Sabine, G'Water meet again; WR keeps rolling
Oct. 27—Let's get this out of the way from the start: as long as Sabine and Gladewater have had football programs, Sabine has never beaten Gladewater in football.
Sabine hopes to change that this week, and Gladewater hopes to keep the status quo in place. And adding some pop to the matchup: it's a District 6-3A, Division I game, an important one — maybe to decide the district championship.
Coach Rex Sharp's Cardinals (6-2 overall, 4-0 in district play), who've won five straight games, will visit Jack V. Murphy Stadium to face those Gladewater Bears (6-2, and 5-0 in district). Gladewater has also won five straight.
Sabine comes off its open date last week (and last played Oct. 15, a 42-14 blowout of White Oak). Gladewater hasn't yet had its open date; the Bears will be off next week, the final weekend of the regular season.
This one should absolutely be worth the ticket. Sabine had a down year in 2020, after having its best-ever season in the program's history in 2019. This year looks a LOT more like 2019, and the Cardinals have been owning their opponents.
Sabine has outscored its opposition, 304-192, and hasn't lost since back-to-back losses to West Rusk and to Daingerfield on Sept. 3 and Sept. 10. Quarterback Jace Burns has picked up a couple of Chick-Fil-A / Kilgore News Herald player of the week awards along that time frame, but it has been a great team achievement to pick up five straight wins.
The running game has been huge, with Burns and Brannigan Willige and others carrying the load, but — much like that 2019 season — Sharp's defense has been outstanding. Sabine has allowed just 55 total points in the five-game winning streak (about 11 points per game, obviously).
No other way to say it: Gladewater looked rough in a 54-0 loss to Kilgore back on Sept. 17, but hasn't lost since. It was almost like Kilgore woke the Bears. Their very first win after that was the following week, a 29-28 upset of then top-ranked Tatum. Since then, the Bears have beaten New Boston (42-35), Atlanta (28-8), Jefferson (44-13), and most recently, White Oak last week (48-14).
The Bears have done a lot of damage on the ground. They've only thrown for 715 yards and two touchdowns all season, but they've rushed for 2,305 yards, 27 touchdowns and are averaging 6 1/2 yards a carry.
In other games this weekend involving Kilgore News Herald-area schools, West Rusk visits Grand Saline, Overton visits Tenaha, and Leverett's Chapel will host Campbell.
West Rusk: Few teams in East Texas are on a roll like coach Nick Harrison's Raiders.
West Rusk is 8-0, 4-0 in District 9-3A, Division II, and rolled right over previously-once-beaten Harmony last week, 63-18.
The Raiders will play at Grand Saline (2-6) this Friday, and then finish the regular season at home against Quitman before starting the UIL Class 3A Division II playoffs.
Against Harmony, West Rusk's offense rolled up 505 total yards, including quarterback Andon Mata adding to his touchdown pass total. He completed 10-of-14 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns. Omarion Anthony caught four balls for 78 yards and a touchdown; Ty Harper had a 33-yard touchdown catch; and Geremiah Smith had a catch for a 54-yard score, and also had a punt return for a touchdown.
Jamal Ford ran for 167 yards and a score, and Tate Winings had 109 yards and another score. Carson Martin picked off a Harmony pass and returned it for a touchdown.
This week's opponent, Grand Saline, is 2-6, but they've been on a roll. They have back-to-back wins (over Quitman, 42-0, and somewhat of a surprising win over Troup, 42-27).
Overton: Coach Justin Arnold's Mustangs have had another tough season, and are coming off an open date. They have maybe their biggest challenge to date this Friday, though, a 7 p.m. kickoff at Tenaha.
Overton is 0-8, looking for its first win of the season. Tenaha is a regular winner in UIL Class 2A. The Tigers are 7-2 overall, and 5-0 in District 11-2A, Division II. They've won five straight games, and in the last three weeks, they've held three opponents to 26 total points. Last week, it was Cushing, a 49-6 Tenaha win.
The Mustangs have two more games in their regular season: this one Friday night at Tenaha, and then at home against Lovelady next week.
Leverett's Chapel: It's been two weeks since the Lions — who are a UIL six-man program — played football, but not by choosing. It's been kind of a strange year all the way around, from COVID cancellations to forfeits by other teams, and still, LC looks to be in good shape for the six-man playoffs.
Coach Andy Bates' Lions won by forfeit last week when Savoy couldn't field a team due to COVID protocol. As a result, LC is 1-1 in District 10-1A, Division I play.
The Lions really need to win out, Bates told the News Herald, to assure themselves a playoff berth. That starts this Friday at home against Campbell (2-6), and then next week, LC finishes the regular season with a road trip to Fruitvale (2-5, but 2-0 in district play).
LC is 3-2 overall, but have actually only played four games on the field (the latest win was that forfeit). The Lions have passed for 212 yards this season, but have ran for 804, and 18 touchdowns. Mikey Dennis leads the Lions with 362 yards, and he has six touchdowns. De'Marion Brown has 275 rushing yards and seven scores. His brother, De'Quincy Brown, has ran for four touchdowns, and Jonathon Perry has one.
Defensively, De'Marion Brown leads the team with 54 tackles, has three for loss, and averages 13 tackles a game. De'Quincy Brown has two interceptions, and he and Perry each have two fumble recoveries. Decoreyon Harper and Nathan Pierson each have one.
