Sports Update
Final exam: Lamar the last test in Allen's quest for second state title in five years
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
The week leading up to a state final is undoubtedly pressure packed for most teams.
The scene was a little different at Allen (ranked No. 4 nationally in the Rivals100 and No. 6 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25) Monday as many of the players engaged in a version of baseball prior to the start of film sessions.
"I think you can see they are pretty relaxed," said Tom Westerberg, Allen head coach. "They are goofing around and playing tape ball, or whatever they call it, just like they have all season."
The creation of artificial pressure isn't needed prior to the Class 5A Division I State Championship (8 p.m. Saturday vs. Houston Lamar at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington).
"Things don't change for us because we are used to playing in big games," Westerberg said. "We'll continue to focus on what we do and prep for Lamar because our kids already know this is the last game and they know what's at stake."
What's at stake is a state title.
For Lamar (15-0), a magnet school in the vein of Skyline that has been in the playoffs 13 straight seasons, a win would equate the Houston ISD's first 5A football championship since Houston Yates won in 1985. For the Eagles (14-1), they are seeking the second state title in program history following a 21-14 victory against Fort Bend Hightower in the 2008 Division I Finals.
Talk about Lamar starts with its defense, which has given up a total of 21 points in its last three playoff victories, including Saturday's 15-7 semifinal win over San Antonio O'Connor.
"Lamar has a very good defense," said Cade Camp, senior offensive lineman. "They have a bunch of big kids and they always play hard."
"Lamar has a tremendous defense and they are playing extremely well right now," Westerberg added.
Lamar's 4-3 defense is anchored by lineman Zelt Minor.
"[Minor] is playing well and has been breaking through the line," Westerberg said.
"That kid is a difference maker," added Jeff Fleener, Allen offensive coordinator. "He is wreaking havoc on the line, so we have to be smart because he is extremely strong, physical and fast."
Minor is one of two Lamar players committed to SMU, along with defensive back Cedric Lancaster. Lancaster and John Bonney are the two players Allen has focused on most on the backside of the Redskins' defense.
"They run a lot of man coverage in the defensive backfield," Fleener said, "and they will also switch their safeties and cornerbacks based on matchups."
Lamar is strong in its linebacking corps as well with a group Fleener said is, "fast and can fly to the ball." The Redskins, however, do not have a great deal of depth in the middle, a stark contrast to an Allen team that will rotate players in across the board on both sides of the ball, particularly on the lines.
Lamar's offense is balanced, but not as vaunted as its defense.
"They are very base offensively," Westerberg said. "They want to run the ball, but can throw when they need to."
Lamar will run the ball with Ronnie Wesley, Levy Whiteing and Darius Durall, with plenty of carries also going to quarterback Darrell Colbert. Colbert has 2,900 yards of offense this season and 36 touchdowns, but is different than the dual-threat quarterbacks Allen has faced the past two weeks.
"[Colbert] is a big guy," Westerberg said, "almost built more like a running back."
Allen players got to see Colbert on film Monday, as did some former players as Eagles alumni like Jonathan Williams (Arkansas) and LaChris Anyiam (North Texas) were at practice.
"That all started a few weeks back and we've been getting more and more former players on the sidelines as we've gone on," Westerberg said. "It's been a lot of fun having those guys back and it's great to see when your former players want to come back and be around the program."
Some of the alumni were last on the field with the Eagles in 2008 when the team won its lone state title.
"That was exciting because Allen had never been to the finals," Westerberg said.
The one aspect Westerberg found less than exciting was transporting the team to Reliant Stadium in Houston. The commute will be significantly easier come Saturday.
"I was worried all week about how the kids were going to handle the trip," he said. "This will be unbelievable because we can dress here, we can tape here and then it's just 45 minutes to Arlington."
For those that can't make it to Cowboys Stadium, the game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Southwest.
"I'm excited for our guys and I'm excited for the community," Westerberg said. "It's going to be crazy out there Saturday night."
A craziness that could transfer to Eagle Stadium if Allen wins state title No. 2.
"If you look at probably three of the last five games (Mesquite, Skyline, DeSoto), there were people saying we were going to lose, so our guys have been playing with a chip on their shoulder," Fleener said. "And we want them to keep doing that; we want them to keep playing with that mentality because our goal wasn't to make it to the championship, our goal is to win it."
The scene was a little different at Allen (ranked No. 4 nationally in the Rivals100 and No. 6 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25) Monday as many of the players engaged in a version of baseball prior to the start of film sessions.
"I think you can see they are pretty relaxed," said Tom Westerberg, Allen head coach. "They are goofing around and playing tape ball, or whatever they call it, just like they have all season."
The creation of artificial pressure isn't needed prior to the Class 5A Division I State Championship (8 p.m. Saturday vs. Houston Lamar at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington).
"Things don't change for us because we are used to playing in big games," Westerberg said. "We'll continue to focus on what we do and prep for Lamar because our kids already know this is the last game and they know what's at stake."
What's at stake is a state title.
For Lamar (15-0), a magnet school in the vein of Skyline that has been in the playoffs 13 straight seasons, a win would equate the Houston ISD's first 5A football championship since Houston Yates won in 1985. For the Eagles (14-1), they are seeking the second state title in program history following a 21-14 victory against Fort Bend Hightower in the 2008 Division I Finals.
Talk about Lamar starts with its defense, which has given up a total of 21 points in its last three playoff victories, including Saturday's 15-7 semifinal win over San Antonio O'Connor.
"Lamar has a very good defense," said Cade Camp, senior offensive lineman. "They have a bunch of big kids and they always play hard."
"Lamar has a tremendous defense and they are playing extremely well right now," Westerberg added.
Lamar's 4-3 defense is anchored by lineman Zelt Minor.
"[Minor] is playing well and has been breaking through the line," Westerberg said.
"That kid is a difference maker," added Jeff Fleener, Allen offensive coordinator. "He is wreaking havoc on the line, so we have to be smart because he is extremely strong, physical and fast."
Minor is one of two Lamar players committed to SMU, along with defensive back Cedric Lancaster. Lancaster and John Bonney are the two players Allen has focused on most on the backside of the Redskins' defense.
"They run a lot of man coverage in the defensive backfield," Fleener said, "and they will also switch their safeties and cornerbacks based on matchups."
Lamar is strong in its linebacking corps as well with a group Fleener said is, "fast and can fly to the ball." The Redskins, however, do not have a great deal of depth in the middle, a stark contrast to an Allen team that will rotate players in across the board on both sides of the ball, particularly on the lines.
Lamar's offense is balanced, but not as vaunted as its defense.
"They are very base offensively," Westerberg said. "They want to run the ball, but can throw when they need to."
Lamar will run the ball with Ronnie Wesley, Levy Whiteing and Darius Durall, with plenty of carries also going to quarterback Darrell Colbert. Colbert has 2,900 yards of offense this season and 36 touchdowns, but is different than the dual-threat quarterbacks Allen has faced the past two weeks.
"[Colbert] is a big guy," Westerberg said, "almost built more like a running back."
Allen players got to see Colbert on film Monday, as did some former players as Eagles alumni like Jonathan Williams (Arkansas) and LaChris Anyiam (North Texas) were at practice.
"That all started a few weeks back and we've been getting more and more former players on the sidelines as we've gone on," Westerberg said. "It's been a lot of fun having those guys back and it's great to see when your former players want to come back and be around the program."
Some of the alumni were last on the field with the Eagles in 2008 when the team won its lone state title.
"That was exciting because Allen had never been to the finals," Westerberg said.
The one aspect Westerberg found less than exciting was transporting the team to Reliant Stadium in Houston. The commute will be significantly easier come Saturday.
"I was worried all week about how the kids were going to handle the trip," he said. "This will be unbelievable because we can dress here, we can tape here and then it's just 45 minutes to Arlington."
For those that can't make it to Cowboys Stadium, the game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Southwest.
"I'm excited for our guys and I'm excited for the community," Westerberg said. "It's going to be crazy out there Saturday night."
A craziness that could transfer to Eagle Stadium if Allen wins state title No. 2.
"If you look at probably three of the last five games (Mesquite, Skyline, DeSoto), there were people saying we were going to lose, so our guys have been playing with a chip on their shoulder," Fleener said. "And we want them to keep doing that; we want them to keep playing with that mentality because our goal wasn't to make it to the championship, our goal is to win it."
Copyright © 2013 - Star Local News