LEE YOBBI
Published 12:00 am, Monday, August 17, 2009
Four keys to the season for the Port Neches-Groves High School football team:
Double-edged spear
Brandon Faircloth nearly oozes the blessing and the curse he has accepted as the head football coach at Port Neches-Groves.
Thank goodness, it’s more blessing.
Faircloth will happily accept the expectations of the Indians nearly rabid fan base in trade for the opportunity to be a part of a program of PN-G’s stature. He calls the 2009 Indians caretakers of a proud tradition on the Reservation. Nothing is lost on the first-year coach who takes over for the school’s winningest coach, Matt Burnett.
“I love the excitement,” said Faircloth. “It’s one of the reasons I wanted to be at PN-G. We want to make sure the players understand what has gone on here before and what will go on in the future.”
The first order of business is to erase the ugliness of 2008 when the Indians struggled to a 3-7 record, just one year removed from a playoff berth.
Faircloth will rely on the past to help shape the future. He is no stranger to tradition, having experienced it in stops as an assistant at Austin Westlake, Highland Park and most recently Odessa Permian. Faircloth said the team has improved each day since the new staff arrived in February.
Pass-first mentality
Faircloth is installing what should be an entertaining offensive attack. The coach wants to go no-huddle out of multiple formations to keep defenses off balance and struggling to substitute. That system could take time to take shape with rookie junior quarterback Brennan Doty. But receivers Kyler Segura and Spencer DeRon should help that development with returning linemen Klete Leblanc and Ashton Reasons.
Strength in defense
PN-G’s 3-4 defense will likely be the team’s initial strength. The Indians return two starting linebackers, Kane Benoit and Christian Kerr, with a pair of defensive linemen, Dallas Davis and Taylor Thompson. The Indians expect to also be able to use a four-man front when needed. The secondary is anchored by returners Dre Dunbar and David St. Clair.
Common threads
Faircloth has coached at some of the more storied programs in Texas and their likeness is much greater than their differences. “They all seem to have the same key ingredients,” said Faircloth “great community support, hard-working kids, great fan support where they travel and tradition.” It is not expected to take long for Faircloth to live up to the standard of expectation. Many preseason prognosticators have PN-G as a playoff team with Vidor winning the district. It was not that long ago (2007) when the Indians were district champions themselves.
