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Saturday
March 13, 2010 Since 1922 |
Eagles look for winning point in rematch
By Dave Rogers
The Baytown Sun Published November 13, 2009 MONT BELVIEU – Studying videotapes of recent games by Barbers Hill’s bidistrict opponent, Eagles center Chris Fechner says the Port Neches-Groves Indians look pretty familiar.
They should. The Eagles opened the 2009 season playing at PN-G.
But a funny thing happens when Fechner goes back and reviews tapes of that 21-20 win by the Indians in late August.
The team he struggles to recognize is his own.
“I was really shocked at how sloppy we were,” he said, “compared to now, how consistent and good we are.”
The two teams will meet again in Class 4A Division II bidistrict game at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Baytown’s Stallworth Stadium.
PN-G, which put together its first 10-0 regular season since 1977, is ranked No. 5 in the final Class 4A state poll and is a heavy favorite over Barbers Hill, which is 5-5.
Still, a single point separated the two back in August.
Barbers Hill committed seven first-half turnovers in that game to trail 14-0 at intermission. Among them were a fumble returned for a PN-G touchdown and an interception deep in Indian territory that followed an Eagle touchdown wiped out by penalty.
It was Matthew Viverette’s first game at quarterback for BH and the senior threw four interceptions and lost one fumble. The Eagles had a strong comeback and a chance to tie it up at 21-all midway through the fourth quarter, but missed an extra point.
“It was very frustrating,” recalls Fechner, a two-year starter for the Eagles and one of only two offensive linemen to start all 10 games for BH this season.
“I was very upset. But at the same time, I knew it was Matthew’s first game (at quarterback) and he was only going to get better from there.
“He’s my quarterback and I’ll back him 100 percent.”
Viverette led District 19-4A in passing with 1,893 yards and 15 touchdowns and led the Eagles to a No. 2 finish in total offense with an average of 374.5 yards per game. He also finished No. 4 in the district in rushing, with 945 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Eagles lost six starters to injury along the way and didn’t qualify for the playoffs until a win in the final week of district play landed them in fourth place in 19-4A.
The Indians wrapped up the District 20-4A title in the final district game, a 25-22 double overtime win over Beaumont Central.
Yet Fechner likes the Eagles’ chances.
“They’ve gotten a little bit better, but we’ve gotten a lot better,” the center said. “This is Round 2. I think we gave them that game with turnovers. Now I think it’ll be a totally different outcome.”
PN-G finished the season ranked No. 2 in 20-4A in total offense, averaging 344.5 yards per game. Running back Caleb Harmon finished the regular season with 1,597 yards on the ground, the third-best single rushing season in the history of a program with a long and proud football tradition.
Only Gordon LeBouef (2,150 yards in 1955, 1,659 yards in 1954) has done better. Harmon exceeded the 1,550 yards by Jeff “The Jet” Bergeron in 1971.
PN-G has appeared in six state championship games, winning three (1953, 1955 and 1975), and finishing runnerup in 1954, 1977 and 1999. Of course, Barbers Hill won state championships in 1971 and 1976, its only title game appearances.
“We do have the same winning traditions,” Fechner said. “Football is the main sport in our towns, the fans do follow us.”
PN-G officials says they expect between 8,000 and 10,000 fans to overflow the Indian side of the 16,000-seat Stallworth Stadium.
“I don’t know if we’d be 10-0 if we’d have won that first game,” Fechner said. “I think the season played out the way it did for a reason.
“I know if we’d have beaten them we’d have more respect from PN-G than we do now going into this game. I don’t think they respect Barbers Hill at all. We want to change that.”
Game notes: PN-G has a first-year coach in Brandon Faircloth, who was offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford at Highland Park. He comes to The Reservation after three years as offensive coordinator at Odessa Permian, where the starting QB there broke school passing records each year. Indian QB Brennan Doty passed for 1,536 yards and 13 touchdowns, with only eight interceptions ... The Indian defense ranked No. 1 in 20-4A, allowing only 242 yards per game, and PN-G outscored its opponents 245-95. Barbers Hill outscored opponents 270-205 ... A big reason for the Indians’ success was finishing plus-19 in turnover margin with an offense that coughed it up just 14 times. Barbers Hill was minus-7 in turnover margin and the Eagle offense had 29 giveaways, 18 on interceptions ... A big turnover-getter for PN-G was Dre Dunlap, who had three interceptions and a fumble return for a touchdown against BH. He was the one who returned a blocked extra point 98 yards with 43 seconds remaining to force OT last week against Central ... Eagle wide receiver Caleb Stork is expected to return to the lineup this week after missing most of the season with a broken collarbone.
The Baytown Sun Published November 13, 2009 MONT BELVIEU – Studying videotapes of recent games by Barbers Hill’s bidistrict opponent, Eagles center Chris Fechner says the Port Neches-Groves Indians look pretty familiar.
They should. The Eagles opened the 2009 season playing at PN-G.
But a funny thing happens when Fechner goes back and reviews tapes of that 21-20 win by the Indians in late August.
The team he struggles to recognize is his own.
“I was really shocked at how sloppy we were,” he said, “compared to now, how consistent and good we are.”
The two teams will meet again in Class 4A Division II bidistrict game at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Baytown’s Stallworth Stadium.
PN-G, which put together its first 10-0 regular season since 1977, is ranked No. 5 in the final Class 4A state poll and is a heavy favorite over Barbers Hill, which is 5-5.
Still, a single point separated the two back in August.
Barbers Hill committed seven first-half turnovers in that game to trail 14-0 at intermission. Among them were a fumble returned for a PN-G touchdown and an interception deep in Indian territory that followed an Eagle touchdown wiped out by penalty.
It was Matthew Viverette’s first game at quarterback for BH and the senior threw four interceptions and lost one fumble. The Eagles had a strong comeback and a chance to tie it up at 21-all midway through the fourth quarter, but missed an extra point.
“It was very frustrating,” recalls Fechner, a two-year starter for the Eagles and one of only two offensive linemen to start all 10 games for BH this season.
“I was very upset. But at the same time, I knew it was Matthew’s first game (at quarterback) and he was only going to get better from there.
“He’s my quarterback and I’ll back him 100 percent.”
Viverette led District 19-4A in passing with 1,893 yards and 15 touchdowns and led the Eagles to a No. 2 finish in total offense with an average of 374.5 yards per game. He also finished No. 4 in the district in rushing, with 945 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Eagles lost six starters to injury along the way and didn’t qualify for the playoffs until a win in the final week of district play landed them in fourth place in 19-4A.
The Indians wrapped up the District 20-4A title in the final district game, a 25-22 double overtime win over Beaumont Central.
Yet Fechner likes the Eagles’ chances.
“They’ve gotten a little bit better, but we’ve gotten a lot better,” the center said. “This is Round 2. I think we gave them that game with turnovers. Now I think it’ll be a totally different outcome.”
PN-G finished the season ranked No. 2 in 20-4A in total offense, averaging 344.5 yards per game. Running back Caleb Harmon finished the regular season with 1,597 yards on the ground, the third-best single rushing season in the history of a program with a long and proud football tradition.
Only Gordon LeBouef (2,150 yards in 1955, 1,659 yards in 1954) has done better. Harmon exceeded the 1,550 yards by Jeff “The Jet” Bergeron in 1971.
PN-G has appeared in six state championship games, winning three (1953, 1955 and 1975), and finishing runnerup in 1954, 1977 and 1999. Of course, Barbers Hill won state championships in 1971 and 1976, its only title game appearances.
“We do have the same winning traditions,” Fechner said. “Football is the main sport in our towns, the fans do follow us.”
PN-G officials says they expect between 8,000 and 10,000 fans to overflow the Indian side of the 16,000-seat Stallworth Stadium.
“I don’t know if we’d be 10-0 if we’d have won that first game,” Fechner said. “I think the season played out the way it did for a reason.
“I know if we’d have beaten them we’d have more respect from PN-G than we do now going into this game. I don’t think they respect Barbers Hill at all. We want to change that.”
Game notes: PN-G has a first-year coach in Brandon Faircloth, who was offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford at Highland Park. He comes to The Reservation after three years as offensive coordinator at Odessa Permian, where the starting QB there broke school passing records each year. Indian QB Brennan Doty passed for 1,536 yards and 13 touchdowns, with only eight interceptions ... The Indian defense ranked No. 1 in 20-4A, allowing only 242 yards per game, and PN-G outscored its opponents 245-95. Barbers Hill outscored opponents 270-205 ... A big reason for the Indians’ success was finishing plus-19 in turnover margin with an offense that coughed it up just 14 times. Barbers Hill was minus-7 in turnover margin and the Eagle offense had 29 giveaways, 18 on interceptions ... A big turnover-getter for PN-G was Dre Dunlap, who had three interceptions and a fumble return for a touchdown against BH. He was the one who returned a blocked extra point 98 yards with 43 seconds remaining to force OT last week against Central ... Eagle wide receiver Caleb Stork is expected to return to the lineup this week after missing most of the season with a broken collarbone.