Photo by Kirk Holt
In the second week of football, Fort Bend Austin played George Ranch last Friday night. Fort Bend Austin lost to George Ranch 28 to 20. Vic Enwere running back for FB Austin narrowly escapes from George Ranch Linebacker Chris Greer. For a recap on Game of the Week – Clements Rangers vs Pasadena Memorial.

Another long season for Clements? Well, time will tell but Thursday night didn’t go very far in proving not. Seven fumbles, 6 in the first half, and a 21-0 deficit in the first quarter doomed the mighty Rangers quickly. Pasadena had over 350 yards of total offense to the Rangers 150. This game was won on the ground by Pasadena.

Reggie Turner rushed for 218 yards for Pasadena averaging 7.2 yards per carry. Three way Clements team leader Trevor Moore was on the sideline nursing an injury suffered in the Foster HS scrimmage.

Pasadena got rolling early when Reggie Turner phoned home for a TD scamper with only 1 minute and 45 seconds into the game. The 2 point conversion was successful and Clements was down 8-0 early. Pasa”get down”dena scored again on a 10 yard pass to Justin Acosta from quarterback Wyant. Female kicker Tara Cole hit her extra point with 5:47 left in the 1st quarter to put Pasadena Memorial up 15-0. Harmon Mccleod would find pay dirt  on a 12 yard run and another 2 point conversion for Pasadena with 2:52 in the 1st quarter. Twenty three to zip, Memorial was in control, completely.  And the roust was on.

Pasadena added a touchdown early in the 4th quarter to go up 30-0. Tara Cole put the icing on the cake when she popped a 19 yard field goal straight through the uprights to make the score 33-0. Clements showed character however, when Demarcus Cobb powered his way in for a rushing TD late in the 4th quarter. Blake Thompson converted the point after and the Rangers were on the scoreboard. Ranger quarterback Kolt Hartfield threw 4 completions for 40 yards and Demarcus Cobb ran for 88 yards in the game. Hopefully Clements can turn things around.

Photo by Tony Moore
Clements’ Trevor Moore, #20, is a 3 team starter and a key component for the Rangers success.

Here we go fans. Up, up, and away!! Clements kicks off the season at home vs Pasadena Memorial, Thursday at 7pm. If the Rangers can move the ball and make key stops on defense, they just might sneak away victorious. Demarcus Cobb and Trevor Moore will lead the Ranger attack.

Dulles takes on Alief Hastings on August 31, in what is always a close game. Whoever makes the fewest mental mistakes should win this one. Jaylon Jones will rush the ball as many times as he can get it in his palms. Dulles plays Terry on local TV on September 6.

Elkins travels to Dayton, Texas to hook it up with the small town boys. Jmonn Moore will lead the high powered air attack of the Knights. Hopefully there is no small town home cooking waiting for Elkins in Dayton.

Austin plays what undoubtedly has the most potential to be the game of the week when they hook it up vs the George Ranch Longhorns. Sam Vollmer will lead the offensive attack for the Bulldogs. This game pairs two teams who have played with each other in multiple sports their whole lives. Excitement is abuzz in those two schools.

Best of luck to Kempner, Travis, Ridge Point, and all our local teams this week. And remember boys, this is our house!

Shown are the Dulles Vikings at scrimmage practice.

Welcome back to another season of what promises to be an exciting run with the local boys of fall. Clements, Elkins, Dulles, and Austin will wow the FBISD faithful and will be a thrill to watch. Kempner, Hightower, Ridge Point, Bush, and Travis will also provide great moments.

With the hiring of a new athletic director, comes a fresh feeling of resurgence. New turf has been added to Mercer and Hall, and the old, dangerous, Astroturf has been torn up.

Clements, 1-9 last season, returns Demarcus Cobb at running back and workhorse Trevor Moore who plays all 3 sides of the ball. The Rangers faithful will hope for improvement over the last few seasons.

Dulles, under long time Head Coach Jim Creech, will be strong offensively with wide receiver John Lievano, quarterback Robert Harris, and running back Jaylon Jones. Look for Jones to take many, many pigskins to the house.

Elkins is again talented, and QB John Giles hopes to hook up with wide receiver Jmonn Moore as many times as possible.

Austin will be led by pro prototype tight end Sam Vollmer. Coach Schreiber’s boys will compete for a playoff spot.

You can see a complete schedule of games on the FBISD website. Best wishes to former Hightower coach Barry Abercrombie as he heads to Klein ISD.

District predictions: Group A – Hightower, Bush, Austin, Elkins; Group B – Travis, Dulles, Clements, and Kempner.

Come out and support these local athletes and coaches as they work hard at their dreams.

Sugar Land baseball icon Ray Hammond, 41, passed away early Sunday morning surrounded by family.

Ray was very instrumental in the development of baseball players in this area at the youth level. He helped numerous players receive scholarships to play high school baseball.

Ray was a family man of quality character and was highly respected by coaches, players, parents, league personnel, and umpires. Ray will be sorely missed, but his legacy will live on through all who knew him.

I am a witness to his strong character and quick wit. Rest in peace Ray-Ray.

Two words describe this game … BUTT KICKING. Hightower controlled the entire game with its offensive line, running backs, and stellar defense. The Oilers had nothing to “drill” with as the Hightower defense gave them all they could handle the entire game. The Oilers only scored one touchdown that wasn’t a fluke. Hightower, 12 wins – 2 losses, will head to the Alamodome in San Antonio this Saturday to take on San Antonio Madison at 4 p.m. in the state semi finals.

Hightower led Pearland 14-0 at halftime, and 21-0 late in the 3d quarter before a fumble by Pearland was recovered by their own Jarred Mapp, and taken for a 45 yard touchdown making the score 21-7 in favor of Hightower. Too little, too late, for the defending state champs. Four different players scored rushing touchdowns for Hightower. QB Bralon Addison ran 18 times for 123 yards. There are players who still remember the state finals loss to Allen in 2008, and who don’t want to taste that again. This is a hungry Hightower football team.

Coach Barry Abercrombie deserves plenty of credit for his teams’ success. He is an humble man who is willing to talk to anyone. His players mirror his great attitude about football and life in general. Abercrombie said, ” We played good defense and ran the ball well. We might just be a pretty good football team.” Milk and cookies anyone? haha Love this guy!

Addison said after the big game, ” No one but Hightower believed we would get this far this year.” Just goes to show you what believing in yourself, hard work, and a little humble pie can get you.

Bring home the hardware for us boys, we are behind you all the way!!

Quote of the week – “You gotta’ want to win as much as you want to breathe”. Cameron Calhoun, Dulles Baseball Pitcherv

Well folks, both teams, Elkins Knights and Dulles Vikings got absolutely blown off the playoff map last weekend. Pearland looked like the state champion that they are and sent Elkins packing in Alvin, and Clear Springs ate Dulles at Pasadena Memorial stadium.

Here are my picks for best players, coaching, and other notables in the district this year. Coach of the year- Barry Abercrombie, Hightower – they advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs. Lineman of the year- Shalom O. of Kempner. He will be playing on your TV next year on Saturday afternoons. He’s one of the best in the U.S. and the best chance FBISD has out of this year’s class to go Pro. QB of the year – Jake Burkhalter of Elkins, with Kyle Coulter of Travis, coming in a close 2nd. Running Back of the year- Demarcus Cobb of Clements. Wide Receiver of the year- Chance Allen of Elkins. LB of the year- Myklebust of Austin. Defensive MVP- Corey Thompson of Elkins.

I’ve been watching FBISD football since 1988 and here is what needs to be done in order to get this talented group of kids to the next level. FBISD needs to pay their coaches more in order to attract and keep quality coaches. The moment a FBISD coach has success, he is out the door, recruited by another district who is paying him more.

Fort Bend has never fully grasped how important the lessons taught in sports are to a young person. I remember going to play tennis tournaments for Clements back in 1990-94 and the district gave us 5 bucks a day to eat on. Really?

They also need to put grass or field turf on the 2 main stadiums to attract better talent to play our boys in preseason. Astro turf is the cheapest thing money can buy and is like playing on cement. Kids break bones, etc., way to easily. I’ve watched it over and over.

Congrats to all the FBISD football teams on a great season. I’m thrilled to cover you guys. See you next season. I wish all of you a very happy and healthy holiday season with family and friends.

Santa Claus Wolfson

Last weekend, two local games had major playoff influence. First, Dulles took on Marshall. Whichever team won would take home the 4th seed in the FBISD playoff race. Elkins was trying to hold on to their 2nd seed against Travis.

Dulles vs Marshall

Marshall would bust loose for a touchdown quickly against the mighty Dulles defense led by Senior Stephen Smith. Buffalo QB Allan Osemwegie scampered 16 yards with 10:57 left in the 1st quarter. Osemwegie would break another TD on a 10 yard run with 4:21 in the first quarter. Marshall 14 – Dulles 0.

Dulles, not to be denied, would score when sophomore sensation Jaylon Jones pummeled his way in from 4 yards to bring the game to 14-7. Then, with only 16 seconds left before halftime, Robert Harris found sure handed receiver Garrett ” G Money ” Stephens for a 32 yard TD reception. Tie ball game 14-14 going into halftime.

Marshall would strike first again in the 2nd half for an ESPN moment when Gary Lee caught a 22 yard pass from QB Osemwegie with 1:58 left in the 3rd quarter. Both defenses played well for most of the quarter. In the 4th however, it was all Dulles, Dulles, Dulles!

With 11:46 to play in the game, QB Robert Harris found “Big Score” Maurice Smith on a 6 yard strike in the middle of the end zone. Dulles would finish it off right with senior Eric Johnson sealing the deal with a 1 yard run with 4:18 left in the ball game. The Viking defense shut Marshall down and it was a 28-21 victory.

They are popping bottles in the locker room as Dulles is headed to the State playoffs next Saturday at 1pm at Pasadena Memorial Stadium against area juggernaut Clear Springs. Congrats to coach Creech and the Dulles Vikings on getting the job done.

Speaking of “gettin’ er done”, no team in the area has been more fun to watch offensively than the Elkins Knights. Senior QB Jake Burkhalter has been dynamite

to witness. His air attack is awesome when finding receivers like Chance Allen and a slew of others. On the season, Burkhalter completed 141 passes for 2,158 yards and a 60.26% on completions. That’s an average of 15.3 yards per completion, or 1 and a half 1st downs per completion. Twenty two touchdown passes go along with the completions.

Elkins vs Travis

Elkins played Travis last weekend and rolled to a 38-17 victory. QB Jake Burkhalter was in his final district game of his stellar HS career. He threw 4 touchdown passes, breaking down the Travis defense at will with his quick release. 243 yards passing later, the Knights are going to the playoffs for a matchup against the defending Texas State Champion Pearland Oilers in Alvin this Friday night at 7pm. Congrats to the Knights on a great regular season and best wishes for a deep run into the playoffs.

Hightower will play the mighty Clear Brook Wolverines this Saturday at noon at “The Rig” in Pearland in the battle of the 1 and 4 seeds from their respective districts, Hightower being the FBISD district champs this year. Congrats to Barry Abercrombie on a well deserved district championship. Barry’s a great guy and his coaches, kids, work hard.

Bush, the 3 seed in FBISD will play at “The Rig” in Pearland againt the 2 seed from the Clear Creek district this Saturday at 6pm.

Good luck FBISD teams in the playoffs!

This week’s hunger spot is Pappadeaux on Hwy. 59 in Stafford. Go see my friends Paige and Stuart. They’ll take great care of you.

Quote of the week. ” It;s very hard to beat someone who never quits. ” Babe Ruth.

But first, Marshall’s John Gibson ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown 100 yards to start the game. The PAT was good and the Buffs had a 7-0 lead. Elkins QB and leader Jake Burkhalter wasn’t phased however. In fact, nothing seems to phase this kid. He plopped a 76 yard TD pass right into the hands of 1st team District offense player WR Chance Allen’s hands and it was off to the races. Tied 7-7. Allen is so athletic and almost impossible to defend. He out leaps the defenders like very few receivers I’ve seen in past years. He reminds me of Clements and Baylor standout Elliot Coffey from a few years ago.

With :54 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Elkins defense shined as Kamane Thomas snuck into a seam and picked off a Marshall pass. He took it 24 yards for an ESPN moment with his teammates. Elkins 14 Marshall 7.

Then it became the Jawuan Rogers show. I guarantee you Marshall fans, players, and coaches will remember this night as a nightmare with this kid in their face all night. Rogers scored with 10:52 left in the 2nd qurter to put Elkins up 21-7. Not impressed with that? How about this? Rogers ran the ball 31 times on the night for a total of 272 total yards and an 8.8 yards per carry average. If colleges weren’t looking at him before, they are now… 272 yards.

The 2nd half would start with Marshall scoring first on a Delshon Walter 46 yard run making the score 21-14 in Elkins’ favor. Marshall then tacked on another TD with 4:13 left in the 3rd quarter when Devon Johnson scampered in from 5 yards out. However, they went for a 2 point conversion and failed. Elkins 21 – Marshall 20.

Jawuan Rogers and the Elkins offense had seen enough. With 10:49 left in the 4th quarter, Rogers took it to the house on a 51 yard TD run. Nick Coffman’s PAT was good and Elkins was up 28-20. After a defensive 4 and out by Elkins, they went on the offensive and Rogers scored again on a 6 yard TD run. Coffman’s PAT was again on the money, and Elkins was cruising. 35-20. Marshall would not die however. With 5:41 left in the 4th they scored on a 91 yard TD pass and converted the 2 point conversion to close the gap to only a 7 point Elkins lead. However, that’s all they would need to secure the victory and a 2-1 district record. Marshall is now 1-2. Burkhalter was 11 for 20 on the night with 1 TD and 135 yards passing, most to Chance Allen, who caught 3 passes for 91 yards total and 1 TD.

Congrats to the Austin Bulldogs and coach Dan Schreiber on their 20-7 victory vs Clements Saturday night. This is two years in a row Austin has downed Clements. Clements is winless on the season. Also, Dulles got shutout by Bush in a route.

Quote of the week. ” God takes care of people who takes care of his people.”

Till next week…..

Photo by Angela Kou. Dulles Vikings go in for a touchdown!

The mighty Dulles Vikings, led by the longest hired football coach in FBISD Jim Creech, rallied to shake up the district playoff race Saturday night as they beat up on the Travis Tigers in a game most followers gave Dulles no chance to even be in. After watching Teagan Nehls rip up FB Austin last week, many thought no matter who the Travis QB was that Dulles was a sitting duck. That’s what happens when you look past a team. You look up and in the 4th quarter the opposite has occurred.

The star of the night had to be Dulles running back Jaylon Jones. I don’t know where he’s been hiding, but I’m pretty sure Dulles is sleeping better now. Jones rushed the football 23 times for 198 yards folks. Impressive. Give kudos to the Dulles offensive line, especially Justin “F-150” Walker for blowing open holes for Jones to do his thing.

Dulles jumped on Travis early when senior QB Eric Johnson hit Maurice Smith for a very nice 21 yard touchdown play. Ian Voorhees PAT was good and with 9:23 left in the 1st quarter, Dulles had a 7-0 lead. Travis would fight back however, as QB Teagan Nehls ran in the pigskin from 12 yards out with 5:45 left in the 1st quarter to knot the game at 7 after Medcartfs PAT.

Place kicker Calvin Bogard would the knock down a 19 yard field goal for Travis to give them the lead 10-7 with 3:32 left to play in the 1st quarter. Dulles would regain possession and on the next drive and with :55 seconds to play in the 1st quarter, QB Eric Johnson completed a 31 yard pass for a touchdown. Vorhees PAT was again money and Dulles was back on top 14-10.

Another touchdown pass to Jaylon Jones from Eric Johnson would put the Vikings on top 21-10 going into halftime, and they never looked back.

Nehls and the Tigers would answer quickly in the 3rd quarter with an 80 yard touchdown strike to Parker Smith with 7:04 left in the 3rd quarter. Dulles 21 Travis 17. But in the 4th quarter with 8:23 on the clock, QB Eric Johnson would terminate any Travis hopes of coming back as he put the final nail in the coffin. Johnson found Marcus Spady for a 12 yard touchdown that sent the Viking faithfuls into a frenzy. This is what Dulles has been waiting to see all year. Can they keep it up next week? Time will tell. They proved this week that every game in FBISD is up for grabs.

Stats: Dulles 378 total yards of offense to Travis 268. Average rush per carry for the Vikings was 5.28 vs Travis’ 2.76. Eric Johnson completed 43% of his pass attempts 10/23 151 yards with 4 TD’s on the evening. Nehls was 9/20 168 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.

The playoff race is shaping up nicely, check out www.chron.com for all the details.

Quote of the week. “ A great life is like a great tennis match. It’s full of LOVE.”

On a night that would be perfect for trick or treating, the Travis Tigers took to the astroturf covered Mercer Stadium Friday night to battle with the unpredictable Austin Buldogs. This game was for bragging rights, with both teams families growing up together.

Coach Randy Cunningham came into the season with high hopes for his Travis Tigers, but they are off to a somewhat slow start. Beating Clements last week 35-0 was the Tigers largest margin of victory thus far this season.

Dan Schreiber, head coach of the Bulldogs is in his 2nd season at Austin, and was looking for the upset last Friday night…. and, he almost pulled it off.

Austin and Travis played an almost scoreless 1st half. The Bulldogs had a halftime lead of 3-0 after a 23 yd field goal late in the 2nd quarter. For Austin, LB Myklebust was a beast on defense and for Travis, safety Chris Oliver and company helped the Bullogs.

Early in the 3rd quarter Nehls would show some fight as he ran the ball on 4th and 8 for a big 1st down. Feeling it now, Teegan fired a 15 yd pass down the field to WR Cody Moncure. Then on the next play, he juiced another beauty to WR Devon Scoby. Travis now on the Austin 18 yd line, gave the ball to the powerful RB RJ Norriega who took 5 Austin defenders on his back with him to the 6 yd line. Nehls would complete the drive with a touchdown pass to WR Dylan Prep. Travis took the lead 7-3.

On the next Austin possession, they would fumble the ball and defensive MVP Chris Oliver would recover for the Tigers with 4:32 left in the 4th quarter. After a great play by Austin’s Javi Garza to knock Travis for a loss, forcing a punt. Taylor Woods connected with Sam Volmar of the Bulldogs for a nice 9 yd gain on 1st down. On 2nd down and 1 yard to go, Woods pass was bobbled by his receiver and again Oliver was right there to intercept the ball and took it all the way down to the Austin 8 yd line.

On 2nd and goal, the Travis offensive line sealed victory as QB Teegan Nehls scooted into the end zone untouched. I heard the Texans are looking for a QB with guts. Coulter and Nehls have my vote!

Final … Travis 14 – Austin 3

Quote for the week, get good or get out. Til’ next week, here’s to good golf, good tennis, and great family time.