Published: October 02, 2008 11:59 pm            

Time for payback

After coming close last season, Hornets feel this is year to bring down Cubs

Huntsville almost got over the hump last year. The Hornets held a three-point lead in the fourth quarter at Brenham, but the Cubs turned a late interception into the game-winning touchdown with four minutes to go.

The Hornets remember that night well. Like a horrible dream, it’s stuck in their minds.

Hoping to make some new, more pleasant memories, the Hornets return to Cub Stadium tonight for a district game between the teams picked to finish first and second in 18-4A.

Like last year, the Hornets (1-0 in district, 1-1 overall) believe they have the talent to play with Brenham (1-0, 1-2), the four-time defending district champs. This time, though, they feel confident about bringing home a victory.

“Everybody knows Brenham has a good team. They always do,” Huntsville senior Kevin Butcher said. “But this year, they don’t have as many great athletes as they usually have. We really feel like we can go over there and beat them.”

Brenham notched its first win of the season last Saturday. The Cubs beat Montgomery 17-10 on the strength of three Tanner Schmidt field goals and a 6-yard scamper from running back Keith Sanders. That helped Brenham avoid its first 0-3 start since 1996.

Sanders rushed for 90 yards and six of his teammates piled up 149 more yards on the ground. Sophomore quarterback Ty Schlottmann completed 10 of 18 passes for 69 yards.

It’s the Cubs’ rushing attack that worries the Huntsville players most.

“We’ve got to stop their running game,” Huntsville defensive tackle Forbes Baggett said.

“We can do it,” added outside linebacker Anthony Griffin. “They don’t have the athletes they had last year and we do. Without a doubt, we can do it.”

Huntsville coach Mitchell Coey believes the Hornets. He thinks Huntsville has finally caught up to a Brenham program that under coach Glen West has become one of Texas’ top 4A programs.

“I truly believe this is the team that will make the turn,” Coey said after a brief walk-through workout Thursday. “We’ve got great kids who believe in their coaches and believe in themselves.”

To beat Brenham, the Hornets must do several simple things.

“We’ve got to tackle,” Coey said. “I’m real concerned about that after last Friday night. We were there, we just didn’t tackle. We haven’t tackled well all season. We’ve been overaggressive. We’ll overrun the plays, overpursue and have to reach back to try and get the ball carrier. The only way to correct that is by actually playing games.”

The Hornets missed a pair of nondistrict games when Hurricane Ike blew through Southeast Texas. Brenham had to cancel two games as well.

Both teams got back to business last week as Huntsville eked out a 21-19 win at home against Caney Creek. Brenham went on the road and beat Montgomery by a touchdown.

The Hornets say they’re ready to hit the road and tackle the team that has given them fits for the past seven years.

“It’s going to take teamwork, coming together as one,” Butcher said.

“We’ve got to want it more at the end,” added Baggett.

Huntsville stayed relatively conservative last week, but Coey said he’ll probably let his coordinators, Jason Jamison and Shane Martin, roll the dice some tonight. The Hornets need quarterback Justin Gilbert to repeat the performance he pulled off in Brenham last year. Gilbert rallied his team with three touchdown runs in a five-minute span during the second half. He had Huntsville on the brink of a big upset when Jeremy Hall picked off his second pass of the game.

Coey says winning the turnover battle tonight is key. Huntsville also has to make use of any fumbles and interceptions it gets against a Brenham team that seems to find ways to win.

“We need to capitalize on every opportunity that is given us and score some points,” Coey said. “We’ve got so many three-year lettermen who have been battling Brenham the last three years. They have stuck with our program. Those kids know Brenham and they want to beat Brenham. They understand the importance of this game.

“Brenham’s the team to beat. A loss doesn’t kill you by any means, but a win sure puts you in the driver’s seat for a district championship, and that’s our goal.”

The Hornets don’t want to get ahead of themselves and start thinking about a district championship. They say their goal today is simple: Beat Brenham.

“If we beat them, we’ll be on top of the mountain,” Griffin said.

“We’ll have that respect,” Butcher added. “Finally, we’ll have the whole city behind us like we’ve wanted for so long. A win over Brenham would put us over the edge.”

        

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