OlDawg

I don’t remember seeing any attempts to Reynolds (TE) or Godbolt-Carr at all. I did like the quick slant to Peyton that was called back for penalty. But, it was a solid play. Looked like Wells (QB) was just a step off on timing with Wallace (WR) and Smith (WR). I’d love to see a drag route underneath with the threat of Wallace & Smith deep. Wallace is going to be very good! As is Dieudonne. Seeing Quentin’s boy on the field just made me feel old. Quentin Sr. was a year behind my son. I actually thought the D was respectable for as young as they are, and being on the field so long. The more they play together, the better they’ll be. I think they have the potential to be better than last year by a lot. Just need the Varsity reps together. Nothing wrong with the DL. LB’s need experience. Wells (QB) reminded me of Austin Upshaw. His legs, and ability to extend plays will pay big dividends down the road. I also like that he knew when to throw the ball away. I do like the new scheme. It uses all the talent better. Slot T served its purpose for the personnel. But, the pistol/pro fits these young men better. Just need the OL to gel. That will come. Time is short though.

Deer Park has found themselves an excellent QB, and they return a D1commit RB in Yates. The Deer are an always solid, perennial 6AD1 PO team who just happens to always run into North Shore 1st Round. Game 1, they blanked another perennial 6A PO team--Pearland Dawson--in Pearland 35-0. It wasn't close. The Deer appear to have a team that can challenge Dickinson for the District crown this year. La Porte looked--without sugarcoating it--pretty bad while going up against a very talented Fort Bend Crawford team. They'll need to really start gelling with the new offense in a hurry with every game counting next week. Actually, this rivalry game counts as much as a district game to many of the fans and players. Against Crawford, LP lost 2 OL from an already younger OL on consecutive plays in the first quarter, and the losses could be seen in execution from there on out. Hopefully, the young men are okay and can return. Status is unknown to me at this time. The Dawgs also had snap issues on a punt after stopping Crawford at the 5 yard line, gave up a safety, and gave Crawford another offensive possession. Later, they stopped Crawford again, had a mishandled snap in the endzone, gave up another safety, and gave Crawford another offensive possession. You can't give another offensive powerhouse 4 points & two extra offensive possessions and expect to win. Even with these miscues, and not running Simon all that much, they were within one score midway through the 4th. But, they just looked out of sync all night. I expect the Deer to take revenge at home for last year's loss to the Dawgs in a big way if LP doesn't play flawless. Thoughts?

La Porte started out 0-3 in 2024. Wound up in the Regional Finals without playing a single home game all year. This team is arguably more talented. Just depends on if they can put it all together. As bad as LP played against Crawford, and down 2 OL, it was a one score game mid 4th.

Outlook from June. I still think it's accurate. Of course, I didn't know at the time the entire O would change. If they come within 2 scores of the Deer at Abshier, I'll feel better about their learning curve. Deer Park shut out Pearland Dawson 35-0 in Pearland!

Good win Cougars!

Where did I say it was better? The crazy is you reading something that wasn’t there. I haven’t had either Beaumont school making the PO’s this year. Nothing has changed yet. Lufkin gets both Beaumont schools at home. That factors into my thinking as well. If you want your own rankings, man up & put them out there. These are mine. I’ll probably update them each week.

Maybe so. I know LP's OL should look better if they haven't been decimated in the 1st quarter of the 1st game already. Berneathy is an All-American college OL. I'm sure he'll be working directly with the OL, along with the other coaches. That's why I don't worry about LP's OL as much. As long as the injury bug hasn't wiped them out. The Deer will still whip them though. Too big of an ask at Abshier, while still in learning mode. Plus, it will be the revenge game year for DP.

Only because I watched BWB, and they struggled. Hard to judge BWB & BU yet, and RSS opponent wasn't much of a challenge. (Sorry Ganders.)

After Week 1, and seeing how teams played, I'm going to adjust my predictions. I'll probably wind up doing this weekly. Might be interesting. (Wish I knew the tie-breaks this year.) PAM - Clearly the front runner after an impressive performance against another solid opponent. La Porte - I'm holding them here for right now because of the opponent they played, and the skill talent. But, I wasn't aware they were going to TOTALLY change their offensive scheme in a year with less predistirct games to get accustomed. Don't get me wrong. I like the Pistol/Pro scheme much better than the Slot T for multiple reasons. Being able to both pass or run effectively instead of being so one dimensional will help in the long run, and they can use the QB's dual threat abilities. As an added bonus, it should help them learn to defend the pass better--which has been a historical weakness because they've not consistently been able to practice against the pass--which should help the D. But, the OL needs a lot of work, and I don't know about the 2 injuries now. The D actually looks like it has the potential to be a solid unit even after the blowout loss. They were in position. Fundamental tackling can be addressed, and Crawford's QB & WR were top notch talent. I think the Border Battle will be a massacre as the Deer have an impressive QB this year, and look to be a solid PO lock behind Dickinson in their district. It's going to take La Porte some time to learn the new schemes after so long running another offense. They're too busy learning right now to be able to just play. GCM - Until I see something different, I'm still going to keep them here. Lufkin - Somewhat similar boat to La Porte on O. Still learning. But, I still like their D. I can't fault them for their loss to Longview. They--and La Porte--probably played the toughest opponents of Week 1. No disrespect to the other opponents. Just the way I see it. Longview and Crawford will both advance very far in the PO's as long as the injury bug doesn't bite. (Crawford's program looked to have D1 numbers on their sideline.)

Should be able to just use spitballs & knock them out of the sky.

I'm okay with not knowing a whole lot about many of the small SETX football programs, and first time playing. It's a fun way to learn about some of the teams I know nothing about. I'm actually surprised I got 16.

LP will be fine. Tough year—with only 2 predistrict games—to totally change the offense though. Especially with a younger OL. The pistol/pro will suit these players better as they learn the new schemes. The D was actually in position most of the time. The Crawford QB was just throwing dimes, and when a little off, #3 had the size and talent to just go up and snatch it. Both had speed and elusiveness to burn. Not sure LP will see too many combos like them for awhile, and should have time to grow beforehand. LP is pretty young. I think many expected LP to still pound Simon all the time. That’s evidently not what they’re planning this year. He really didn’t get the ball that much. I assume by design, and not wanting to wear him out in games that don’t count.

Did you even watch this? All they talked about was how good Crawford was. The interview with Berneathy was pretty neutral.

Nope. The QB & WR combo of Crawford was flawless. They were fun to watch. But, exasperating from an LP view at the same time. As for LP, I can see why they changed the O to a Pistol/Pro setup. Wells is definitely like Upshaw & quicker than expected. When he finally started using his legs also, he made some big plays. He was on target on most of his passes. But, I counted at least 5-6 drops. LP’s WR’s are as advertised as far as speed & route running. The O change will be able to better use all LP weapons. But, it’s gonna take some time for them to learn since they’ve been running Slot T for so long now. The OL needs work. Losing 2 OL last night didn’t help. I don’t know their status, and won’t speculate. As for the D, they really didn’t look out of position. A lot of missed tackles on the Crawford QB during scrambles, and the WR #3. But, those players were exceptional, and known problems beforehand. I actually think the D has a chance to be better than last year even though they’re young. All in all, I think it was a good game to schedule. Now, they can work on issues they saw, and keep learning the new schemes.