Jasper Coach Brooks Said He Won't Miss WO-S/Gilmer Game!!!

[magnus1on1]

Thomas Brooks said he upset his wife when he asked to cancel Christmas shopping plans to attend a football game this weekend.

Once she found out which game, however, her mood changed.

Brooks and his wife, Sherry, happily will be among thousands at Lufkin's Abe Martin Stadium to watch West Orange-Stark (10-0) face Gilmer (11-1) in a Class 3A Division II regional semifinal Saturday. They'll also be at Kirbyville's (11-0) Class 2A Division I regional final Friday against Arp (11-0), also in Lufkin.

"I always enjoy going to playoff games and seeing some of the teams I'm pulling for," said Brooks, the head football coach and athletic coordinator at Jasper. "When I know people on the (coaching) staff, it means a little more and I go watch them."

Thomas Brooks is a former Hebert football standout whose first coaching job came as an assistant at WO-S with head coach Dan Hooks and defensive coordinator Cornel Thompson, and Sherry Brooks is a WO-S graduate.

All told, the coach has insight on three of the four state-ranked teams he'll see this weekend. Jasper opened the season with a 56-28 loss to Class 3A No. 5-ranked Gilmer, and Brooks has coached several games against No. 3 WO-S.

Jasper also played Class 2A No. 2 Kirbyville and lost 44-43 in the week after the game against Gilmer, and Brooks said he's anxious to see if No. 4 Arp is as good as he hears.

Hurricane Ike canceled this season's contest between Jasper and WO-S, but Brooks will watch for one thing Saturday.

"Coach Thompson is going to have that defense ready," Brooks said about a WO-S defense that has allowed 5.6 points per game and will face a Gilmer offense that averages 46.7 points. "That's going to be something to see, which one is able to get the advantage over the other."

What WO-S has is a group of athletic, fly-to-the-ball defenders. WO-S coach Dan Hooks said this season's defense does not have the caliber of athletes as the 1986 and 1987 squads that won the Class 4A state title but understands the concept of teamwork as well as any squad in his 32 seasons at the school.

"We knew going into the season that we were going to be small on defense, so we had to run and gun," said Hooks, who lauded the ability of defenders to make clean open-field tackles. "This has been a unique group. They take a lot of pride in what they're doing."

Past defensive stars on state championship teams included Kevin Smith, a Texas A&M standout who spent nine seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, and Quinton Tezeno, whose New Mexico State playing career was cut short by a knee injury.

Defensive stars this season are defensive end Kevin Robinson and linebacker Robert Jiles, both seniors.

Other leading players are senior defensive linemen Curtis Rose and Jacorey Roberts, senior linebacker Josh Lynch and senior defensive and senior cornerback Josh Gloston. Junior linemen Terry Rubin and Stephen Cook also lead.

Brooks said Gilmer runs offensive plays out of several formations and tries to surprise defenses by running to the line of scrimmage before plays. WO-S's last two opponents practiced the same run-to-the-line tactic, Hooks said.

"That's nothing new," said Hooks, who figures to get an edge with his 44-point-per-game offense against Gilmer's 16-point-per-game defense.

As for Kirbyville, the Wildcats average 44.7 points, far more than the 10 points Arp surrenders. Arp scores 33.3 points per game, and Kirbyville allows 15.1.

"I know about Kirbyville because we played them, but I'm looking forward to seeing Arp, too," said Brooks, who hopes to watch WO-S and Kirbyville again next week.

"As long as they keep winning, I'll have to find another time to go Christmas shopping," he said.

[skipper]

all of you that know coach brooks are blessed.this man is one of a kind never meets a stranger and always has a smile on his face.wo-s was very blessed to have him for such a short time ,the man knows his football and always has a kind word to say about his football team and others also