Bulls tangle with Troy in 2A area round game Saturday
By MIKE KONVICKA mkonvicka@journal-spectator.com

EAST BERNARD - It's every high school football coach's dream for his team to be playing around the Thanksgiving Holidays.

It means that they won their bi-district playoff game a week earlier.

Such is the case for East Bernard; which will play Troy in a Division II Region IV area round game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Viking Stadium in Bryan.

"It's the first time for me as a head coach," said East Bernard's Jerry Long. "I've been fortunate to do it lots of times as an assistant coach."

Fourth year Troy coach Grady Rowe agreed with Long.

"We talked about that a lot last week where a victory would let us practice on Thanksgiving Day," said Rowe. "It's definitely something we pride ourselves on."

The Brahmas beat Hallettsville 38- 27 last Friday in El Campo and the Trojans outlasted Lexington 39-35 in Hutto.

"They did what we asked them to do and they gave an outstanding effort - which we knew it was going to take," said Long

"This was a big one and the first time we didn't go one and out in eight years."

Long admitted his players are happy to have an extended season.

"I told them that the biggest thing is that we can't be satisfied with what we did in El Campo," said Long.

"It's tough for the kids who have to realize that the sky's the limit. I told them that before Friday's game

"There's no pressure now because we got over that hump and goal." said Long. "Everything from here on out is icing on the cake."

The Brahmas have excited their fans and community with their success.

"We hope to get a lot of support out at the game," said Long. "People are excited and I hope they stay that way."

Rowe shared Long's emotions.

"There's a lot of excitement in school and the entire community," said Rowe. "We have tremendous support all the way through."

Rowe agreed the game should be a good one.

"I think it's going to be a war between two pretty good football teams," said Rowe.

Long admitted that there's a lot to do in preparing.

"I've been planning out the week's schedule with school being let out early and it's tough," said Long.

"You've got give up time to practice but you also have to give them time with their family too. You have to balance it out and it's a good problem to have."

East Bernard worked out before noon on Wednesday and will practice Friday morning.

Long agreed Trojans will be a formidable opponent.

"They are all good teams when you get to this point," said Long.

And Rowe expects a tough test from the Brahmas on Saturday.

"We know that they are a good football team and we know that it's going to be a war," said Rowe.

East Bernard's last area playoff game came in 1999 when the Brahmas lost to Manor 29-7.

In 1996, under coach Wayne Walters, EB beat Crawford 21-16 in an area round playoff game. The Brahmas then lost to Refugio 28-0 in a regional quarterfinal match up.

"It's been 11 years since an East Bernard team has won in the area round," said Long. "These kids were six or seven years old at that time.

"I told them today that if we give the same kind of effort and deal with all the change of routine that we have to deal with, its a very good possibility."

Troy, which is 9-2 on the season, finished second in 25-2A with a 6-1 record. The Trojans lost to Salado who still in the playoffs.

Troy missed the playoffs last year, went 8-5 in 2005, went 6-6 in 2004 and 1-9 in 2003. The Trojans own a 10-year record (1997-2006), of 53-55.

"Our kids have been working extremely hard and we're really proud of them," said Rowe "Our nine seniors are leaders and have set an example since we're a young team."

East Bernard is ranked 53rd in Class 2A with a power rating of 132 and Troy is ranked 44th with a power rating of 134. The Trojans are a 2-point favorite.

The Trojans have outscored their opponents 332-230 and are averaging just over 300 yards per game. The defense is yielding 300 yards per game and has 11 interceptions.

"Both offenses have been putting points on the board," said Rowe. "Hopefully we can slow them down a little bit." Quarterback Jake McMurtry had completed 71 of 114 passes for 1,261 yards before last week's playoff game.

"When we needed to throw the ball he has stepped up and done a great job for us," said Rowe of McMurtry.

"We're really a run first team and that's what we've been known for. He's done a great job for us," Long said. "He's a 6-" quarterback who is not real mobile or a running threat but he has a really strong arm."

Jordan Hayes has caught 16 passes for 312 yards and Travis Lesiker has caught 16 passes for 249 yards. Running backs Jeremy Conrad and Hayes have combined for nine touchdowns and over 1,000 yards rushing.

Rowe believes the Brahmas will be a tough test

"They're a really good football team and we know we're going to play our best, not turn the ball over and not make any mistakes," said Rowe.

Long compares the Trojans to the Brahmas.

"They run an offense similar to ours," said Long. "They run two different offenses and get in the shotgun sometimes."

"We have to be prepared for both," said Rowe.

"They are similar to us that we both have a young team," said Long. "They've only got eight or nine seniors."

Troy has an enrollment of 380 students which ranks second in their district behind Salado.

Troy competes in the eight-team 25-2A district and missed the playoffs with a 5-2 record last year.

"It was a little bit of adjustment competing but we have no control of it," said Rowe.

Long said the Trojans are the real deal.

"They look like they are coached very well," said Long. "They have good size on the offensive and defensive lines. Their backs are real consistent and play real hard. I feel like that we can match up with them speed wise."

East Bernard's offense, which has been putting up a lot of points during the season, has never been stopped.

Mike Hayes, Lance Crump and Plunkett had combined for 36 touchdowns and over 1,600 rushing yards.

"We're getting to that point that we could have three backs over 1,000 yards and that's pretty impressive," said Long.

Hayes has right at 1,100 yards and Crump and Plunkett are pushing over 800 yards.

Quarterback Matthew Stelzel is still questionable to play on Friday, but Chris Plunkett did an admirable job filling in.

"I would not count on (Stelzel) playing," said Long.

"Chris is a different kid and brings different things to the table than Matt does. We just kind of adjust our offense accordingly. Chris played a heck of a ball game last week and I expect the same kind of ball game again on Saturday."

Long's biggest concern is preparing

Brahma Scores

Houston Christian................W-20-14
Edna...................................L-27-10
Shiner................................W-35-20
Stockdale ...........................L-28-23
Danbury #..........................W-48-21
Van Vleck #.......................W-34-33
Hitchcock #.........................L-46-40
Brazos #............................W-21-14
Pope John XXIII..................W-51-0
Boling #.............................W-62-30
Hallettsville ##...................W-38-27
# Denotes District 27-2A Games
## Bi-District Playoff Game

Trojan Scores

Whitney.................................W-9-6
West...................................L-39-13
Crawford............................W-14-7
Jarrell #.............................W-42-35
Rogers #...........................W-30-23
Lago Vista #.....................W-23-14
Florence #.......................W-35-275
Salado #............................L-35-21
Rosebud Lott....................W-37-9
Academy #........................W-60-0
Lexington ##.....................W-48-35
# Denotes District 25-2A Games
## Bi-District Playoff Game
his team for a different routine.

"We have keep the focus of our kids and handling the weather we might have," said Long.

"Game time temperatures are expected to dip down in the 50s."

"From what I understand it's supposed to get really, really cold," said Long. "I told the kids that the team that handles that the best could be a factor. We have to handle it and play hard."

Long believes it will take a combination of things to come out on top.

"We have to play hard like we did the other night," said Long. "We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. We have to limit turnovers and penalties Those become more and more vital each round."

Saturday's contest could come down to the kicking game.

Plunkett has booted six field goals and he just missed kicking a 45-yarder against Hallettsville in El Campo. He has 41 extra point kicks.

"That's an outstanding weapon we have there and we like to think that we're going to focus on that area more than other people do," said Long of special teams.

Troy's Brandon Clark had four field goals and 32 extra points before last Friday's playoff game.

"He's a freshman and a soccer style kicker," said Long.

Saturday's winner will play either Refugio or Dilley, who play Friday night at Gustafason Stadium in San Antonio.