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Saturday
March 20, 2010 Since 1922 |
Barbers Hill looks to get stronger in 2005
By Michael Pineda
Baytown Sun Published May 22, 2005 Barbers Hill — The good news for the Barbers Hill football team last year was its 9-2 record. The bad news was the injuries the team suffered.
Five seniors were lost to injury last year. Because of the injuries, the Eagles have focused on strength and conditioning this spring as they prepare for the upcoming season.
“Looking at the kids right now, they’ve worked real hard,” Barbers Hill head coach Don Price said. “I think we’ve improved ourselves physically over what they were last year as juniors and sophomores.
“It was a very unusual year. We were real fortunate up until this year. We ended up losing five starters, all seniors. We had more injuries than that. At our level or any other level from the NFL down it hurts. But with the kids that we put in there we were able to win nine ballgames. The two games we lost were a 7-6 loss and a 34-27 overtime loss.”
Although the injuries hurt, the Eagles will benefit this year from the playing time that several sophomores gained. Mason Fisher, Todd and Blake Patton, Cameron Swart and Kyle Cox all gained valuable playing time with the varsity.
All five players will be juniors this fall and will have a big role on the team. The fact that Barbers Hill was able to enjoy the amount of success it did despite the losses was a tribute to the program, according to Price.
“The thing I felt good about is it shows the continuity of the program,” Price said. “The JV kids were able to step up and play on Friday nights in the middle of the season. Some of them were in backup roles and some of them were on the JV that we moved up. They did a good job for us.
“I think it speaks well of our coaching staff who are able to train these kids and have them ready to go when we need them. We didn’t make any excuse. Just plug another kid in and let’s go and do the best we can.”
One player who did the best he could and excelled was quarterback Chris Daniels.
Daniels who has started at quarterback for two years will be counted on to have a strong senior campaign. Last year the senior led the team in rushing with 825 yards and threw for 802 yards despite missing over two games with a separated shoulder.
Daniels will guide the no-huddle multiple set offense and will have an experienced backup in Marcus Fisher.
Bryan Gilbert will be looked at to carry the ball a majority of the time from his running back position. Last year Gilbert ran for 593 yards. Offensively Barbers Hill will return five starters.
Barbers Hill would like to take advantage of Daniel’s experience and throw the ball more. However when all is said and done, the important stat for Coach Price is not rushing or passing numbers. It is the score.
“It doesn’t hurt my feelings to win 7-0, 14-0,” said Price. “Sometimes you have to outscore them and sometimes you have to hold them to less. I’m not a person who judges our team based on how many points we scored or how many we gave up. The bottom line is you win football games.”
Defensively the Eagles will also have to replace six starters. Vacancies at inside linebacker, defensive end and defensive tackle will have to be filled. Because of the evolution in the game, the interior of the defense is critical. That is especially true in the multiple 5-0 defensive set of Barbers Hill.
“You have to learn to play good defense with six people in the box. Whatever configuration we line up in whether it is a 5-1, 4-2, 3-3. They’re going to spread you enough to where you are going to have to try and defend them six in a box against their six.”
Baytown Sun Published May 22, 2005 Barbers Hill — The good news for the Barbers Hill football team last year was its 9-2 record. The bad news was the injuries the team suffered.
Five seniors were lost to injury last year. Because of the injuries, the Eagles have focused on strength and conditioning this spring as they prepare for the upcoming season.
“Looking at the kids right now, they’ve worked real hard,” Barbers Hill head coach Don Price said. “I think we’ve improved ourselves physically over what they were last year as juniors and sophomores.
“It was a very unusual year. We were real fortunate up until this year. We ended up losing five starters, all seniors. We had more injuries than that. At our level or any other level from the NFL down it hurts. But with the kids that we put in there we were able to win nine ballgames. The two games we lost were a 7-6 loss and a 34-27 overtime loss.”
Although the injuries hurt, the Eagles will benefit this year from the playing time that several sophomores gained. Mason Fisher, Todd and Blake Patton, Cameron Swart and Kyle Cox all gained valuable playing time with the varsity.
All five players will be juniors this fall and will have a big role on the team. The fact that Barbers Hill was able to enjoy the amount of success it did despite the losses was a tribute to the program, according to Price.
“The thing I felt good about is it shows the continuity of the program,” Price said. “The JV kids were able to step up and play on Friday nights in the middle of the season. Some of them were in backup roles and some of them were on the JV that we moved up. They did a good job for us.
“I think it speaks well of our coaching staff who are able to train these kids and have them ready to go when we need them. We didn’t make any excuse. Just plug another kid in and let’s go and do the best we can.”
One player who did the best he could and excelled was quarterback Chris Daniels.
Daniels who has started at quarterback for two years will be counted on to have a strong senior campaign. Last year the senior led the team in rushing with 825 yards and threw for 802 yards despite missing over two games with a separated shoulder.
Daniels will guide the no-huddle multiple set offense and will have an experienced backup in Marcus Fisher.
Bryan Gilbert will be looked at to carry the ball a majority of the time from his running back position. Last year Gilbert ran for 593 yards. Offensively Barbers Hill will return five starters.
Barbers Hill would like to take advantage of Daniel’s experience and throw the ball more. However when all is said and done, the important stat for Coach Price is not rushing or passing numbers. It is the score.
“It doesn’t hurt my feelings to win 7-0, 14-0,” said Price. “Sometimes you have to outscore them and sometimes you have to hold them to less. I’m not a person who judges our team based on how many points we scored or how many we gave up. The bottom line is you win football games.”
Defensively the Eagles will also have to replace six starters. Vacancies at inside linebacker, defensive end and defensive tackle will have to be filled. Because of the evolution in the game, the interior of the defense is critical. That is especially true in the multiple 5-0 defensive set of Barbers Hill.
“You have to learn to play good defense with six people in the box. Whatever configuration we line up in whether it is a 5-1, 4-2, 3-3. They’re going to spread you enough to where you are going to have to try and defend them six in a box against their six.”