Published: October 08, 2008 11:29 pm            

Here come the Dogs

Fresh off dominating win, Hornets shift focus to Waller

Huntsville nose guard Marquel Kizzee says the Hornets are ready for another challenge.

Last week, Huntsville’s swarming defense dominated Brenham in a 21-0 shutout at Cub Stadium. The Hornets held the Cubs to four first downs and 116 yards total offense. Kizzee and his pals briefly celebrated Huntsville’s first win over Brenham in eight years, then they got back to work early Saturday morning.

“That win felt good but we’ve got to get ready for the Bulldogs,” Kizzee said after practice Wednesday. “We’ve got to keep moving forward.”

The Waller Bulldogs are coming to Huntsville’s Bowers Stadium on Friday night, and Kizzee knows the Hornets again will again have their hands full. It’s going to be a chore slowing down running back Jermaine Davis (269 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries). The Bulldogs can throw the ball, too.

“Early Saturday morning, we were up here watching some good film so we could evaluate and learn about Waller,” Huntsville cornerback Marcus Murray said.

“They’re big and physical,” Kizzee added. “They’ve got a good offensive line and they’re going to try to push us back.”

Waller has had its ups and downs this season. After opening with an impressive 27-13 win over La Marque, the Bulldogs lost to Rosenberg Terry 20-6. On the weekend after Hurricane Ike canceled most of the high school football action in the area, Waller got walloped by Angleton 39-14 on Sept. 20 in the season’s final nondistrict game.

Magnolia eked out a 17-14 victory over Waller the next week, then last Saturday, the Bulldogs rebounded and beat Montgomery 41-27.

In the win over the Bears, Davis rushed for a pair of touchdowns. He first scored on a 59-yard breakaway with less than a minute to go in the first half. Davis scored again midway through the third period, this time on a 27-yard run.

The Bulldogs sealed the deal when they picked off a pair of passes and returned both for fourth-quarter touchdowns.

Last fall, Waller steamrolled the Hornets 49-6. Huntsville scored on the game’s opening drive, but the Bulldogs answered with four quick touchdowns to take a 28-6 halftime lead.

The Hornets remember that game well and say it’s going to be different Friday.

“We took last year’s loss kind of hard,” linebacker Chris Blanks said.

“Yeah, we underestimated them. They came to play that night,” Kizzee added. “Hopefully this year, we’ll turn things around.”

Murray concluded, “Our team morale is high right now because of what our defense did last week. We’ve just got to bring the same kind of intensity into the game with the Bulldogs.”



Hornets lose senior receiver for season — Bad news for Huntsville receiver/cornerback Howard Brown. On Monday, his doctor gave him the results from a test done on his knee following the Hornets’ narrow win over Caney Creek two weeks ago.

Brown tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after catching a key pass during the second quarter of the Hornets’ 21-19 win over the Panthers.

“The doctor says I’m going to be out for six to eight months,” said Brown, who also plays basketball and runs track. “I’m kind of disappointed because this is my senior year. I was expecting to play. I wanted to see how it feels to play in the playoffs. I guess I’ll never know how it feels to play in the playoffs — the football playoffs, anyway.”

Brown was a key member of the Hornets’ basketball team the past two seasons. He’s going to miss that this year, but he has his sights set on a late-spring return. He’d like to earn his way back to Austin where he won a silver medal in the high jump as a sophomore.

“I’m going to let my knee heal after surgery and do therapy. Then I’m going to work real hard to get my knee back to where it needs to be,” said Brown. “Six months from now will be April, and that’s when the district track meet is. I want to be back by then so I can high jump again.”



Willis loses game, starting quarterback — Sky high and undefeated going into last week’s game against Magnolia, the Willis Wildkats crashed back to earth following a 26-9 loss to the Bulldogs.

In addition to a district defeat, Willis lost sophomore quarterback Damion Bishop for the rest of the season to a broken leg and dislocated ankle.

“It’s obviously a huge blow,” Wildkats coach Audie Jackson told the Conroe Courier this week. “He was our catalyst on offense.”

Against Magnolia, Bishop rushed 14 times for 72 yards. He also completed nine passes for 90 yards.

Midway through the third quarter, the nephew of former Willis High School and Kansas State star quarterback Michael Bishop hit the ground after a short gain. He was carted off the field and taken away by ambulance.

“You hate to see it happen to any kid,” Jackson said. “But you really hate to see it happen to a kid like Damion. He’s such a great kid that really loves to play football.”

Senior Dylan Castleshouldt returns to the starting quarterback spot for the Wildkats, who host Caney Creek on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Castleshouldt began the season as Willis’ starter, but after the Wildkats’ offense sputtered in the opener against Huffman, Jackson put the 5-9, 165-pound Bishop in charge.

Bishop threw three touchdown passes and helped the Wildkats end a 25-game losing streak.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.