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Tuesday
March 16, 2010 Since 1922 |
Ranger receiver looking for turnaround
By Michael Pineda
Baytown Sun Published August 30, 2007 In an otherwise dismal 2006 season for the Sterling offense, Manasah Davis shined.
Davis led District 21-5A with 47 receptions for 540 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the district with an average of 34.8 yards per kickoff return and rushed for 135 yards. So what does Davis plan for a senior year encore? To lead.
“Our leadership is way better this year,” Davis said of the 2007 edition of the Rangers. “The seniors know they have to grow up. It’s been the same for the last three years. This year you want everybody to know that you gave it your all, that you didn’t hold anything back.”
While the offense will have a different look under first-year offensive coordinator Scott Large, one philosophy will remain the same. Get the ball in Davis’ hands.
“We will move him around,” Large said. “He is going to be a multiple threat.
“He has done a great job of leading by example and always working hard. He has a great attitude and has been open to everything that we have taught him.”
The relationship between Davis and Large has been reciprocal as Davis appreciates the way that Large has approached improving offensive execution. Last season, the Rangers struggled with maintaining possession of the ball.
“He is making us accountable for our mistakes,” Davis said. “He teaches us, but then it is up to us to perform. We’re pretty much doing the same thing. The new offense spreads the ball around and opens it up for the playmakers.”
Last Saturday in the scrimmage against Port Neches-Groves, the Ranger offense once again stood face-to-face with its nemesis — turnovers. After fumbling the ball away on three of the first 12 plays, the offense came to the sideline and received an earful from Large.
As the scrimmage progressed, Sterling held on to the football and finished on a strong note as Jerrod Doucet threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Keithen Collins. Davis got the scoring drive started with a 15-yard run.
“We had some problems but it was alright,” Davis said. “Last year if we would have played in the rain, some people would have shut it down. The La Porte game last year made me realize if you don’t come to play for two halves and can’t play through adversity you can’t win.
“Our seniors this year will go make a play and you saw that at the end of the scrimmage.”
This season Davis, as well as most of the Ranger squad, is spending time on both sides of the ball as the Sterling coaching staff attempts to identify the 11 best players and put them on the field.
According to Davis, playing both offense and defense has helped bring the team more together than they were last year.
“I would say that last year the seniors kept to themselves,” Davis said. “We had a blend of good athletes and talent but the togetherness wasn’t there. The problem was ball security and heart. You can’t teach heart.
“The juniors that are now seniors know what we think is what we can do. As long as we are having fun and playing with heart, we can start strong and finish stronger; we will have a good season.
“We want to have an impact and let people who label us as underdogs find out where we stand.”
Baytown Sun Published August 30, 2007 In an otherwise dismal 2006 season for the Sterling offense, Manasah Davis shined.
Davis led District 21-5A with 47 receptions for 540 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the district with an average of 34.8 yards per kickoff return and rushed for 135 yards. So what does Davis plan for a senior year encore? To lead.
“Our leadership is way better this year,” Davis said of the 2007 edition of the Rangers. “The seniors know they have to grow up. It’s been the same for the last three years. This year you want everybody to know that you gave it your all, that you didn’t hold anything back.”
While the offense will have a different look under first-year offensive coordinator Scott Large, one philosophy will remain the same. Get the ball in Davis’ hands.
“We will move him around,” Large said. “He is going to be a multiple threat.
“He has done a great job of leading by example and always working hard. He has a great attitude and has been open to everything that we have taught him.”
The relationship between Davis and Large has been reciprocal as Davis appreciates the way that Large has approached improving offensive execution. Last season, the Rangers struggled with maintaining possession of the ball.
“He is making us accountable for our mistakes,” Davis said. “He teaches us, but then it is up to us to perform. We’re pretty much doing the same thing. The new offense spreads the ball around and opens it up for the playmakers.”
Last Saturday in the scrimmage against Port Neches-Groves, the Ranger offense once again stood face-to-face with its nemesis — turnovers. After fumbling the ball away on three of the first 12 plays, the offense came to the sideline and received an earful from Large.
As the scrimmage progressed, Sterling held on to the football and finished on a strong note as Jerrod Doucet threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Keithen Collins. Davis got the scoring drive started with a 15-yard run.
“We had some problems but it was alright,” Davis said. “Last year if we would have played in the rain, some people would have shut it down. The La Porte game last year made me realize if you don’t come to play for two halves and can’t play through adversity you can’t win.
“Our seniors this year will go make a play and you saw that at the end of the scrimmage.”
This season Davis, as well as most of the Ranger squad, is spending time on both sides of the ball as the Sterling coaching staff attempts to identify the 11 best players and put them on the field.
According to Davis, playing both offense and defense has helped bring the team more together than they were last year.
“I would say that last year the seniors kept to themselves,” Davis said. “We had a blend of good athletes and talent but the togetherness wasn’t there. The problem was ball security and heart. You can’t teach heart.
“The juniors that are now seniors know what we think is what we can do. As long as we are having fun and playing with heart, we can start strong and finish stronger; we will have a good season.
“We want to have an impact and let people who label us as underdogs find out where we stand.”