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Wildcats, Cubs to claw in 3rd round
Published November 26, 2009
ANGLETON — At this time of the year there are no gimmes because every team that remains in the football playoffs is a darn good team.
And the matchup between the Angleton Wildcats (11-1) and the Brenham Cubs (10-2) is a darn good one. All season there has been talk the teams could meet in the later rounds of the postseason.
“I kept thinking Dayton and Calallen all through the summer, but Calallen got surprised,” Angleton head coach Finis Vanover said. “But Brenham was right there in that fold. Then you got El Campo just looming on the edge. They are really quite doing their thing, so it is a great region and some super matchups.”
Angleton and Brenham hook up 2 p.m. Saturday at Woodforest Bank Stadium in Shenandoah in the Class 4A Division II Region III semifinal that will send the winner into the elite eight in the state.
“We have to come out and play just like we did against Jones, but we have to be smarter because it is assignment-based football now with the option involved,” Vanover said. “Somebody’s got to take the fullback, someone has to take the quarterback and someone has to take the pitch every time. Oh and by the way, you cannot forget those two receivers.
“It is a different style of aggression and wide-openness that we have to display,” he said. “Offensively, we have to explode like we did that second half against Jones. Some of our people are back and we have a chance to get back rolling again like we were. Right now, our confidence level is soaring.”
One player who might be back at full speed Saturday is quarterback Quandre Diggs. He injured an ankle against Manvel on Nov. 6, but Diggs and the Wildcats got by Terry, 10-2, and Jones, 51-0, in the playoffs, though Diggs was ineffective in both wins.
Vanover believes Diggs will be back against the Cubs.
“He is in great shape right now and got to do some defensive work (Monday),” Vanover said of the junior standout. “He says he feels absolutely better than before he got hurt. He says he is ready, and now we have the luxury of having two polished quarterbacks (with Roderick Butler) that can run the offense while one catches his breath or might be involved in a lot of other positions.”
Butler stepped in for Diggs during the Jones game and made some big runs under center, directing the offense to four second-half scores.
“When you get two explosive guys like that along with (Henry) Josey, (Terrance) Franks and Donnie Foster, you have five — and I haven’t mentioned Ja-mes Winn and Ryan Jackson. Things are looking good for us.
“T.C. Jones is back and played like a warrior the other day on one leg. So we are going to be at full speed. It will be a great matchup.”
With Angleton hopefully having its full complement of weapons ready to go on Saturday, the Cubs will be quite a formidable foe. Brenham beat fifth-ranked Port Neches-Groves last week, 27-21, by holding the Indians to 42 rushing yards. Port Neches-Groves’ running back Caleb Harmon (1,892 rushing yards) almost reached the 2,000-yard plateau during the regular season.
“Brenham is almost a mirror image of us defensively because they are small on defense and cat-quick,” Vanover said. “They play man-to-man coverage and come after you up front, so it is just like watching us play defense.
“They are fast as cats and have scored 11 touchdowns on defense off turnovers, so they are aggressive and they come after you.”
During the regular season, the Cubs’ defense held opponents to 184.9 yards a game. In two playoff games, Brenham has held its opponents to an average of 289 yards.
Offensively, Ty Schlottmann runs the show under center for Brenham. He has passed for 1,346 yards with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions and has accumulated 338 yards on 84 carries with three touchdowns.
Troy Green (473 yards) is their leading ground gainer with Russell Sinegal (334 yards) also getting in on the action.
Terrell Reese has 35 receptions this season for 561 yards and 12 touchdowns. Derek Edwards is dangerous in the passing game and has 24 grabs for 368 yards and four scores.
“Offensively, they are a quarterback-oriented offense and have three backs they like to use,” Vanover said. “We are a little concerned because one of their backs (Green) was knocked out against PNG and we are wondering what they are going to do.”
The winner will play Dayton (9-2) or El Campo (9-2) in the next round. Those teams play 7 p.m. Friday at Tully Stadium.
Joel Luna is a sports editor for The Facts. Contact him at 979-237-0160.
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