RUSH WOOD Published 12:00 am, Friday, September 19, 2003
For those looking for trends in the early going for District 20-4A football teams, Port Neches-Groves and Central seem to be setting them.
For offense, PN-G is strutting its stuff, and for defense, Central is establishing a standard for stinginess.
Port Neches-Groves, which scored 187 points in going 5-5 last season, is more than half way there with 103 points through three games. The Indians erupted for 45 points in a 38-point victory over Lumberton in their district opener, putting up their highest total since a 54-28 thrashing of Waller in the area round of the 199 playoffs.
Central, which surrendered 74 points in its final three games last season, has yielded but 19 points in getting off to a 3-0 start, including Friday night’s 7-6 nail-biter over Little Cypress-Mauriceville.
At PN-G, head coach Matt Burnett says it’s what’s up front that counts. Meanwhile, Central’s David Suggs says the ends are a ways to the means.
Burnett credits the all-senior line of tackles Cory Lunceford and Nathaniel Osment, guards Chris Hinson and Richard Sandifer, center Blake Balsamo and tight end David Linthicum with paving the way for performances such as the Indians’ 444-yard output in Friday night’s win over Lumberton.
“All of those guys have played a bunch,” said Burnett. “They have a lot to do with the success we’ve had in moving the football. Our offense has taken the ball and done a very good job of keeping it away from the pretty high-octane offenses we have faced so far (Jasper and Crosby, in addition to Lumberton).”
At 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, Lunceford is the largest of the offensive linemen, and at 5-10 and 225, Balsamo is the smallest. In between, Hinson tips the scales at 260 pounds, Sandifer at 255, Osment at 250 and Linthicum at 245.
“They’re just big kids making a big difference in how we’re playing,” said Burnett. “In our first game (a 38-18 later-forfeited win over Jasper), Gohlke (Derek) had a good night running the football. In our second game (a come-from-behind 20-14 win over Crosby), Josh Cook ran the ball well, and in last week’s game, Matt Bodin stood out (with 134 rushing yards).
“That shows you that the offensive line is doing its job. We got 316 yards on the ground Friday night, so that means we’re pretty much on schedule. We like to run, and we like to throw off the run.”
This Friday night, the Indian offense will run into a Central defense that is fresh from causing five turnovers and limiting LC-M to 163 total yards.
“We’ve executed pretty well defensively on most every snap of the ball this season, but there are still areas for improvement,” said Suggs, whose Jaguars have also defeated West Brook (19-7) and Sharpstown (39-6).
“We have a couple of surprises in our ends – Anthony Collins, who did not play last year, and Derrick Wagner, a transfer from Kirbyville. They have both done good jobs of learning the system and fitting into the system.
“We’ve also gotten good play from our inside linebackers – Kevin Thomas and Jeremy Gray – and Ivory Williams has stepped in at cornerback and really bolstered our secondary. Everyone respects his speed, but he’s an outstanding cover cornerback.”
Ozen and West Orange-Stark, the other 20-4A teams to get off to 1-0 starts in the district race will try to hold onto their shares of the early lead in home games against Vidor and Nederland, respectively.
Ozen didn’t do shabbily defensively in its district opener, holding Silsbee to eight first downs and 90 total yards in its 31-6 road victory. West Orange-Stark fell behind Vidor 14-0 in the first quarter Friday night but came back for a 21-17 win on the strength of a 112-yard rushing performance from Kerry Franks.
While Nederland (1-1) will play its district opener this week, LC-M (2-1), which has allowed but 13 points in three games, will have an open date before playing at PN-G next week.
