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11-5A FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Rowlett's next season begins with Garland
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
Rowlett has demonstrated the ability to elevate its play when district rolls around in recent years.
That is one of the major reason that despite what happens in non-district play, the Eagles have made the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons.
And that is why Rowlett still has firm confidence in its postseason hopes despite a 1-3 record thus far.
And while the Rowlett players might want to throw that game tape into Lake Ray Hubbard, that is not an option as they prepare for Friday's Homecoming game against Garland at 7:30 p.m. at Homer B. Johnson Stadium.
"No, I want that one to stick in their craw for a while," Rowlett head coach Kiff Hardin said. "We didn't play to our potential, we just weren't ready. Not to take anything away from Rockwall-Heath because they are a good team, but we just didn't play well. It is important that we prepare better every day during the week and be ready to play ball on Friday."
The Eagles were the lone 11-5A team to enjoy a bye during the opening week of district play, and Hardin felt it came at a good time, allowing the team to address some weaknesses in practice.
The Rowlett offense seems to be moving the ball well on paper. First-year starter Carson Hyles has completed 70 percent of his passes for 877 yards and five touchdowns.
The Eagles have two of the top receivers in the district in Chris Heath (27 catches, 440 yards) and Tyler Hogan (23-230) and a formidable 1-2 punch in the backfield in Jalen Rhodes (55-311) and Derrick Imade (48-291).
Bu all those impressive numbers have not added up to victories just yet, something Rowlett is hoping to fix moving forward.
"I think we just need to add a little more consistency," Hardin said. "We are doing some good things, we just need to continue to do those things on a more regular basis and continue to improve on a weekly basis."
The tune is much the same on the defensive end. Outside of the Rockwall-Heath game, the other two losses to Lake Highlands and Rockwall were by a combined total of six points.
"Defensively, it is a lot of the same things, we just need to be more consistent," Hardin said. "There are some situational things, like giving up third-and-longs, that we need to work on and we need to be a lot better in the red zone to be where we need to be."
Rowlett does not have the number of seniors it has on some of its previous teams, but they are still leaning heavily on that group, especially as they have had time to reflect on the first month.
The Eagles will face a Garland team facing many of the same issues as their own. The Owls finally broke a winless drought last week with a 30-23 victory over Lakeview but are still only 1-4 on the season.
The Owls have a powerful runner in E'Lon Green, who has rushed for nearly 100 yards per game. The passing game is coming around behind V.J. Gates, but the defense has still given up at least 23 points in every game.
Still, Rowlett is very aware of the challenge that lies ahead.
"Garland is a powerful team and, like us, they haven't really put a complete game together but we know they are capable of doing that any time," Hardin said. "We're not worried about them right now, the only team we are worried about is the Rowlett Eagles. We need to get back to what we know we can do and just get better as a football team. We are pumped to get back out there and these next few weeks will really tell us a lot about us but we are confident in what we can do."
SACHSE (5-0, 1-0)
Another week, another blowout win for Sachse, which stayed perfect on the season with a 50- 8 victory over North Garland last week.
Not that any of those games have been easy for the Mustangs, who pride themselves on their preparation as a reason for their 5-0 start.
Sachse will try to improve to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in district play for the first time in school history when it faces Lakeview (3-2, 0-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Homer B. Johnson Stadium.
The Mustangs continue to put up video game-like numbers on offense.
Kent Myers threw for six touchdowns in the first half last week and for the season, he has thrown for 1,605 yards and 20 scores and still has not thrown an interception. Myers has added 453 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Devine Ozigbo scored his sixth touchdown of the season last week and wide receivers Bruce Brookins, Tyrique Edwards and Austin Williams have combined for 65 receptions for 1,190 yards and 17 scores.
The Sachse defense has really elevated its play the last two games, following a shutout effort against Flower Mound by allowing only one score against North Garland.
Marcus Hubbard had 13 tackles, while Austin Bush had 13 tackles, two for loss, an interception and a forced fumble last week.
Lakeview is coming off a 30-23 loss to Garland in its district opener. The Patriots continue to move the ball well behind Brent Davenport, who has thrown for 966 yards and nine touchdowns.
Demarcus Hall is one of the district's leading rushers with 567 yards, while Jarvis Baxter and Nick McLaughlin each average better than 17 yards per catch.
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