Darth Texas

They absolutely should have beaten Cuero. An awful no-call on a big completion by Cuero when the QBs knee touched the ground. Silsbee was better, just didn’t go their way. Carthage would have killed them in state, but it would have been awesome to get to go.

That game had me convinced WOS was back. They played us so hard, and we barely tied it up in time.

It speaks to the quality of coach Neumann was. When Joseph started playing guys both ways, it was immediately clear what a difference it made. Seemed almost too obvious. We should have been doing it all these years. Few, if any, high school teams have the depth to have exclusive specialists. It’s arrogance to assume you’re so good you only need to use your best tools some of the time.

It was on TexanLive. I had it on the whole game while at the La Porte game.

WOS has never been as big or bigger than PNG and are 20-9 all time vs PNG. That includes beating some very good PNG teams, including the year we went to state in 1999. Something is different at WOS and it’s not enrollment.

The stadium is really, really beautiful. A palace. The seating is comfortable too. My only complaint was the concessions didn’t have any pizza.

Good game La Porte. Every time Simon or Ruffin touched the ball I held my breath. Ya’ll have a super good team.

Guess I was wrong about a high-scoring game

Simon is one of most difficult runners I’ve ever seen. PNG is reading nearly every play just right and he’s just plowing through contact. He should be a much higher prospect. Micah Rhodes isn’t as good as him.

Simon and Ruffin are lethal. Grown men.

This stadium is amazing

A teacher from goose creek ISD , Jennifer Courtemanche, was on X mocking Charlie Kirk and blaming him for getting killed. I hope the ISD hears about this. I don’t think someone celebrating a political assassination should be anywhere near kids. I took a screenshot, but it won’t let me upload the picture because it’s too big

Look at La Porte, Nederland, PNG, South Oak Cliff — Teams who, in recent years mostly run the ball. I’d guess it’s 3/4 plus are run plays for PNG the last two years. You don’t have to go full Mike Leach. Just call plays that match the situation on the field, not some pre-existing stubborn commitment to “we do [blank] no matter what.”

It should be political. The political system produced this.

Nederland’s defense is good. We don’t know how good yet since they haven’t faced an offense that can really challenge through the air. But, the sky definitely isn’t falling. Whatever the problems Nederland had moving the ball against WOS, it was pretty clear WOS was having a miserable time against the Nederland D. Silsbee’s probably a different test since they can sling it.

My pick for PNG is an unashamed homer pick. I think this is a 50/50 game. La Porte has three big strengths: (1) o-line La Porte’s o-line is elite. They’re playing like PNg’s o-line from last season. PNG’s o-line is just good, but not at La Porte’s level. (2) Simon Simon is going to be a problem, especially if we can’t get a lot of guys around him. (3) consistency This is probably their biggest strength. They aren’t perfect, and they have long stretches of their last two games where they fall off the wagon. But they’re really good at snapping back to executing how they’re supposed to execute. They don’t get rattled. The key for PNG is going to be creating balance on offense — I don’t think we win if we have to win on the ground, but we have to run enough to keep the passing lanes open. I think the most important thing for PnG is for the defense to continue their big step forward from last season. If we can get the defense off the field and get something going offensively, we can make things interesting. overall, I’m less interested in the score (of course I’d want to win) than in how we play. We need a tough preseason game to get us ready for district and the playoffs, and a little humility wouldn’t hurt. If we lose this game but learn things that makes us lethal down the road, I’m thrilled. Still, a win would also be nice.

The X factor is Silsbee’s passing game. Run defense has been good for Ned, and I don’t expect them to struggle too much unless Silsbee can keep the ball moving through the air. We haven’t yet had to see how Ned deals with a strong qb. I think this one will be higher scoring just because I think Nederland is going to figure out some more offense, but I’m going with Silsbee, 38-31.

Does anyone have a link for tickets? I went to the La Porte website and all I can find is a link for season passes. I know for some schools they sometimes don’t drop until Monday.

I’m telling you: Calling the defense the “blue link” (which, as far as I can tell, no one but administrators and game announcers use, because it sounds stupid) is bad juju. Ever since the name change, WOS hasn’t been the same.

I forgot to add a poll. If someone knows how to add that after starting the thread, feel free to add it.

One of the biggest matchups in the state. Let’s hear it.

The first game BU went up some big number in the first quarter. PNG’s defense was atrocious. I think it was 24-0 at one point. BU still managed to lose. I will say that BU looked much better than the last couple years defensively. The turnovers are what put them in the hole so fast. If they simply kept the ball this would have been a closer game.

Png 6-0. First matchup in 2020, and they’ve played every year since.

Vidor might as well give up the slot T/wing t thing and just run a normal offense. You can’t run a Liberty Hill-style offense without Liberty Hill’s execution and discipline. Vidor’s never been at that level. They could, but they haven’t yet.

I only watched in bits and pieces but there were a few plays where Coach Thompson would have been biting straight through his clipboard. Also, whatever problems Nederland has, their d-line is legit.