My Only Concern With The Recruiting Thus Far

[OA5II]

Is the lack of OL and DL in this class. So far there is a total of 3 big uglies and that just isn't enough. You guys are tuned in much better than I am, where do we stand on getting some hogs in this class?

Thanks.

[Harry]

There are fewer out there and they are correspondingly the toughest to land. The best of the best get picked up early by the big boys and after that it is a dogfight. The reality is we will probably not find another diamond like Booger but it doesn't mean you don't keep trying. You also need to hope and pray that some of the guys you have, Jon Stewart, Joe Miller, Issac Thomas, Jesse DeSoto will develop. I agree 100% with you that we need about 70% of the remaining spots to go to lineman and mostly d-lineman.

[H-towngreen]

We need help at D-end bad, hopefully a JUCO and a high school recruit.

[NT80]

Where's the BEEF? Every JUCO has at least 10 linemen, plus hundreds of HS seniors; plenty to go around for 120 1-A schools looking for maybe 5-6 each.

[eulessismore]

Well, there's this little town, Euless, where Trinity high school defensive players have been praised by all who have played (and lost to) them lately, including Odessa Permian, the only team to beat them this year, and who lost to them in the playoffs. If any of you have some spare time this coming Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7:00 p.m., you can see them and the Plano Wildcats go at it for about $10 at Texas Stadium. Mao Leota seems to leaning towards Hawaii and another out of state school, but Robert Griffin and some other standout linemen on either side of the ball for Trinity are as yet uncommitted, from what I understand. Coach Steve Lineweaver praised Dodge last year for opening up opportunities for players from this area. I hope that Todd Dodge remembers his friend Steve Lineweaver and the Euless Trinity Trojans this February!

Edited December 12, 2007 by eulessismore

[NT80]

Well, there's this little town, Euless, where Trinity high school defensive players have been praised by all who have played (and lost to) them lately, including Odessa Permian, the only team to beat them this year, and who lost to them in the playoffs. If any of you have some spare time this coming Saturday, Dec. 15 at 4:00 p.m., you can see them and the Plano Wildcats go at it for about $10 at Texas Stadium.

Game time will be 7:00pm Saturday night at Texas Stadium. I'll be there. Go 'Cats!

[eulessismore]

Game time will be 7:00pm Saturday night at Texas Stadium. I'll be there. Go 'Cats!

Thanks for the correction, NT80; my post now edited for correct time!

[NT80]

Old-school attack helps Euless Trinity's run

02:25 PM CST on Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Keith Whitmire kwhitmire@dallasnews.com

Euless Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver joked that quarterback Denarius McGhee would need to have his arm iced down after throwing a whopping 13 passes Saturday.

McGhee completed just nine of them in the 21-14 Region I final win over Arlington Bowie, but they were enough. Christian Matthews, Bowie's quarterback, threw 39 passes.

Passing offenses have taken over high school football's upper levels. It's rare to see a successful Class 5A team that doesn't get more yards through the air than on the ground.

Yet here stands Trinity, only one win away from playing for its second state title in three years. The Trojans don't just run the ball, they run over people.

Trinity averages 243 rushing yards a game, compared to 110 passing yards.

Those numbers were skewed Saturday because of Bowie's wicked-fast defense, but Trinity still rushed for more yards (187) than it passed for (107).

For those that think spreading the field and throwing 40 times a game is the only way to go nowadays, Trinity is a defiant throwback to the days when the team that ran the ball best almost always won.

"I'm of the adage, 'It's not what you do, it's how well you do it,' " Lineweaver said. "Not that we did all that well against Bowie. But I still think we're getting closer to balance."

For balance, Trinity needs only to look at its Division I semifinal opponent, Plano.

Plano averages 175.5 yards per game on the ground and 230 per game through the air. But it wasn't always that way.

Plano had always been a running team through its storied history. For decades, running the option was the only option if you wanted to play there.

This season, Plano has added a downfield passing attack as good as any you'll see in Southlake or Highland Park.

Not only does Plano have an accurate, left-handed flinger in quarterback Carson Meger, the receiver corps led by Kris Lott, Grant Davis and Nate Christian is one of the area's best.

Even with the personnel to open up the offense, Plano practically stumbled into modernizing its offense.

"It happened for us in the off-season when most of those [offensive] guys were playing basketball," Plano coach Gerald Brence said.

"They weren't around early in the winter, and we just kind of focused on our defense. We were running the scout team and running everybody else's offenses. We took what we liked from other teams and blended it with our stuff."

Personnel is also at the heart of Trinity's offensive philosophy. Trinity always seems to have huge linemen for its backs to run behind. This year's team seems to be big everywhere. Trinity practically dwarfed Arlington Bowie on Saturday.

Trinity has the kind of size most coaches drool over. It's been well-documented how much speed is treasured in football, but coaches are equally delighted to see large-framed freshmen show up the first day of school.

Even though Trinity could be mistaken for a college team when it steps off the bus, Lineweaver is almost envious of the Bowies and Planos.

"These guys that are doing the balance thing, they're doing the right thing," Lineweaver said. "We're kind of a prisoner to our own success."

No matter how big and powerful a team is, good teams will find a way to defend a one-dimensional attack. Bowie used its speed and wiry strength to slow down Trinity's running game. McGhee's passes, although few, were critical to sustaining drives.

Now it's Plano's turn to stand in the way of the Trinity freight train. While Plano will prepare for Trinity's passing game, it doesn't take a genius to know that stopping the run will be the biggest challenge.

"It's their identity," Plano's Brence said. "It's what they do, and they do it well."

Class 5A Division I state semifinal: Euless Trinity (13-1) vs. Plano (13-1), 7 p.m. Saturday, Texas Stadium.

[buff64]

Sat. afternoon at 1PM, Texas Stadium Class 5A DII semi-final Pflugerville High School vs. Abilene High . Pflugerville is loaded with big time talent, three power backs ( 6'2'' 230 lb. range ) and they all play in the def. secondary. QB is playing with broken hand , so basicly a power game. Defeated Longview 40-14 last week and of course Abilene defeated SLC. Should be a great game.