mustangs roll us.....BAD! Thoughts?

OMG! 69 points in a playoff game. That's crazy! But, a win is a win, and we'll take it. I never would have thought , at the beginning of the season, that we'd be sitting at 11-1, and moving on to the third round of the playoffs. Go Brook !

West Brook 62 Centennial 45

Is this the Lufkin game, all over, again? No defense, whatsoever!

We may win this one, but the ride will be over, next week. Westfield will smoke us!

Update? 41-38????

Update???

I think that could be a fare assessment. This team is similar to that one, in that they are both young, and unproven. Reyes was a great, dual threat QB, and Jeremy Cooper really came into his own, late in that season. This year's team is gaining valuable experience, in a trial by fire mindset, if you will. The biggest difference I see is in the coaching. Craig had proven that he could routinely go 2, to 3, rounds deep in the playoffs, as he had done several times, with prior teams. Can this coaching staff do the same thing, and be able to manage the game, and adjust the game plan on the fly? That remains to be seen, but they've won 10 games, so far. Every team is different. The 82 state championship team lost 4 of its first 6, before they got it together. But, once they did, they rewrote history. Can this young team do the same? We shall see.

The success of this year's team, was suppose to be a few years away. West Brook has over achieved, considering we only had 3 returning starters on offense, and 3 on defense. So, for the Bruins to have been this successful, this season, makes me look forward to next season, when the majority of the team will be returning. The Highlanders are still the team to beat, in this district, but I do expect a lot better game, in our match up, next year.