HDBobcats9

He still won't win it, but Tray Williams actually had 294 yards on 24 carries, not 194. He already has 1041 yards on just 100 carries.

Ok pal. HD is three times the team now that they were in week one. SA did put a beat down on Hemphill but to keep harping on HD not having speed is downright stupid.

Bulldogs punt and Cats take over on their own 23.

The Blur makes his first appearance of the year!! Martin Doucett GONE for 67 yards!!! XP good.

Bulldogs - 14

Bobcats - 53

1:16 left in the half

lol I understand that. DV has played some tough opponents so far and it will continue in their district of doom..... but that class they had last year was very special.... and most of them are gone. Waldrep is a heck of a player, but he doesnt' have the support he had last last (or the last two years).

I think SA does beat HH this week as well. Those kids definitely play hard though and there's no quit in them. It's a 180 from the last cople years for Hemphill. You can't question SA's schedule up to this point, ranking right up there with Alto and Centerville for toughest 2A schedule in SE/E TX.
 
Pre-season, HD's district schedule looked to be pretty balanced as the consensus was that CV was top dog (by a mile) and the Groveton and HD were gonna duke it out for second place. We catch Groveton away and WH at home to start district. Looks like Groveton isn't on par with the rest of the district, but I never count the Indians out, they just know how to win. Next we go to Andersen-Shiro which will be a tough game, followed up by away at Centerville. Finish the season off at home against Lovelady which I think could be the battle for second place.
 
I just told HD55 the other day though that I don't think our district goes chalk. CV will be favored in every game and should win-out. But I have a sneaking suspiscion that HD, AS, and LL could all beat each other to create a three way tie for second.... and with three teams going to the playoffs, someone gets left out. We're weeks away from seeing, and any of those three teams could distance themselves from the others but who knows who it'll be. Groveton may turn things around and be in the hunt as well. CV has a bad night and maybe LL or AS knocks them off, as CV plays away against both of those teams. Should be very interesting. Not sure if it'll be as highly ranked and competitive as the Alto, WS, SA, SV district of the past two seasons, but it definitely has some depth and uncertainty.  

Hypothetical head to head is not a big factor in these rankings (at least it is not for me). Strength of schedule is ONE of several factors considered. The fact is we have 11 voters and each one has it's own theory on how to vote. It's a consensus poll.
 
I rank on how a team is performing within it's own setting (classification, schedule). When district play starts and the majority of these teams start playing each other, then those REAL head to head match ups will begin to factor in heavily.
 
ECBucFan, there is no conspiracy here.

I agree. I know y'all take a lot of junk from everyone but I think HD can be very competitive in the new district and that's all you can ask for. Confidence can do wonders for a bunch and a win over West Sabine would do wonders for y'all! How does y'all's district schedule set up?

Honestly, I think SA is the better ball club. Should've been up 3-4 scores on Garrison at halftime in week 1. Went toe to toe with 4A (but not good) Splendora for almost 3 qtrs without our starting QB. Overcame a shaky start (28-0 6 mins in) to plays well against a very good Dallas Episcopal. And just dominated Groveton worse than that score indicated. I would think if SA plays to somewhere close to their potential then they should be just fine. Don't think Hemphill matches up well with our kids. We've got some sneaky good athletes that don't get alto of credit and our young kids (play 7 freshmen or sophomores on O) are starting to come into their own.

Well if that is true then the school will benefit in the long run. If he will be left alone.

You can't win with kids that are quick to quit anyway.

Panther Nation is sparsely populated.  There sure weren't very many people making the drive over to Bridge City from Liberty.  The kids played hard, and seemed to exhibit some of the best sportsmanship from any team that we've played this year.  There's definitely some talent over there, but it's not translating onto the field.
 
Good luck, Panthers.

It took realignment to get 3 of those...

I kid I kid...schedule west Sabine is a step in the right direction.

A problem that someone like HD faces is location. All the schools your size in a reasonable driving distance are in your district, so you either have to make a trek or play up or down a class. And it's no guarantee that the bigger schools want to play.

SA is in the same boat. When Tenaha won't play you because they said they'd rather lose to someone further away compared to someone where everyone knows everyone you are up a creek. I've heard from reliable folks that the only 2A within 2 hrs of SA to say yes was Groveton...and that head coach left. Also know that several 3As didn't want any part of it. And of course none of the smaller 2As did (see Tenaha and Timpson dropping late, folks like Mt E and Evadale saying no). That's why we wound up playing Splendora and Dallas Episcopal.

Who keeps saying this is a week district? Looks pretty dang tough to me.

If HD wants to show everybody they can compete this is their chance! Best of luck to em!

Warmup games bud. HD has a pile of good teams coming up on the schedule.

As far as Liberty goes, It's kinda like playing poker. If you can't spot the sucker at the table immediately....you are the sucker. Liberty, you are now the cupcake!

Warmup games bud. HD has a pile of good teams coming up on the schedule.

As far as Liberty goes, It's kinda like playing poker. If you can't spot the sucker at the table immediately....you are the sucker. Liberty, you are now the cupcake!

True!

That is true. You know it's usually a juggling act at a very small school and most coaches walk the fence line between zero tolerance and letting some things slide due to the fact of low numbers in general and a few players can make or break a season. Hodges is sticking to his guns and building the program the right way. If they give him enough slack to make it a few years the program will see major dividends. His philosophy is that he'd rather have an average athlete with manners, discipline, and work ethic than a superior athlete who is spoiled, disrespectful or may lay down when the chips are on the table. This group he has is very tight knit, disciplined and conditioned like a team of 30 years ago that you don't see as often anymore. Depth will be a concern but we'll see how it goes. Good luck to the Bobcats and Coach Hodges.

Oh and just in case your curious, San Augustine has played Alto 18 times since 1990; And Alto had won 15 of those matchups....including last years district championship rematch game that Alto won 84-19.

Shelbyville has had the the good fortune of playing Alto 14 times since 1990; Alto won 13 of 14

And West Sabine just got their first and only win in school history against Alto last season.

So using Alto as a measuring stick to bash on HD may not be completely fair.

The Bobcats have never had the privilege of playing San Augustine or Shelbyville and have an 8-4 all-time record against West Sabine..... Ahh before you say it, HD has won 4 of the last 5 matchups since 1994.

Oh and just in case your curious, San Augustine has played Alto 18 times since 1990; And Alto had won 15 of those matchups....including last years district championship rematch game that Alto won 84-19.

Shelbyville has had the the good fortune of playing Alto 14 times since 1990; Alto won 13 of 14

And West Sabine just got their first and only win in school history against Alto last season.

So using Alto as a measuring stick to bash on HD may not be completely fair.

The Bobcats have never had the privilege of playing San Augustine or Shelbyville and have an 8-4 all-time record against West Sabine..... Ahh before you say it, HD has won 4 of the last 5 matchups since 1994.

You're right, they don't play so we'll never know. No bro-mance with CC, just think they are a really good hard nosed team who'll go 10-0 and make a deep playoff run.

HD didn't beat Alto. They scored with 5min to go breaking 28-28 tie score to win by a TD in '12 and scored with a min left to win 47-42 last year. A win is a win and a loss is a loss. My whole argument was that HD can play with those teams. Alto is the only common opponent between HD and Shelbyville and SA. Alto is 3-1 over the last two years against those two teams. Average scores:

Alto - 44
SV - 28

Alto - 63
SA - 34

Alto - 41
HD - 35

Common opponents don't mean everything and I understand that. But I think it's unfair to say year in and year out that HD shouldn't be on the field and they'd get blown out by 50 each and every year. I know it's a hard pill to swallow but HD would still be a playoff team or consistently in the hunt in any of the three East Texas districts.

HD hasn't done anything other than play some pretty tough teams in the first or second round of the playoffs. I'm honestly not comparing HDs recent success to SA's in anyway. They have won playoff games, normally fielded better teams, and won a state championship since the turn of the century. All I am saying is that HD can compete with the teams from East Texas. A lot to do with playoffs is luck of the draw. Colmesneil won a playoff game last year. But they got a 3rd place team in Axtell while we got a bye and Alto in Rd 2. Anyway just not trying to knock the SA or Alto's by any means, just saying that we can play competitive games with those folks, including Shelbyville this year.

Lol ok. We'll see how we fare against Colmesneil next week. We haven't been lucky enough to draw SA and that screen door they call a defense in the playoffs but I'm pretty sure the Alto folks would disagree that we can't compete after the last two battles.

It is really low numbers for us this year. Enrollment is way down and we'd actually be 2A-DII based on our current numbers. A bigger factor is the discipline and no nonsense leadership that Coach Hodges has brought in this year. I think two returning starters and two other projected starters quit or were removed from the team. One returning starter out for the year due to injury suffered in two a days. Multiple kids quit the team and couldn't take the strenuous workouts and zero tolerance rules. HD normally has about 45 kids play with 24-27 on varsity and 18-20 on JV. They have very little depth this year but the starters are a really talented group.

Maybe so...but they are running an offense that gives them a chance to succeed.  Because they are lacking in athletic ability compared to other schools.  San Augustine scored 9 times in 40 plays against them in their scrimmage.  Colmesneil was outgunned at every skill position.  I think Colmesneil will be competitive once they start playing 2A-D2 schools, which they won't do till district.  They have played nothing but bigger schools.  Give these guys time and some games against competition they are aligned with and then go from there.

I can see where Longball24 and CJ04 are both coming from. Longball24 you're right when you say you get out of it what you put in it. Last year Colmesneil had a strong motivated group of seniors who excelled at everything they did their senior year. I am sure many of them have involved parents who supported them throughout their athletic careers and helped them achieve that success. But, they also had some really good coaches who were able to put them in a situation (type of offense and defense they ran) to be highly successful too. But, regardless of how much the parents have contributed it is ultimately the coaching staffs responsibility to make sure those athletes are prepared each and every week.
 
CJ04 I also agree with you in that 15-18 year old kids need direction in helping them achieve success on the gridiron. And that direction comes from the coaching staff. I would like to think that the Colmesneil coaching staff is trying to give them that direction. And I agree that a team that went 10-2 should not be struggling as much as they have, considering they still have several talented players. They did graduate some key players, but there is no reason for the scores to be as lopsided as they are.
 
So, on that Tigerheart I see your point as well in that roster turnover can play a HUGE part in a small school's success. So, don't get me wrong I am not saying that Colmesneil is as good as they were last year, but I do not believe there should be as much drop off as we have seen so far this year. They have a group of boys who are athletic and have experienced success. It is now the coaching staff's job to figure out how to get the team to be successful with the hand they were dealt.