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Marty

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  3. Article On Celina

    in Mean Green Football

    Posted

    Middle men: Celina D-line counted on to slow Snyder RB

    By Bill Spinks

    Herald Democrat

    CELINA — The farther along Celina advances in the state playoffs, the more challenging it gets for its defense.

    The Bobcats have been rarely tested so far, but will have to contend with Snyder star running back Will Clay on Saturday in the Class 3A Division II state semifinals. That job will fall largely upon Celina’s interior linemen.

    “They’re going to play a big part in this football game,” said Celina coach Butch Ford. “They don’t get a lot of recognition, but if we’re successful defensively, it’s because they’ve done a great job.”

    Seniors Troy Franklin, Leland Booher, Daniel Antwiler and Daniel Dushman have formed a very solid backbone for a steady defense that has allowed on average only 77.5 yards per game on the ground, and has let only four opponents top 100 yards all year.

    Franklin, a 6-foot-5, 255-pounder who has verbally committed to North Texas, is a three-year starter.

    “He kind of surprised us when he was a sophomore,” Ford said. “We were looking for a defensive tackle and he kept performing, so we moved him in, and the next thing, he’s playing there. He looks more like an offensive lineman, but he gets the job done.”

    Franklin, who also comes in on offense occasionally to play a blocking tight end, is the steadiest performer among the interior linemen.

    “Troy’s the most fired-up player out there,” said Booher, one of his line mates. “It helps when you’ve got a big ol’ boy like that with a lot of motivation.”

    Franklin said his job is simple: Penetrate the line, make tackles, and not miss assignments.

    “We’re very on-key when the game starts,” he said, “and we never mess up on any tackles.”

    Franklin will be joined at UNT next fall by his older brother Tyler, a member of Celina’s 2005 state championship team who was forced to give up a college football career because of a bout with bone cancer which was diagnosed less than a week after he had signed with Texas A&M-Commerce.

    Troy said Tyler, now a student at Oklahoma State, will transfer to UNT and become a student assistant with the Mean Green’s strength and conditioning program.

    The other three tackles work more anonymously, but are no less effective in helping shut down the opposition’s run. Ford said Antwiler embodies the philosophy of his team’s defensive scheme.

    “Daniel’s a real quiet kid and not very big, but he’s very good at what he does,” Ford said. “He gets after it and plays really hard. He’s one of those guys who make sacrifices so others can make plays.”

    Antwiler, a two-year starter, said the job this week will be no different: plugging holes and getting into the Snyder backfield.

    “None of us are real selfish players,” Antwiler said. “We don’t try to go get the tackles. If that requires not getting the tackles, we don’t get it. The more linemen blocking us, the less that are blocking the linebackers.”

    Booher last year played some at defensive end and backed up all-state player Jamie Blatnick, who is now a freshman at Oklahoma State. This year, Booher, Antwiler and Dushman rotate at the tackle position opposite Franklin.

    “It’s fun going all this way,” Booher said. “It’s real exciting, especially on the defensive line. We just have that fire, that want-to.”

    Booher, who again is rotating between tackle and end this season, is known as a bit of a cut-up on the team, but backs it up with solid performance.

    “He’s an effort player,” Ford said of Booher. “He may do things a little bit off the wall and oddballish, but he makes plays. You don’t have to wonder about whether he’s trying hard or not; he always does.”

    The fourth member of the corps, Dushman, also drew praise from Ford.

    “Daniel’s really steady,” Ford said. “He’ll do anything you ask him to do, anyday, anytime, and never bat an eye and never question you. He’ll just go do what you ask him to do. You can’t beat that.”

    Clay, a 6-2, 205-pound senior, is 38 yards short of 3,000 on the year and has topped 200 yards in each of the Tigers’ four playoff games. He had 298 yards and four touchdowns against Argyle, then followed that up last week with a 246-yard, three-TD performance in a 36-21 win over Vernon.

    “The reason he’s got all those yards is they’ve got an excellent offensive line,” Ford said, “but he’s very good, too.”

    In order to slow down Snyder’s star, Ford said, the Bobcats’ tackles will have to continue to fulfill their job requirements — and do it flawlessly.

    “We’re going to have to have penetration up front and we’ll have to wrap up,” Ford said. “That’s asking a lot, because he’s a load. He’s a big kid and he can run.”

    Celina’s interior stalwarts are looking forward to the key matchup.

    “I think it’s a good thing that he’s a good running back because we haven’t faced any good running backs yet,” Franklin said. “A lot of people are talking about how our defensive line was so-so. (If) we can shut down a running back that rushes for 3,000 yards, that would say something in Class 3A.”

  10. Game Article From Sherman Paper

    in Mean Green Football

    Posted

    A first for Dodge

    BY TYLER CLIFTON

    HERALD DEMOCRAT

    DENTON — Sometimes the first win is the hardest one to get, and North Texas felt head coach Todd Dodge’s wait to enter the win column was long enough.

    No style points are added to touchdowns, but the Mean Green put on a show for the fans Saturday with three first-half scores (two by the defense) on their way to a 31-21 win against the University of Louisiana-Monroe in Sun Belt Conference action at Fouts Field.

    The Mean Green (1-5, 1-2) had three interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns while the other set up a score. The defense held Calvin Dawson to 33 yards on four carries, breaking a string of 10 consecutive 100-yard games.

    UNT evened the all-time series 12-12 and ended a two-game losing streak to the Warhawks. The Mean Green had four sacks through the first five games before recording four Saturday.

    “We’re very relieved (to get this win),” Dodge said. “These guys are competitors week in and week out, and it’s nice to validate their hard work with a win. We never felt the wheels coming off, and the attention never headed south.”

    Giovanni Vizza had a breakout performance, accounting for 309 yards of total offense. He completed 16 of 30 passes for 202 yards with a touchdown and interception while rushing for 107 yards on 21 carries.

    “The defense helped us out tremendously tonight, because we weren’t really clicking at times,” Vizza said. “They scratched our backs and helped take some of the pressure off.”

    The Warhawks broke UNT’s shutout bid on their first possession of the third quarter. Trey Revell ran for 11 yards, and Dawson ran for 15 more to set up Revell’’s 46-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Zeek Zacharie on third down.

    Revell saw significant playing time after starter Kinsmon Lancaster went down with an injury.

    “When Ken went down, I knew I had to come in and step up,” Revell said. “The guys in the huddle were very supportive. We just kept plugging away.”

    The strong defensive play continued, as Craig Robertson, who earned the first start of his career at outside linebacker, intercepted Revell deep in Warhawk territory.

    It was his first career interception and set up Thomas Moreland’s 20-yard field goal, which gave UNT a 24-7 lead after three quarters.

    It was all Micah Mosley on the Mean Green’s final drive of the game, as the freshman running back ran six of the team’s seven rushing plays for 45 yards, including his 1-yard touchdown with 3:15 left in the game.

    ULM (1-5, 1-2) made things interesting after Revell capped a nine-play, 62-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Zacharie. The Warhawks recovered their onside kick and moved 59 yards on eight plays, ending with Revell’s 20-yard scoring pass to Frank Goodin.

    “We knew we still had a chance,” Revell said. “This team did a great job of sticking together tonight.”

    ULM could have made it a one-possession game, but Revell’s two-point conversion pass failed, giving the Mean Green the win.

    “We gave them some cheap points, and that is just something that you cannot do in this conference and expect to win,” Warhawks head coach Charlie Weatherbie said. “We gave them turnovers, and they capitalized (on) them.”

    UNT quarterback Giovanni Vizza was intercepted early in the second quarter, but Montey Stevenson returned the favor, picking off Kinsmon Lancaster’s pass and returning it 20 yards for a touchdown.

    It was Stevenson’s first career interception and touchdown and the team’s first interception return for a score since 2005, when Maurice Holman returned one 99 yards against Middle Tennessee.

    “We’ve had some bad things happen, and it was time for us to experience some of the good things,” Stevenson said. “We’re going to focus on the things we did right and work from there.”

    The Mean Green then made school history, when Casey Fitzgerald took a short pass from Vizzi, broke the grasp of a would-be tackler and raced down his own sideline for a 99-yard touchdown.

    It was the 16th time the feat (a 99-yard scoring play) has been accomplished in NCAA history and the first for UNT since T.J. Covington returned a fumble 100 yards against Utah State on Oct. 9, 2004.

    Fitzgerald caught six passes for 118 yards for his fourth 100-yard game this year, moving him into eighth-place on the school’s career list.

    “I was just trying to make a play,” Fitzgerald said. “After I caught the pass, I tried to make a move and make him miss me, and after that, I pretty much had an open field.”

    Dominique Green got the crowd on its feet late in the half, intercepting Lancaster and leaving a Warhawk defender in his wake for a 75-yard touchdown and 21-0 lead at the half.

    The first-half shutout was the first this season for UNT, who last held an opponent scoreless in the opening half almost one year ago against Florida International.

    “It was nice to have such a team victory with some of the struggles we’ve been through,” Dodge said. “We’ve been maligned at times and have played well enough to win at others. The kids stepped up, and I know we have some good players on defense who proved who they are tonight.”

    Dodge has experienced his fair share of winning while a high school coach at South Lake Carroll, and the five-game losing streak to start the year was something he definitely wasn’t used to.

    “We wanted to win for that man (Dodge) so bad because of what he’s done with the community and the passion he’s shown ever since he’s come to this university,” Stevenson said. “We wanted to win for him, and now that we have, we’re very happy for us and for him (Dodge).”

    The timing of the win could be key with next week’s trip to conference favorite Troy. It should make this week’s practices more spirited if nothing else.

    “These guys fought through the adversity and continued to respond,” Dodge said. “There’s no doubt they will have a little more pep in their step when they go out there (to the practice field) this week.”

  14. 2008 Recruiting Class

    in Mean Green Football

    Posted

    Givens is rated a 3 * RB by Scout.com...had an injury last year and only played in one game...but has come back this year and is impressing everyone with his play.

    Yeah, he averaged 5.3 yards per carry in the one game he played last year. This magazine has Riley Dodge, Rex Burkhead of Plano, and D'Anton Lynn of Celina on the cover. Available at Kroger, Tom Thumb, 7-11, and Albertson's.

  15. 2008 Recruiting Class

    in Mean Green Football

    Posted

    Picked up a free magazine at Krogers yesterday called "On The Ball", it's a metroplex sports magazine. In their high school preview, they have Wylie RB Chris Givens (6'0", 200 lbs, 4.41) as considering NT. He has also received offers from Wake Forest, Wisconsin, UNLV, and Utah. Don't know where they get their information but it's a neat little magazine especially since it's free.

WE BELIEVE IN THE MEAN GREEN!

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