Monday, July 28, 1997

Looks like local, area teams are expected to do well again

By BILL HART

Senior Staff Writer

FORT WORTH - Stephenville probably won't be ranked No. 1 in the District 5-4A football race this fall, but the Yellow Jackets are No. 4 in the Texas High School media top 15 poll.

Cooper is No. 5 in Class 5A, Sweetwater is No. 6 in Class 4A and Brownwood, the defending 5-4A champion and the probable pre-season pick, is ninth. Breckenridge is No. 11 in Class 3A, Stamford is No. 10 and Goldthwaite No. 14 in Class 2A and Munday is No. 8, Baird No. 12 and Cross Plains shares No. 13 with Itasca in Class A.

"I think the ranking is a tribute to our program and because of our players' success in the past," said Stephenville coach Art Briles, who is one of three nominees for president of the Texas High School Coaches Association. "Now, it is our duty as coaching staff and players to live up to it. We feel we will have a good defense and it will have to carry the load early, but if we stay healthy, we should be potent by midseason."

Stephenville, which has made the playoffs eight years in a row and has reached the quarterfinals six of the past seven seasons, returns 16 lettermen, including four offensive and eight defensive regulars.

Brownwood and Sweetwater kick off the 1997 season which will give fans a chance to test the validity of the preseaon poll. That's also true of Cooper's season opener against No. 10 Garland.

Texas Football Magazine had picked Cooper No. 7 in its preseason poll, which coach Randy Allen said at the time spoke highly of the Cougars' program.

The magazine also picked Stephenville, Sweetwater and Brownwood No. 5, 6 and 7, Breckenridge No. 8. Stamford No. 9 and Munday No. 7 in their respective classes.

Cooper returns 24 lettermen (5 offensive and eight defensive starters) from a 12-4 team, while Brownwood has 18 lettermen (six offensive and eight defensive starters) from a 10-2 team and Sweetwater has 25 lettermen (six offensive and nine defensive starters) from a 12-1 team that beat Brownwood last year, but lost to Stephenville in the regional round of the playoffs. Brownwood beat Stephenville, 42-39, in two overtimes en route to the district title.

Breckenridge returns 19 lettermen (eight offensive and defensive starters from an 8-2 team, while Stamford has 16 lettermen (five offensive and six defensive) starters from a 10-4 squad. Goldthwaite has only five lettermen (four offensive and defensive starters) from a 6-4 squad.

Munday returns 14 lettermen (four offensive and five defensive starters) from a 12-1 team while Baird has eight lettermen (five offensive and eight defensive starters) from a 9-2 squad and Cross Plains has 13 lettermen (seven offensive and six defensive starters) from an 8-2-1 squad.

Permian is the only other District 4-5A team to be ranked. The Panthers tied for 11th with Dallas Carter and Houston Lamar.

Tyler John Tyler, coached by former Abilene Christian University standout Allen Wilson, was ranked No. 1 in Class 5A. Other top-ranked teams are LaMarque (Class 4A), Sealy (3A), Groveton (2A) and Tenaha (A).

CLASS 5A

Team, No. 1 votes points

1. Tyler John Tyler (17) 276

2. Converse Judson (19) 244

3. Austin Westlake (1) 180

4. Longview (1) 163

5. Cooper 125

6. Lewisville (1) 105

7. Duncanville 94

8. Lake Highlands 71

9. Fort Bend Dulles 63

10. Garland 58

11 (tie). Permian 34

Dallas Carter 34

Houston Lamar 34

14 (tie). Humble 29

Killeen Ellison 29

CLASS 4A

1. La Marque (19) 275

2. Denison (4) 195

3. Waxahachie (3) 169

4. Stephenville 162

5. Texas City (2) 152

6. Sweetwater (1) 143

7. Calallen 88

8. Corsicana 69

9. Brownwood 60

10 (tie). Jacksonville 54

West Orange Stark 54

12. Highland Park 44

13. Jasper 27

14 (tie). Hays Consolidated 23

Dallas Lincoln (1) 23

CLASS 3A

1. Sealy (20) 268

2. Commerce (3) 200

3. Crockett (2) 187

4. Daingerfield (1) 175

5. Vernon 159

6. La Grange (2) 113

7. Cuero 110

8. Tatum (1) 109

9. Coldspring 56

10. George West 49

11. Breckenridge 45

12. Friona 20

13 (tie). Sinton 14

Columbus 14

15. Monahans 13

CLASS 2A

1. Groveton (11) 231

2. Pilot Point (7) 197

3. Schulenburg (3) 177

4. Lockney 148

5. Mart (2) 138

6. Elysian Fields (1) 134

7. East Bernard (2) 107

8. Grand Saline 98

9. Alto (3) 72

10. Stamford 55

11. Refugio 45

12. Holliday 44

13. Italy 25

14. Goldthwaite 20

15. Ganado 16

Littlefield received one first-place vote.

CLASS A

1. Tenaha (21) 273

2. Granger (3) 203

3. Wheeler (1) 198

4. Runge (2) 160

5 (tie). Wink 154

Burkeville 154

7. Springlake-Earth (2) 129

8. Munday 113

9. Celeste 100

10. Windthorst 41

11. Menard

12. Baird

13 (tie). Tie, Itasca

Cross Plains

15 (tie). Tie Dawson

Colmesneil

Note: points not tabulated for last six teams.