WO-S safety Thomas guides secondary

[KFDM COOP]

WO-S safety Thomas guides secondary

Van Wade

The Orange Leader

WEST ORANGE — Seth Thomas has found his niche for the West Orange-Stark “Chain Gang†defense during his senior season.

The last couple seasons, Thomas has played well but in the shadows of his brother Earl Thomas. Earl, of course, was the District 21-3A Most Valuable Player last season and was also The Orange Leader’s Male Athlete of the Year.

Earl is now a redshirt freshman at The University of Texas.

Seth has flourished at safety during his senior campaign. Thomas has collected 90 tackles on the season and has been a tremendous run-stopper.

“There is nothing like stopping the run,†Thomas said. “I love to go downhill and really concentrate on the guy that has the ball. Coach (Cornel) Thompson preaches that to us and we’ve had a lot of success with all of the guys flying to the football.â€

Thomas (5-9, 170) doesn’t bring a lot of size to the table but neither does the rest of the defense. However, the Mustangs make up for that in a lot of ways.

“For us, it all starts in our offseason program with Coach Thompson,†said Thomas. “We’re usually smaller then the teams we’re facing, but we’re stronger. Our conditioning is second to no one. Size matters in some instances but you can’t measure heart and desire and this team has a lot of that.â€

Thomas was a stable figure for a young Mustangs to start the season and was just one of three starters that returned.

It took time for Thomas to make adjustments, especially with the departure of Earl, who was also a defensive back last year.

“With Earl, I knew he always had my back, especially on those deep balls,†said Thomas. “To start the year, I had to realize that he (Earl) wasn’t here anymore. He was like my security blanket. I started off a little slow but I also realized how some of the younger guys looked to me for some guidance and things have been great ever since. We were young and inexperienced to start things off but everyone is playing great right now. We’ve got an excellent secondary.â€

Thompson has enjoyed watching Thomas take charge more.

“Seth did start out the season kind of slow,†Thompson said. “I had to challenge him a little, and man, has he ever responded. He’s an excellent safety that does a little bit of it all for us. He’ll come up there and lay you out. He’s a tremendous run-stopper. He’s one of those kids that sets a good example for our younger ones, not as much by words but how he approaches the game and the way he plays it.â€

Thomas had a slight setback a couple weeks back when he twinged his ankle at practice the week of the Coldspring bidistrict game (WO-S won 51-14). Thomas was chomping at the bit to play but eventually sat that one out.

“That was so frustrating because I just stepped wrong in practice one day,†Thomas said. “My teammates really stepped up and got the job done. The way we were playing, I knew we were not going to lose that game.â€

Thomas was back in full force last week in trying to stop a potent Giddings running game. Thomas was in on nine tackles and the Mustangs were able to walk away with a 28-19 victory over the state’s top-ranked Class 3A unit.

“That was a major statement win for all of us,†Thomas said. “Giddings has a great football team and was by far our toughest challenge to date. I know one thing, there was a lot of hitting going on with both sides of the ball. It was such a big win for us, especially after they beat us last year. Both teams had a lot of respect for each other and we’re glad we were the ones that walked away with the victory.â€

Next up for Thomas and the Mustangs (11-1) — the Waco La Vega Pirates (12-0) Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Sam Houston State University’s Bowers Stadium in the 3A Region III Division II semifinals.

The Pirates seem to be quite a load. They’ve outscored their opposition 495-122 for the season and have tallied 89 points in their playoff wins, including a 40-13 victory over Crockett in the area round last week.

La Vega is led by sophomore tailback sensation Chris Parr and his 1,499 yards and 14 touchdowns. Parr has plenty of company. His older brother Kourtney Parr (586 yards, 12 TDs) joins him in the backfield along with another back in Chad Ward (578 yards, 8 TDs). Pirate quarterback Danzel Wilson is no slouch either. He’s completed 66-of-111 passes for 1,330 yards and 14 TDs and no interceptions and has rushed for 427 yards and 12 TDs.

“We’ve faced teams with a lot of weapons this year, but La Vega, they definitely have the most,†said Thomas. “They have an offense kinda like ours. They can do a lot of things to mix it up. We’re getting ready this week, preparing for a little bit of everything.â€

There is one goal that Thomas would like to see get accomplished.

“Their quarterback hasn’t been picked off yet,†Thomas said. “It sure would be nice for us to get one, especially one that will give us some momentum.â€

It will be the second week in a row that the Mustangs will have a chance to slay a giant and Thomas looks forward to the opportunity.

“We’ve had a great season,†Thomas said. “Many people in the streets thought we were too young and how we might start out 0-3. We’ve fooled a lot of people. We beat the No. 1 team in state last week with a lot of people not giving us much of a chance. La Vega has a good team and so do we. I look at the schedule we’ve played and Dayton and Kirbyville and both still in the playoffs and we were able to get past them. That says a lot about the way our area can play football.â€

[td]

Man, that's refreshing. To hear such a well spoken young man, not to mention a really good football player that is so much fun to watch. If you go to the game, keep your eye lids peeled for #5 on defense.

[tam2121]

I didn't even realize he didn't play against Coldsprings. Goes to show you how we can lose a player of his caliber and still have someone step in and do a good job.

[wos08]

If you go to the game, keep your eye lids peeled for #5 on defense.

#5 has trouble keeping his eye lids open