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Last year Lee simply did not have the athletes to compete. They had 4 better than average athletes. Jaevon Richardson, Trey Murray, Dandrick Jackson and Trent Warren. They had to split those guys up between 4 receiver positions and 4 db positions. Most times they had Jaevon at WR and Dandrick at RB and 3 warm bodies at the other three receiver positions. It just wasn't hard to defense. This year Lee has 8 or 9 better than average athletes. They have enough for all of the skill positions. The sophomore class this year, with Zellars, Franklin, the other Richardson and O'neal, is a good one. Landry, Barnabba, Johnson and Scott(who I believe is back with the team after missing spring practice) are all juniors and have the physical maturity to compete at this level now. J. Richardson is obviously good to go. Lodge and Brooks are both seniors now and have a better chance of hanging with the competition at this level. Seriously, I would love to go watch GCM practice if I didn't live in Missouri City. You should swing by Lee today and give me your impressions. The stink won't rub off on you.

Coach is being a bit disingenuous there. Jaevon, Josh Brooks and Israel Lodge all played quite a bit in the defensive backfield last year and started some games. The linebackers are all new, but the kid in the middle, Salinas, is a sophomore and will be better this year than anyone they had last year.  The two outside spots are a bit iffy. The defensive line from last year was also the offensive line from last year for the most part.  Tim Smith, Ruben and Boyd played when the going got tough.  Boyd is back at OL, so he can play some DL if he needs to.  Arispe is moving over from starting on the OL to starting on the DL.  Luigi Montes started a game or two early in the year last year at defensive line.  They have a kid that came up and played defensive end last year and got a ton of playing time. So, I guess he can technically say they don't have any starters coming back on defense, but if I had to just say from my own personal recollection on who was starting at the end of the year.....they have at least 4 starters back on defense.  Not that they had a great defense either way last year Zellars comparison to Hunter is a good comparison.  Zellars has D1 type athleticism though where Hunter did not. This will be the most athletic set of skill position players that Lee has had in a while.  They may have had this type of athleticism with Jarvis Moore, Rashad Mohammed, Kevin Craft, Jahwran Goode, Thomas Bates, etc. when they nearly beat North Shore a few years back in the first round of the playoffs. It's going to come down to the younger kids growing up and the qb playing mistake free ball.  If, and that's a big if, those happen, then Lee will be able to put some points on the board this year. The best part is that 9 of the starters on offense will be back next year. I challenge you GCM to go and watch a Lee practice. They may not have a ton of guys, which a lot of 4A teams do not, but they have two handfuls of athletes that are going to be dangerous with the ball in their hand.

Boys and girls.... The Ganders have speed to burn this year. Whether they will be coached up and playing mistake-free ball is another story. The lines, as expected, are going to be thin. Ruben will play quarterback it seems, without a doubt.  Zellars didn't even get any reps at all as a quarterback.  Zellars is one heck of an inside receiver though. I can't wait to see how they stack up against Angleton.  Not saying that Angleton won't run circles around them, but I still can't wait to see one way or the other.

Woah...Lee is scrimmaging Angleton? Guess we will find out right quick what Lee is made of.

Lee's qb is tall, but tall alone does not make one a good qb. It's a nice attribute to have though. The backup is a better runner, and is gaining at a furious rate in the passing department. By September 1, 2010, the backup will probably be better in both facets. Zellars, the backup, is so far ahead in being able to make it happen with his feet, I don't think you can keep him out of the starting lineup at qb. The offense would be much more dynamic. With everything being equal, in a vacuum as they say, Ruben is probably a better passer than Zellars.  Zellars will create so many more open opportunities though with his scrambling and ability to run.

[quote name="HUM398" post="822880" timestamp="1280936593"] [quote author=jayhawk link=topic=71190.msg822878#msg822878 date=1280934969] [quote author=FriendswoodFan link=topic=71190.msg822846#msg822846 date=1280920913] Interesting reading: [Hidden Content] [/quote]Nick name should be "tank" - looks like you got a quality x-fer - [/quote] He is 5'9...that is the biggest thing that stands out to me.  a 5'9 NT...i suppose if he plays with a low center of gravity he will be something.  But 5'9 305 just sounds really unathletic. [/quote] Booger Kennedy, who was a terror at UNT, was about that size.

when and where

I remember my dad buying three seats on his row(the top row) and two seats on the row below him(when it was only me and him going).....just so as not to have anyone around him. I overcome this now by sitting on the visitor's side and as far away from everyone as possible. That's one of my biggest pet peeves is being distracted while watching the Ganders.  I knew how to sit down and shut up from the age of 2 years on up. My parents would not allow my sister and me to run around and be a distraction to everyone.

That's just a touch misleading. If a team is steadily losing enrollment over a period of time, then it makes more sense to use the years that are extremely close to the drop. Let's say Humble 6 years ago really did have good 5A numbers, so that's not pertinent. Six years from now, Humble might be low even for 4a numbers so that is not really pertinent any more. The important numbers are to see what they did when they were barely hanging on to the large classification, then see how they did when they were at the very top of their lower classification and still had the residue of players having played the larger classifications left over roaming their halls. Jasper in their last 3 years of 4A ball went 6-4, 3-8 and 12-2. Jasper in their first 3 years of 3A ball went 12-2, 11-3 and 12-4 That's a jump from 21-14 to 35-9.  They went to the semi-finals twice and the finals once in their first three years in 3A. Look at Longview. Last year in 5A they went 12-2.  They outscored their opponents 403-224 and lost in the quarterfinals. First year in 4A they went 14-2.  They outscored their opponents 613-325 and lost only to 5A Allen and juggernaut Lake Travis. Second year 4a they went 14-2.  They beat the tar out of everyone except 5A Lufkin and powerhouse LT again. In their 5A district, they won by 17, 8, 4, 8 and 25 In their 4A district, they won by 34, 19, 44, 29, 14 and 27. In 2009 in district, they won by 3, 45, 44, 17, 45 and 49 They were good all three years, don't get me wrong.  They went from going undefeated in district with a 12 point victory margin to going undefeated with a 27 point victory margin to going undefeated with a 34 point victory margin. Again, the only times they lost the last two years were to 5A teams and Lake Travis.

Humble is probably too low in my opinion. We're sitting here talking about Dayton being able to hang in there with Ike and how that would prove just how good they are going to be this year....but Humble beat Ike last year.  Same Ike team that beat West Brook. It's been documented time and again. When teams drop down a classification, they become more dangerous.

That did look like I was writing a poem there didn't it. lol I think you might be correct about GCM. They are going to keep growing out that side of town. Sterling never really was any good for whatever reason over the past 20 years.  Lee had relative success.  Have people of Baytown tell it and Olin had Lee up there with Katy and North Shore.  Lee had marginal success for about a good 10 year run there with probably 3 teams that, assuming things broke their way, had a chance to do some damage in the playoffs.  They just never could catch a break when they needed one.

Yeah, you're right. Lee is going to have a tough row to hoe. I will know more after I see a few practices. Lee has some athletes...they are mighty young though. I will not hate on Dayton.  Dayton is the team I root for most behind Lee. I will root for Sterling and GCM now too, as long as they are not playing Lee. I like Dayton.  I like what they have done in the last 15 years with very little in the name of any football tradition over there. I just calls em like I sees em. Dayton is not in a league of their own by any stretch. They are the team to beat I would venture to guess.

[quote name="bronco1" post="819459" timestamp="1279722093"] [quote author=panamamyers link=topic=36281.msg819422#msg819422 date=1279716905] I'm not so sure I would say that. Dayton has a good team I am sure, but they lost to Crosby last year and nearly got beat by Barbers Hill. They may win the district, but they are certainly not in a league of their own. [/quote] Our league starts November 12th, maybe we'll see you there. [/quote] Since 1994, Lee has made the playoffs 12 times in 5a, Dayton 14 times in 4a. Lee has more all time wins, a better winning percentage and more state title appearances than Dayton.... But, if you want to talk about history then maybe we should start another thread. In this....the 2010 football season...Dayton is not in a league of their own.

Maybe... still not in a league of their own though.

Baytown is not Port Arthur. Port Arthur still only has less than 3,000 students even with all high schools combined. Baytown would have over 5,000. PA is a product of poor coaching and no discipline. You can set your watch by it.  As soon as they run into a little turbulence, they throw in the towel and quit. Baytown is not now, nor ever will be, anything like Port Arthur.

I'm not so sure I would say that. Dayton has a good team I am sure, but they lost to Crosby last year and nearly got beat by Barbers Hill. They may win the district, but they are certainly not in a league of their own.

There's no doubt in my mind that Baytown would have a football powerhouse if the three schools were combined.  You would be looking at the same number of students as a Plano East. Track and baseball would also be state powers. The other sports...probably not. No point in talking about it though.Lee is a 4a team now, so might as well make the best of it.

I'll let you know in about a month, after I see a couple of practices for Lee.

Olin never got what he was looking for. He flirted with McKinney(I believe) about 7 to 10 years ago. They eventually split into two high schools there too if I am not mistaken. The situation he was looking for was a very specific one, and he never really found it. He fought hard for a unified high school in Baytown. I wanted a unified high school too. With today's society of everyone gets a trophy, that was not going to happen. Everyone that goes out for a sport needs to have a starting position.  You need as many valedictorians and top 10% as you can get. etc. etc.../..

I understand the dynamic of the shift in demographics.  I understand the lack of participation. All things being equal, you would much prefer to have pop warner, optimist, ymca, junior highs, etc. that all feed into the same system.  It is much easier to build a program. It's the reason why Olin always flirted with other job offers through the years.  He was constantly looking for a 5A school that was the only school in town, wanting to be in control of the whole operation from pop warner on up.

Katy has multiple junior highs, but they all learn the Katy system and all feed into Katy. It's not the multiple junior highs as much as it is that any one junior high can go to multiple high schools. If Baytown had 6 junior highs, 2 going to Lee, 2 going to Sterling and 2 going to GCM...it would make for a much better athletic program at each. Katy can start teaching their system all the way down in pop warner league. I'm not sure how West Brook does their zoning.  I do know that Lee used to beat the fire out of the Bruins when they had an equal number of students, so what West Brook does is neither here nor there. Yes, you can compete and win without having junior high feeder systems for the high schools, but it's just easier to compete and win if you do have the system in place.

Which leads to another point... How much more difficult is it to get a program in place when you have multiple elementary and junior highs feeding into multiple high schools.  I've often dreamed of a day when they would create 6 junior highs, 2 for each high school.  That way the junior highs could run the same systems as the high school.  It's just difficult now to get a head start on it with the kids at any particular junior high all going to one of three different high schools.  There's no way to settle on a system.

[quote name="the_dude_abides" post="818697" timestamp="1279375221"] [quote author=panamamyers link=topic=70983.msg818694#msg818694 date=1279373717] Speaking of junior high football.... Watch for this kid on Cedar Bayou's 8th grade A team.  I'd like to get out there and catch a game, but my work schedule does not allow.  There are highlights of him on youtube, and I just knew he would be a freshman this year(hopefully at Lee, but I have no idea really). Turns out he was in 7th grade.  This kid could probably help out on varsity this year as an 8th grader if they let him.  lol [url=[Hidden Content] Bayou 7A Highlights[/url] The run at the 3 minute mark was particularly impressive to me. If Baytown is in the same district this year as Dayton, Crosby and BH, that will be a fun district. [/quote] Yeah, that kid is definitely going to transfer to Dayton.  He'd look good in the purple and white. [/quote] It's not Dayton I am worried about as much as Sterling or Memorial.  Usually kids zoned to Cedar Bayou end up at Lee though.

I always have to prepare myself for the possibility of guys that are expected to be playing for Lee transferring to a different school. Are there any transfers that we know of, doesn't have to include Lee. I know last year a kid from Crosby transferred to Dayton and year before a kid from Atascocita transferred over to Dayton. Lee has had five guys transfer out in the past 24 months that would be senior starters. Two are starting at Sterling this year, one at Cy Falls, one went back to Louisiana, and not sure where the other is going.

If you picked the top 50 high school players in the nation, put them together...let them practice for a month to get their timing down..... OU would still win by at least 70, depending on how badly they wanted to rub it in. If you took the number one ranked team in the state...let's say Abilene. Oklahoma would be up 100-0 by the half time.