griff

21 hours ago, CardinalBacker said:

Newton should be proud of all they've accomplished, but I believe they just don't get the same level of respect because they play in such a smaller division than most of the other "good" programs in the area. 

It's hard to say "we're the best" when there are probably 15 programs in the area (bigger schools) that would beat you on your best year. 

I admire the dedication and consistent results they get up there, though. It's impressive. Kinda like having a really neat model of a corvette instead of an actual corvette. 

WOS has my vote. 

And a big shout-out to Silsbee Tiger fans for not nominating themselves in this one. 

LOL...Always gotta get in that dig at Silsbee. 

22 hours ago, CardinalBacker said:

I like the way your post has been edited. Did you decided to walk it back or did some other reasonable person handle that for you?

A portion of my original post was editted by one of the moderators, not me. I've got no problem with him doing that. The comment made was accurate and true. There is nothing to walk back. 

I'm not confident that you know what "reasonable" is by inserting "protesting at military funerals". 

18 hours ago, CardinalBacker said:

Shouldn't you be out protesting at a military funeral or something?

Good grief...what a STRETCH. Asking to have this moved to a more appropriate thread and you equivocate that to protesting military funerals? Your thought process shows how shallow your mind is. Total absence of rationalization. You are WAAAYYY off base with that stupid assumption. 

There is nothing to applaud here. I hope the moderators remove this thread. It belongs in the "political and social commentary section" (if there is one), but not here in the high school sports forum. 

In the last few years, I have made this exact point on this message board about more than a few teams being unwilling (downright DECLINING) to play WO-S, while they had the opportunity to agree to play. Several posters did not believe me, but now we see the information has gone public. Coach T has never been one to toot his own horn or try to get public attention for himself. But since the Bmt Enterprise decided to do this article, now everyone knows what at least a few of us have known for years. This same problem has existed for WO-S since the Dan Hooks years, but the difficulty to schedule teams has never been higher than it is now. 

21 hours ago, L-Train11 said:

After 3 state championships this year, I would say us east of the trinity are no longer inferior to those west of the trinity

congrats to WOS, Silsbee, and PNG!!! Way to rep SETX!!

Why does anyone from the Golden Triangle/SETX buy into the "east of the Trinity" and "west of the Trinity" nonsense? It's only a fantasy dividing line from a few folks in BH and Crosby. Spend any amount of time around local sports fans in the Houston area, even the east side, and NO ONE will mention the magical Trinity marker. They will mostly refer to "the Beaumont area". The Trinity doesn't even come to mind. 

9 hours ago, Cat22 said:

What if Coach Thompson retires?

He's not retiring. 

21 minutes ago, ctown81 said:

No one questions the defense but I just don't see this offense being elite enough to hang with the larger classifications.

If the only game you watched from WO-S was the SC game, then I can see how you would think that. That was an anomaly because of decent defensive play by Sweetwater, two turnovers deep in the red zone, and our QB having an off day with his throwing. The offense averaged about 50 points per game. You also have to consider our excellent special teams play. It's all part of the game. Again, I don't believe WO-S could have won 5A, but to say they didn't have the offense to hang with them is short-sighted. 

12 minutes ago, ctown81 said:

How do you know the conversation Surratt and the Kilgore coach had? Not calling you a liar but curious about the source. Sounds odd that Kilgore would care about a hard hitting team in the preseason. I can only speak for Carthage, but I doubt we will see that matchup in the regular season due to the fact that Carthage doesn't need it since the competition is stiffer in the area and they can schedule closer teams with no travel issues. I'm not convinced WOS would have went undefeated in Carthage's district.

I will say this, tough preseason or not, this was going to be WOS year. 

My source came straight from the horse's mouth. The Kilgore HC changed his mind after talking to Surrat. THIS year, yeah WO-S would have gone undefeated in your district, especially seeing how Carthage squeaked by Silsbee. This year's east Texas playoff reps were underwhelming. 

6 hours ago, ctown81 said:

I would love to see them play an East tx schedule. Not sure they would have went undefeated playing tough teams week in and week out. It takes a toll. 

It's funny you say this because Coach Thompson has recently tried to schedule preseason games with Carthage, Kigore, Gilmer, and a few other yearly playoff teams. With all of the trouble we've had to find opponents, Coach Thompson had to start looking outside not only our area, but our region. That is why the Kennedale match up was made. When Coach Thompson made contact with the Kilgore HC, he was open to the idea. Shortly afterward,the Kilgore HC had a chat with Coach Surrat who told him that WO-S was the hardest hitting team he had ever played. The next time Kilgore's coach spoke with Coach Thompson, he declined the invitation. Interesting, isn't it? That "week in and week out" and "takes a toll" works both ways. WO-S would have gone undefeated in your district this year and last year, too. 

On 12/16/2016 at 8:07 AM, oldschool2 said:

WOS hasn't had a competitive game all year.  If they took PNG or Memorial's spot they would have at least had competitive games all the way through the year/playoffs.  That's the point I made earlier.  It's not that they couldn't beat any of them...it's the fact that they would have to play them all back to back to back games...They haven't even had to use their starters for an entire game a single time this year.

Last year they played a good team in a higher classification and took it on the chin.  The last time WOS had to play competitive games all the way through the playoffs they didn't make it out of the region.  I know this isn't the same WOS team...but if you can't see the difference in every playoff game being a dog fight, and every playoff game being a cakewalk then I don't know what to tell you.  It would make things different.

The only legitimate competition WO-S faced was in the state championship game. If WO-S had played in the local 5A district, I believe they would have won every game. They would not have pulled starters in some of them, but same results nonetheless. We saw glimpses of what would have been based on the game against Nederland and the scrimmages against Vidor and PNG. Concerning the loss to Richmond Foster...that wasn't just any 5A team. Foster lost to last year's state champion by only 7 points and they made it to the 5th round in this year's playoffs. They were one of the best in all of 5A for the last two seasons and would have whipped everyone in 22-5A. I'm not one to say WO-S could win 5A (or 6A, which is silly), but I do think they would at least make a strong run in the 5A playoffs and probably lose in the late rounds. The point being made about WO-S' depth would not be the reason - not THIS year. WO-S had 39 kids on the roster. Only one of them saw significant playing time on offense and defense. There were 3-4 others who played on one side and saw occasional spot duty on the other side of the ball. Depth on THIS year's team was a strength.  

After watching the state championship games over the weekend, I can conclude with confidence there is no way WO-S could beat DeSoto and would get blown out by Lake Travis. They would make a competitive opponent for Highland Park and Temple. Probably lose to The Woodlands and Cibolo Steele. But, in the end, who cares. We are assigned to 4AD2 for good reason and all of this 5A conjecture is just fantasy football. A cool compliment was made by Rick Renner saying WO-S was "the best pound-for-pound high school football team in Texas." It's an honor to be thought of in that way. 

7 hours ago, kicker said:

That's actually a great argument. Of course we'll never know how each would compare with each other but I see your point. They didn't have IPads, cell phones or PS4's back then. 

But Coach Thompson's workout regimen and practices have NOT changed since the 80's. 

On 12/17/2016 at 7:10 AM, ctown81 said:

You can't go by like opponents.  It's all about match ups. I think Gilmer would have Matched up better with you guys than Sweetwater. Yall would still be Champs but I believe Gilmer could have put a couple of scores on the board. It's all about match ups. 

As for Carthage / Silsbee,  I just think the Dawgs have their number. Going into the game, many in Carthage knee there was a good chance we'd be airing up basketballs.  That's was made this team so special.  District play left a ton of question marks. 

 

Agreed, and WO-S definitely would have scored more against Gilmer than Sweetwater, even with JD having an off day as he did. 

On 12/16/2016 at 2:54 PM, robanadana said:

Congratulations WOS on a great ride! Enjoyed every moment today!

I saw you on the jumbotron. Can't miss you with that Vidor T-shirt. 

2 hours ago, robanadana said:

It would be cool if you could have a national high school playoff. I would like to see some of those northern teams they have ranked get the crap beat out of them by the Texas schools. I've seen California ball; no comparison.

Absolutely right!

2 hours ago, kicker said:

Uhhhhh, what? No WOS players on offense? And coach of the year Matthews? Sorry, not trying to upset any Vidor folk but what?????? WOS is 15-0 and playing in the State Championship for the 3rd year in a row! I know what it is, must have been the AP all state team that picked these for the Beaumont Surprise. Funny how WOS demolished most of the teams that are on that list.

There should be one or two Mustangs on the offense list, but I have no beef with the Jeff Matthews pick (Surprised Robanadana?). Vidor wins (a share of) disctrict for the first time in 30+ years beating Memorial in the process. Nice job, Pirates and Coach Matthews. 

11 hours ago, ST413 said:

I have said for a few years now that the key and big reason WOS has handled my Tigers so well as been the speed of the defensive line.  I am somewhat surprised that teams don't watch the success of that defense and try to mimic it as best they can.  The thought of putting the big majority of your best athletes on the defense and limiting the scoring of the opponent.  Instead of trying to put big numbers of points on the board,  keep that other team fro scoring many at all.  

Much easier said than done. 

1 hour ago, 3rdone said:

A little something from Navarro coach...

Navarro head coach Les Goad said he has “never seen a faster, more fundamentally sound team” than the Mustangs.

“In 32 years of coaching, I’ve never coached against this much athleticism at any level,” he said. “We couldn’t establish our power plays because they wouldn’t let us lock up on blocks. And it seemed like every time the ball was tipped up, they found a way to catch it and take off.”

THIS is the reason WO-S can play a smaller defensive front line. Some people think this is like the NCAA or NFL where you have to have a defensive front that is just as big or comparable in size to compete with a big offensive line. Not true in the way WO-S plays. Navarro had two huge 300+ pounders at tackle, big guards and a center with good size, too. WO-S whipped those boys at the line of scrimmage. It was the same way against Celina last year. This is all accomplished because the players are taught good technique in the use of their hands and feet, as well as an uncompromising demand on all 11 players to pursue the ball carrier. In a nutshell, that is the secret to WO-S's defensive success spanning all of the years Cornel Thompson has been here. 

Watching on TV? Now you have a real reason to sit on our side. Find some blue and silver wear in your closet and come root for us. 

BTW...the WO-S fans (NOT speaking for the players) were hoping for a Gilmer rematch. One day it will happen. We will be ready for Sweetwater. 

On 12/9/2016 at 7:32 AM, Uncle Pig said:

On 12/9/2016 at 9:36 AM, robanadana said:

Please, before I believe a word you say about scheduling games with WOS, I will ask Jeff. Don't put it on here if you don't know it to be true. We scrimmage each other every year and I'm sure there is a reason we don't play y'all, BC, LCM and Orangefield every year since we are in the same county. SMH.

 

I do know this to be a fact. Coach Matthews has declined to play WO-S multiple times in recent two-year scheduling cycles. I've mentioned this more than once in the past. I thought you would have asked ole Jeff by now. He simply doesn't want to schedule WO-S in a real game. When a coach turns down that opportunity over and over, it's obvious. It takes both coaches to agree to play. As it stands, only one is willing. 

43 minutes ago, robanadana said:

Same here...what openings are you talking about? Jeff Mathews and Vidor play out of state teams on a regular basis. We had a home and away with Florida teams recently. Let me know what you're looking for and I'll forward to Jeff. We run 1400 kids...same classification as the Washington school would be.

Why do that when Vidor could play WO-S? Did you ever ask Jeff why he keeps declining to play us in a real game? Scheduling a team from out of state when you have an available opponent in neighboring Orange County is ridiculous. 

11 hours ago, LOKI said:

HJ will be there rooting on our district. I've read Navarro has speed. Well I can tell you that will be put to the test. WOS is loaded with speed. Does not always look like it on film. But in person. Well we all shake our heads some time. Js. Go Mustangs.

WO-S fans are truly grateful for the support of other schools for this game, especially those in our own district and throughout the Golden Triangle. I have one request for these other schools - wear your team's colors and/or jackets so we can identify you. We want to thank you when you are spotted at the game. We want to pack our side of the stadium and make more noise than the Navarro side. Again, the support is much appreciated. 

7 hours ago, robanadana said:

I've waited until now to chime in on this thread and I'm going to start by reminding my OC brothers that after my Pirates, you're my favorite team. Now, I'm gonna bring you all down to earth. Every team that is a Regional champion is good period, regardless of what offense they run. Navarro runs their version of the slot but passed for approximately 100 yards a game during the regular season. Brock ran the WISHBONE to perfection last year in the state championship against Yoe (I was there) and basically ran sweep left and sweep right with it beating Cameron into submission. Until the mid 2000s when the SPREAD offense came into being, most teams either were running based or ran the west coast short passing game. Nederland still runs out of the pro-set and power I and do well with it. Several teams are very successful with running games; Calallen (5A still in playoffs) being one of them. There is a long list of recent 1) champions that are running based which I can send you if you want. Run based offenses are successful now because most defenses are oriented to the PASS and don't see running teams (i.e. Dallas Cowboy's success with rookie QB). 2) Everyone got hooked on the spread so ground and pound-clock control is something totally new.  We beat PAM because we were aggressive holding them to 2:57 in the first half of offense and because they had never seen our SLOT-T offense. Having said all that, Navarro is not your typical running team and don't sleep on them. They are aggressive, ball control based upon run with HUGE offensive line that blows big holes in the opposing defense, can throw the ball and extremely well coached. I was very surprised with what they could do against Cuero (I watched on Texan Live). Remember Kennedale--I told y'all about them. I know Coach T isn't taking this team lightly and I don't think y'all should either. This will be a one to two score game, not a blow out. WOS 35, Navarro 28.

You missed my point. I said 1) it is rare for a SLOT-T offensive team to win state, not a running based team. Also, this kind of offense has to have dominant lineman to win the whole thing...dominant lineman, not good linemen. 

2) Everyone is not hooked on the spread. For goodness sake...it seems like half the teams in setx run that archaic offense (slot-T) and they almost never make a deep playoff run. What makes this scenario even sillier is that I think some of the coaches who run this offense would do so even if they had Earl Thomas or Deion Beasley on the team. It's all they know. 

16 minutes ago, aTmfan06 said:

Brock did it in 3A last year. And I think Refugio still runs it

Those are the exceptions. It is quite uncommon now to see a slot-T team win it all, especially 4A - 6A. 

1 hour ago, oldage football said:

all these slot-T people come talking about their offense and act their coaches reinvented the game - hell i am 67 yrs old and the slot -T is what we ran in high school- lol

Coach Hooks called it the "barn yard offense"...as in, where did the chicken hide the egg...lol. 

It is most unlikely to see a slot-T team nowadays win a state championship. There are too many teams now running the spread with success for that ancient offense to rise to the top. The only way a team that exclusively runs the slot-T can win it all is with an offensive line that is dominant.