| | |  | Canyon Eagles season ended by Steers |
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| Posted By: Tanner Henry on 2009-11-15 23:03:01 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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Canyon Eagles season ended by the Steers by BRAD RABURN 1 day 11 hrs ago | 55 views | 1  | 4  |  | 
The Eagles’ crowd cheered on as Canyon High faced-off against Big Spring High in a battle towards 4A state honors, Friday.
Coming into the game 8-2 overall, Canyon had a commendable six-game winning streak, opposed to Big Spring receiving their second defeat from Hereford High only a week earlier.
However, games are not won by statistics and the Steers proved that, taking down the Eagles 21-13.
Both teams started out slow, but it was Canyon High that struck first. Moving 51 yards in eight plays, Boyer found the end-zone placing Eagles up 6-0.
The Steers were unable to answer back and the Eagles capitalized again. Canyon steadily traversed the field in 11 plays, with Boyer making an athletic 9-yard battle into the end-zone and moving the score to 13-0.
With time ticking into the second-quarter, the Steers finally got onto the board.
They successfully moved 80 yards in a methodic 15 plays. Monte Anderson sprinted through coverage for the final six yards and brought the game within reach.
A successful drive could not be accomplished by either team through the remainder of the half, leaving the score at a close, 13-7.
Big Spring received the second-half kickoff and had fans on the edge of their seats. After six plays and 34 yards, it seemed that the Steers adjustments were going to get them into the end-zone again.
However, the seventh play resulted in Anderson fumbling the ball and allowing the Eagles defense to pounce on it.
Canyon resumed the field and looked to score on the recovery. They moved 33-yards to Big Spring’s 11 yard-line, but were forced to attempt a field-goal after suffering a flag and a sack, which moved them to the 21 yard-line.
Aaron Rowe’s field-goal was blocked and recovered by the Steers on their 35 yard-line.
Even with the momentum shifting their way, Big Spring could not shake the Eagles defense and was stuffed on Canyon’s 15 yard-line, turning the ball over.
Canyon likewise found little success getting past the opposing defense and kicked the ball away after six plays.
The next drive displayed Anderson’s ability to find holes and shed tacklers. His first run racked up 20-yards and was directly followed by a 10-yard rush.
Anderson was stuffed on the next play, but his yardage allowed for another short rush and a 21 yard connection with Thaddeus Straughter in the end-zone, giving the Steers the lead, 14-13.
Canyon struggled on their next possession and went four-and-out. Big Spring saw their opportunity and seized it.
Eight plays covering 44-yards and a final 15-yard pass found Straughter open on the same route as the previous touch-down and gave the Steers the winning touchdown, 21-13.
Canyon totaled 208 yards on the night, with 59 yards rushing and 149 passing. Connor Moore completed 17-30 attempts. Boyer racked up 61 yards rushing on 15 attempts, and 46 yards on four receptions.
Braden Kimsey also contributed big pulling down eight passes for 81 yards. Christ Rhoten also earned 11 yards on three receptions and Derek Odell earned another 11 yards on two receptions.
“I thought we played great the whole game,” said Head Coach Blake Bryant.
“I guarantee that we weren’t the most talented football team out there, but- I have nothing but pride for how hard we played.
“This was the first out-right district championship that Canyon has ever won in 4A. Everybody told us that when we were moving up to 4A that we just weren’t going to be able to compete, so I am really proud of what the kids were able to achieve.”
Going into the locker room Coach Bryant ended the season by instilling a sense of pride in his players for accomplishing something that had not been done before, but will definitely be remembered for years to come. |
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| Posted in football, high school sports, men's athletics |
| | Big Spring tries to rebound from first loss |
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| Posted By: Tanner Henry on 2009-10-30 11:56:34 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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By Joe Zigtema
Sports Editor Every Big Spring Steer felt the sting of his first loss Friday in Abilene.
But as head coach Phillip Ritchey said, the Steers understand they face two key games down the home stretch of their regular season, the first of which comes against San Angelo Lake View.
“We’ve been in this situation a couple times this year coming off of big games,” Ritchey said. “After watching (Monday’s) practice that kind of put my mind at ease because our kids were really focused. This game is really more important than last week’s game as far as the small school division playoffs go because we’ve got Hereford and Lake View and they’re both along with us small schools. “We’re playing to get in the playoffs this week and I don’t think we’ll have any trouble getting ready for it.” Big Spring holds a 16-7 all-time advantage over the Chiefs, including a 42-32 win last year that propelled the Steers through the regular season and into the playoffs. Lake View (2-6, 1-2) lost 32 seniors from that team, returning 15 lettermen. The Chiefs are coming off a 49-14 loss to Hereford at home and are needing a win to wrap up a playoff spot. “Lake View’s still got hope for a shot of getting in the playoffs,” Ritchey said. “They’ve got a lot to play for so we have to be ready for them.” Runningback Montae Anderson will look to get back on track Friday night after finishing just shy of the century mark for the first time of the season last week, going for 97 yards on 31 carries. “In every game that we’ve played, [Anderson has] been the main focus of the defense, but this is the first time that he’s been limited like he was,” Ritchey said. Lake View will try to duplicate how the Cougars were able to stymie Big Spring’s run game with a similar scheme, Ritchey said. The Chiefs’ coaching staff is made up of former Cooper coaches. “We’ll probably see a lot of the same things, which is good for us because we’ve worked on it a week,” Ritchey said. “Now we’re just kind of continuing what we started last week and making some adjustments here and there.” Defensively, Big Spring will try to slow down Lake View quarterback Paxton Martin, who has thrown for more than 1,600 yards this season and 17 touchdowns. “[Lake View has] had a lot of trouble running the football against everybody that they’ve played, so they’ve been forced to throw the ball a bunch,” Ritchey said. “[Martin] has got a lot of yards and he’s got a couple of good receivers, so I expect them to throw the ball a bunch against us because we’re pretty good against the run.” The Steers had trouble defending Cooper’s passing attack last week, giving up most of the Cougars’ 243 first-half yards through the air. They were, however, able to intercept Cooper quarterback Ryan Heslep for his first of the season and limit the Cougar offense in the second half by pressuring the quarterback. Ritchey is ready to come after Martin, who was held to just 87 yards through the air last week in a 49-14 loss to Hereford. “The key is just pressuring this guy, and it’s going to be a big key friday, Ritchey said. “We’re going to try to mix it up and keep him guessing as to what we’re going to do whether we’re in man or zone, with a lot of blitzing, or whether we show man and drop to a zone and rush with four. Our kids understand we’ve got to get to that quarterback.” Ritchey is looking for a big crowd Friday night to cheer on the Steers. “We want to try to encourage everybody to come out and stay behind this team,” he said. “We’re not in the top ten anymore, but that doesn’t take anything away from our team. We’ve got a good football team, these kids are working hard and we’re going to need a lot of support to keep them pumped up.”
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| | Cooper hands Steers 1st loss |
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| Posted By: Tanner Henry on 2009-10-30 11:55:23 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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| Saturday, 24 October 2009 |  BY JONATHAN HULL
Sports Editor
ABILENE — Only one team could leave the field at Shotwell Stadium undefeated in District 4-4A play Friday night and unfortunately it wasn't the Big Spring Steers. The No. 7 Steers stood toe-to-toe with longtime state power Abilene Cooper, but just missed on several plays that would have allowed them to overtake the Cougars late, falling 21-18. The loss is Big Spring's first of the season, dropping the Steers to 7-1 overall with a 2-1 mark in 4-4A. Cooper (5-3, 3-0) now sits alone atop the district standings with two games to play. "I am very proud of the way we played in this game. We're disappointed we lost, but we stood tall against a very talented team," said Big Spring Head Coach Phillip Ritchey. "We knew this was going to be a tough game for us. Cooper's record was very misleading. They're one of the best teams in this region and they're going to make a deep run into the playoffs." The Cougars were able to accomplish something no other team on the Steers' schedule had come close to doing — hold the Steers under 300 yards of total offense. For the first time this season, Monte Anderson wasn't able to break the century mark running the ball, finishing with 97 yards on 31 carries. Anderson had runs totaling more than 10 yards twice in the entire game and was held out of the end zone other than a 2-point conversion in the third quarter. "Nothing came easy for Monte tonight. Cooper's front seven did a great job," said Ritchey. "They came in focused on stopping him and did so for the most part." Cooper routinely applied pressure to quarterback Tyler Tannehill, too. While the Cougars didn't sack Tannehill, the Steers' senior signal caller was consistently forced to hurry his throw as he avoided a heavy pass rush from Cooper. Tannehill finished with 166 yards and two touchdowns with one interception on 16-of-24 passing. "They did a great job blitzing from several spots," Ritchey noted. "I thought we did really well to break the big pass plays that we did. We had a chance to hit some other plays and really had a chance to win this game at the end. We had an open receiver, but we just missed him. That's the way it goes sometimes. "This game really turned out to be a defensive battle," he added. "We did a good job on them in the second half slowing them down and forcing some turnovers. The opportunities were there. We just didn't cash in." Cooper amassed 373 total yards, but 243 of them came in the first half. Quarterback Ryan Heslep finished with 259 yards and two passing touchdowns as well as one rushing score. He completed 16-of-25 passes, but was also picked off for the first time this season by Tevian Parnell. Cooper struck first at the 7:38 mark in the first quarter, when a blown Steers coverage led to a 60-yard touchdown pass from Heslep to Tommy Bowman. Big Spring had an answer, though, sustaining a drive for 10 plays and taking 4:38 off the clock. The 62-yard scoring drive was capped by a 15-yard strike from Tannehill to a wide open Thaddeus Straughter, who didn't have a Cooper defender within 10 yards of him as he settled down in the end zone. Cooper marched right back down on the field on its ensuing possession and took a 14-7 lead with 55 seconds left in the opening frame courtesy of a 46-yard touchdown pass from Heslep to Lowry. Both teams struggled to score in the second quarter, but Big Spring began mounting a last minute drive that ended with Tannehill's first field goal of the season. He split the uprights from the left hash at a distance of 23 yards. Leading 14-10 coming out of the break, Cooper took the opening possession of the second half and sustained a drive for 4:16, capped by a 1-yard sneak by Heslep. Big Spring wasted no time with a response, but needed an impressive catch and run by senior tight end Matt Ritchey to pull back within one score. Tannehill lofted a pass for Ritchey just as he was hit by a Cooper defender. Ritchey found another gear and ran down the lob, pulling it in with his fingertips and maintaining his balance as he scooted for a 41-yard touchdown. Initially, the extra point attempt was blocked, but Cooper's player who got a hand on the ball was ruled offsides, moving the ball within a yard of the goal line. Big Spring elected to go for 2 and succeeded in cutting the deficit to 3 as Anderson plunged into the end zone. The Steers marched into Cooper territory on its final possession left, but stymied just as they crossed the 50. On a fourth-and-7 from the Cooper 47, Tannehill and Ritchey miscommunicated on the route. Ritchey ran a 10-yard hitch, while Tannehill threw the ball further up the field, effectively ending the game as Cooper took over with 2:23 on the clock and Big Spring had just one timeout. A quarterback sneak by Heslep on a fourth-and-short with less than a minute to play sealed the win for the Cougars. Cooper now travels to Frenship (5-3, 1-2) in pursuit of its first district title at the Class 4A level. Frenship defeated Plainview 14-7 Friday. The Steers return home at 7:30 p.m. Friday for their final regular season appearance at Memorial Stadium of 2009. They'll host San Angelo Lake View (2-6, 1-2), which fell to Hereford (7-1, 2-1) 42-14 Friday. "We've got to show one of the marks of a great team and that's respond well after losing a game," said Ritchey. "We have to leave this disappointment behind and keep working for the No. 1 seed in the small school division of the playoffs. We're a good football team and we lost to another good football team. There's no reason for us to get down on ourselves. "There's a good chance we're going to play at Shotwell again this season," he added. "We could be here for the playoffs just like last year and we'll be facing an opponent as good as what we saw in Cooper." |
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| | Cooper defense gears up to slow Big Spring run game |
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| Posted By: Tanner Henry on 2009-10-22 18:40:39 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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The Cooper defense doesn’t like to put too much emphasis on stopping one player — especially against a team such as Big Spring, which is loaded with offensive weapons. Yet Joshua’e Robinson, Cooper’s junior inside linebacker, knows that stopping Monte Anderson and the Big Spring running game could be a crucial factor in who wins Friday night’s District 4-4A showdown at Shotwell Stadium. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, you stop the run game you’re probably going to win in high school football because that’s what teams rely on,” he said. “If we stop the run game, we’re probably going to win.” That won’t be easy. Anderson, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound senior, has rushed for 1,465 yards and 15 touchdowns this season for the Steers, who are 7-0 and ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press’ Class 4A state poll. “I think he’s a really good running back,” said Quincy Moore, a senior defensive end for the Coogs. “We can’t underestimate him. He’s really fast. He makes good moves, and it’s going to be real big for us to wrap up, not give him a chance to make big plays.” Added Robinson, “He’s not a very big back, but he’s got good speed, kind of like Abilene High running back Hershel Sims. He’s got good speed, a good outside guy. He’s quick and good.” It’s important that guys like Moore and Robinson contain Anderson when he runs he runs their way, otherwise Anderson break some long runs. “Big time,” Moore said. “If we’re not where we’re supposed to be, then that leaves the guy downfield. It’s on us. We have to be where we’re supposed to be. “On some plays, it’s making sure that he doesn’t get outside. On other plays, it’s helping funneling him to the outside so he doesn’t have a cutback lane to break it inside.” Robinson said it’s still business as usual for the Cooper defense. “It’s not like he’s something special we’re game planning around,” he said. “We’re going to do what we do. We’re going to do it good. We’re going to prevent what he does. He’s a good guy in space. We’re going to try and take away his space.” Moore agreed that the Coogs can’t just focus on Anderson. “They have a lot of big guys,” he said. “All their skill guys definitely are people we have to worry about it.” Moore said the Big Spring offense reminds him a lot of Abilene High — another undefeated team ranked No. 8 in Class 5A. “They have really good speed,” he said. Cooper coach Mike Spradlin said the Coogs can’t get caught in thinking about one guy. “They’ve got some weapons besides (Anderson),” he said. “If you get focused too much on one weapon, you’re going to get hurt. They’ve got some counters and things they do. The key is to play real sound and execute well and do what you do well. Make sure you’re where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there and then make the plays you’re supposed to make. That’s the nature of football. It’s offensive execution, and defensively it’s about being where you’re supposed to be, being in the gaps you’re supposed to be, and we’re certainly going to have to do that Friday night to take care of business.” |
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| Posted in football, high school sports, men's athletics |
| | Steers face another big test with Cooper looming Friday |
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| Posted By: Tanner Henry on 2009-10-22 18:39:07 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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| Thursday, 22 October 2009 | 
By JONATHAN HULL
Sports Editor
Playing in meaningful games is a habit Big Spring Head Coach Phillip Ritchey hopes can continue for the Steers. Big Spring (7-0, 2-0) travels to Abilene to meet the Cooper Cougars (4-3, 2-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Shotwell Stadium for a pivotal District 4-4A matchup that will decide which team will sit alone atop the standings after three games of league play. "This is the type of game we want to be a part of here at Big Spring," said Ritchey. "Any time a game gets this much attention on a statewide level, it's good news for this program. It's just like being ranked. The biggest deal in all of it is the honor the team receives for its accomplishments." The Steers enter Friday night ranked No. 7 in the state and are attempting to go 8-0 for the first time in the program's 102-year history. While Cooper has three losses on its record, Ritchey warns the Cougars' season mark is quite misleading. "All of Cooper's losses came to very good 5A squads and they didn't get blown out in any of those games," said Ritchey. "They're a very good team and we're not going to see a team as talented as they are until we get to the postseason. Honestly, if Cooper plays our schedule, there's a pretty good chance they'd be undefeated and in the Top 10, too. They'd have a tough time with Denison and Frenship just like we did, but I do think they'd be undefeated." Much like Big Spring, the Cougars are using a balanced offense to post gaudy numbers. Cooper is averaging more than 40 points a game with 3,199 total yards on the season. The Cougars have racked up 1,477 yards on the ground and 1,722 through the air. Cooper has three running backs — Kendrick Powdrill (482), Alford Cooper (450) and Davon Riddick (398) — with close to or more than 400 yards rushing and averaging better than six yards a carry. Quarterback Ryan Heslep has completed 131-of-207 passes for 1,662 yards and 15 touchdowns and is yet to throw an interception this season. Also like the Steers, Heslep spreads the ball around with four receivers recording at least 20 receptions. "They started the season throwing the ball a lot, but have really started to pound it with the ground game in their last couple games," noted Ritchey. "They're capable of having success either way. It's going to be a major challenge for our defense. They can spread us out and throw the ball in a scheme much like Pampa's, which gave us trouble earlier this season. They're also capable of getting in the I-formation and running between the tackles. I'd rather face a team that's good at only running or passing than one that can do both any day. "The fact Heslep has thrown only one interception this season is amazing, too," he added. "To have thrown the ball as many times as he has and not make any mistakes just speaks volumes about his ability. This is the most talented offense we're going to see so far this season." The Steers have been just as balanced this season and last week's 49-12 win over Plainview emulated that fact. Quarterback Tyler Tannehill threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns, while tailback Monte Anderson rushed for 199 yards and three scores. Tannehill's four touchdown passes went to four different receivers. "We're capable of attacking defenses any way we want to," said Ritchey. "We're probably going to be seeing the most athletic secondary we have all season. They've got some good, quick players up front as well." Cooper's secondary is led by cornerback T.C. Robinson, who has made a verbal commitment to Baylor and had received interest from other Division I colleges such as SMU, TCU and Texas Tech. Ritchey said Robinson's presence in the secondary is not going to change the way Big Spring attacks with the passing game. "He's a good player, but we can't allow him to take away one side of the field," explained Ritchey. "I'm going to be interested to see which one of our receivers he lines up on because we've got so many who have been contributing this season. We're going to throw the ball to every part of the field. We won't limit ourselves at all. "Their secondary plays a lot of man coverage and we haven't seen that too much this season," he added. "We've seen some very good zone schemes, but Cooper has the athletes to match up with most teams man-to-man." Ritchey adds a large target remains firmly on the backs of the Steers, but also says Big Spring has reasons to be gunning for Cooper as well. "They don't like the fact we're ranked ahead of them. They see our schedule and know the quality of teams they've faced this season. I'm sure they believe they're a better team than we are," said Ritchey. "We've got a target on us because of that, but we're putting a target on them, too. They're a big 4A school with 5A numbers. We're playing with more like 3A numbers right now, but we know we can hang with the big boys. We're wanting that district title and we've got to beat Cooper to get to it." |
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| | Steers improve to 7-0 |
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| Posted By: Tanner Henry on 2009-10-18 12:56:40 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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By JONATHAN HULL
Sports Editor
Great teams make certain to take care of the business at hand. With the term trap game being thrown at the Big Spring Steers throughout the week, the Steers left those potential naysayers speechless as they pounded the Plainview Bulldogs 49-12 Friday night at Memorial Stadium. From the opening whistle to the final horn, the Steers dominated the Bulldogs in every facet of the game. "There's not much to complain about with this game. We played well on offense, defense and special teams," said Big Spring Head Coach Phillip Ritchey. "I was really worried we might not be completely focused on this game after the big win over Frenship last week and another big matchup looming next week. Our guys took care of their business, though. I can't complain about much at all tonight." The win sets up what will certainly be one of the region's premier matchups next week, when Big Spring (7-0, 2-0) visits Abilene Cooper (4-3, 2-0) with the top spot in District 4-4A on the line. Cooper routed Lake View 62-14 Friday. "Cooper is going to be good. They've got three losses this season, but all of them came in close games against good Class 5A programs," said Ritchey. "Regardless of the result next week, I'm glad we're going to be facing Cooper. It's a game that is going to get us ready for the postseason. We won't see another team as good as them until we get to the third round of the playoffs. "We're going to be confident going into this game," he added. "We're playing great football and Cooper is as well. We're fighting for a district championship and this game will go a long way in deciding who is going to win it." Essentially, this game was over after the first quarter, when the Steers put three touchdowns on the board. Plainview was able to stifle the Steers run game on their first drive of the game, but a well-timed screen pass by Tyler Tannehill to tight end Matt Ritchey gave Big Spring its first points of the game at the 8:56 mark in the opening stanza. After catching the ball, Ritchey turned to see nothing but 54 yards of open field in front of him as he went into the end zone untouched. The Steers needed just two plays to score on their second drive as Tannehill threw a 66-yard bomb to Thaddeus Straughter, who caught the ball in stride and delivered a daunting stiff arm to a Plainview defensive back on his way to paydirt. Running back Monte Anderson decided to chime in before the opening period ended, scampering into the end zone from 37 yards out with 1:14 on the clock to give Big Spring a 21-0 advantage. Big Spring didn't take its foot off the gas in the second quarter, posting another score less than two minutes into the frame courtesy of a 47-yard pass from Tannehill to Tevian Parnell. The pass appeared to be tipped by Pavel Plakhotny, but the ball found its way into Parnell's waiting arms and he outran two Bulldogs across the goal line. Following Plainview's first touchdown of the night — a 10-yard option keeper by quarterback Jason Miller — Tannehill threw his fourth touchdown pass to as many receivers, hitting Plakhotny from 12 yards out. Tannehill completed 16-of-24 passes for 318 yards. With the game well in hand by the break, 35-6, the Steers started feeding Anderson in the second, running time off the clock. Anderson received seven straight carries to open the third quarter, racking up 55 yards before capping the drive with a 1-yard plunge. Anderson capped a 16-play, 73-yard drive with a second 1-yard score with 7:59 to play in the game, placing the Steers ahead 49-6. That was Big Spring's final score and the drive to achieve it took 8:31. Anderson finished with 199 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. Plainview added a score against Big Spring's subs with 5:40 to play when Miller found Marquis Jackson from 36 yards out. Big Spring is now undefeated after seven games for the first time since 1951, when the Steers opened the year 6-0-1. The last time Big Spring was 7-0 dates back to 1931, when that year's squad didn't give up a single point in its first eight games. |
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| | Ending the drought |
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| Posted By: Tanner Henry on 2009-10-12 15:00:38 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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| Monday, 12 October 2009 |  By JONATHAN HULL
Sports Editor
WOLFFORTH — Frenship's reign over West Texas football at the Class 4A level ended Friday night.
There's a new power in the region and it resides in Big Spring. The Steers left no doubt as to who the team to beat in District 4-4A is with a 28-14 win over the Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Wolfforth. The loss is Frenship's first on their home turf since a Plainview squad knocked off the Tigers in 2005. It also snaps a 16-game district winning streak for Frenship. Most importantly for the Steers, it gives them a win to start District 4-4A play. It's also the program's first victory over Frenship since 1999, which is also the last time a Steers squad was both 6-0 and ranked in the state's Top 10 poll. "This is a huge win for us," said Big Spring Head Coach Phillip Ritchey. "I feel like I'm 100 pounds lighter cause I got that big gorilla off my back that is Frenship. Our guys played great. We made some mistakes in the first half and missed on some chances to make some big plays. We kept fighting. It was just a great effort by a bunch of hardworking kids who have pride in this team, school and community." The Steers trailed 14-7 at halftime and struggled during their first two drives of the third quarter, killing any potential momentum with untimely penalties. It was the defense providing the turning point in the game as the Steers linebackers and defensive backs began sitting down in the passing lanes of Frenship quarterback Brandon Hanslik as he tried to rifle passes into his receivers after a play action fake. Hanslik's first interception of the second half, which was his second of the game, came on a deflected pass that landed in the arms of linebacker Xavian Parnell with 2:56 second to play in the third quarter. Parnell's pick set the Steers offense at Frenship's 37, and six plays later, Monte Anderson punched the ball in from a yard out, tying the game at 14 with five seconds left in the third. Senior linebacker Pavel Plakhotny picked off Hanslik on the second play of the fourth quarter, returning the ball to the Tigers' 22. It only took the Steers four plays to take the lead as Anderson scored from 2 yards out this time, placing Big Spring ahead 21-14. Anderson added a third touchdown — a 17-yard burst up the middle of Frenship's defense — for good measure with 3:44 to play. Anderson has topped 100 yards in every game this season, including 184 yards on 28 carries. That gives Anderson 1,264 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season. The Steers have proven to be a second half squad in close games this season. Big Spring has trailed at the half in three games this season. The Steers were down 13-7 to Snyder in the first game of the season and 14-7 to Denison in the second. Both times the Steers rallied in the third quarter and put the game away in the fourth. The same scenario occurred in Wolfforth. "The main thing we tell these kids in the locker room is to not panic," said Ritchey. "They know we've got the talent and some good coaches. Offensively, we started running the option more because they were playing so hard inside. The option really loosened them up. "Monte did a great job and we have to concentrate on getting the ball in his hands. Our linemen really took over," he added. "I thought in the third and fourth quarters Frenship was gassed. They were running guys in and out a lot. It's just a tribute to our line." Hanslik ended up throwing four interceptions for Frenship. Up until the final two plays of the game when Hanslik completed two meaningless passes, he had more passes caught by Big Spring defenders than by his own receivers. "We've been making adjustments for their passing game for two weeks. They've got a great play action passing game," noted Ritchey. "We forced them to throw a few picks. Our secondary and defensive coaches had a great game plan. It was a great overall team effort." Frenship was held to 83 yards in the second half with 54 of them coming on the final two plays of the game. "We had some seniors and one junior step up in the passing game and make some big plays," said Steers senior middle linebacker Matt Ritchey. "We didn't let ourselves get confused by their play action. We were always in the right spot to make a play. Everything we worked on this week in practice came into play. Everything broke right for us." For Ritchey and the rest of the seniors, defeating Frenship will be something they never forget. "Beating Denison was big for us earlier this season because they were No. 4 and it was such a hyped up game," said Ritchey. "We've had the Frenship game on our mind the most. They're classy guys and we knew they wouldn't quit. We played with them the whole was through and it's just a nice tribute to our team." Next up for the Steers is Plainview's Bulldogs, who make the trip to Memorial Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Plainview dropped its district opener 28-15 to Lake View. Plainview does have a 31-13 victory over the Pampa Harvesters, who the Steers defeated 55-41.
Big Spring 28, Frenship 14
Big Spring 7 0 7 14—28
Frenship 6 8 0 0—14
First quarter
FS - Josh Vasquez 13 run (kick failed), 8:26
BS - Matt Ritchey 35 pass from Tyler Tannehill (Tannehill kick), 5:57
Second quarter
FS - Brandon Hanslik 1 run (Jon Pharris from Hanslik), 4:34
Third quarter
BS - Monte Anderson 1 run (Tannehill kick), :05
Fourth quarter
BS - Anderson 2 run (Tannehill kick), 9:35
BS - Anderson 17 run (Tannehill kick), 3:44
BS FS
First downs 15 15
Rushes-Yds. 35-198 36-187
Passing Yds. 115 87
Comp.-Att.-Int. 9-17-2 5-16-4
Total Yds. 313 274
Punts-Avg. 4-40 3-41.3
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-Yds. 7-41 1-15
Time of Poss. 23:50 24:10
Individual stats
Rushing: Big Spring - Monte Anderson 28-184, Matt Ritchey 4-12, Tyler Tannehill 1-3, Martin Yanez 2-(-1); Frenship - Roddy Rivas 9-60, Bobby Huey 13-56, Josh Vasquez 2-13, Brandon Hanslik 7-11, Xavier Vasquez 1-8, Gabe Guerro 4-39.
Passing: Big Spring - Tannehill 9-17-2 115; Frenship - Hanslik 5-16-4 87.
Receiving: Big Spring - Ritchey 3-64, Thaddeus Straughter 1-31, Yanez 2-8, Anderson 2-6, Tevian Parnell 1-6; Frenship - Zach Kittley 2-40, Jon Pharris 1-21, Rivas 1-13, Dallas Croyle 1-13.
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| | Big Spring takes advantage of Frenship's miscues |
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| Posted By: Tanner Henry on 2009-10-10 14:47:41 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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WOLFFORTH — It’s not often that Frenship walks out of Tiger Stadium on the short end of the scoreboard. In fact, it’s been almost four years to the date it last happened in district play. But few teams can overcome the mistakes that befell Frenship in its District 4-4A opener Friday night. Quarterback Brandon Hanslik threw four interceptions after going the first five games without one and No. 9 Big Spring turned two of them into the tying and go-ahead touchdowns for a 28-14 victory, ending Frenship’s 16-game district winning streak. “Big Spring is a great team and they were definitely the better team tonight,” Tigers head coach Brad Davis said. “We’ve got to get better. I’ve got to get them prepared to play four quarters next week and I didn’t do that tonight. “Big Spring is outstanding and they deserved to win the game.” Steers running back Monte Anderson, who had 1,064 yards through five games coming into the night, rushed for 171 yards in the second half to finish with 192 yards and scored all three second half touchdowns, allowing Big Spring (6-0, 1-0 in 4-4A) to overcome a 14-7 halftime deficit. It is Frenship’s first district loss since a 28-7 defeat at the hands of Plainview in October of 2005. “We probably didn’t give it to (Anderson) enough in the first half, and a lot of that had to do with Frenship’s defense,” Big Spring coach Phillip Ritchey said. “They were strong in the middle on the running game and we came out and tried to spread them out some, but then we went back to doing what we do best and it started working, and we should have done it more in the first half. (Anderson) took over and our line took over.” And it didn’t hurt to have a short field most of the half, either. Frenship’s defense had put the clamps on Anderson to the tune of 21 yards on five carries through the first two quarters. That and two Zach Kittley interceptions helped the Tigers (4-2, 0-1) hold off the Steers for most of 21/2 periods. But when the turnovers started mounting up, so did the Big Spring points. “They came out and did a lot of stuff that we hadn’t seen on film before,” Kittley said. “We were trying to adjust to that on the fly and we just didn’t get it done the way we needed to. We hadn’t seen the option at all and they got under center a lot more than we had seen them. Kittley stopped Big Spring’s first drive of the second half with a pick at the Frenship 29, but the Tigers eventually turned it over on downs. Frenship’s next possession was cut short when Xavian Parnell snared the ball out of midair from a bobbling Jon Pharris at the Frenship, and that’s when Anderson began to cut loose. He carried five times for 27 yards on the ensuing drive, capping with a 1-yard touchdown run with 5 seconds left in the third quarter, tying the game at 14-all. Just two plays into the next Frenship drive, Hanslik was picked off again, this time as Pavel Plakhotny stepped in front of Kittley to snare the pass and return it to the Tiger 22. Four Anderson runs accounted for every yard of the next drive, ending it with a 2-yard touchdown with 9:35 left to give Big Spring a 21-14 lead. Things never got any better for the Tigers, whose next two drives ended on downs at the Big Spring 40 which the Steers converted into Anderson’s third and game-sealing touchdown from 17 yards out and Hanslik’s fourth interception at the Tiger 40 with 3:29 left in the game. Big Spring 7 0 7 14—28 Frenship 6 8 0 0—14 First Quarter Fre Josh Vasquez 14 run (kick failed), 8:26 Big Matt Ritchey 36 pass from Tyler Tannehill (Tannehill kick), 5:57 Second Quarter Fre Nick Hanslik 1 run (Jon Phariss pass from Hanslik), 4:34 Third Quarter Big Monte Anderson 1 run (Tannehill kick), 0:05 Fourth Quarter Big Anderson 2 run (Tannehill kick), 9:35 Big Anderson 17 run (Tannehill kick), 3:44 Big Fre First downs 13 14 Rushes-yards 32-205 35-184 Passing yards 82 89 Comp.-att.-int. 9-17-2 5-16-4 Punts-avg. 4-37.7 2-39.0 Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0 Penalties-yards 7-40 1-15 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: Big Spring, Monte Anderson 25-192, Matt Ritchey 4-11, Tyler Tannehill 1-4, Martin Yanez 1-4; Frenship, Roddy Rivas 9-58, Bobby Huey 12-54, Gave Guerrero 3-40, Josh Vasquez 2-14, Xavier Vasquez 1-8, Brandon Hanslik 8-7. PASSING: Big Spring, Tannehill 9-17-2--82; Frenship, Hanslik 5-16-4--89 RECEIVING: Big Spring, Ritchey 3-65, Thaddeus Straughter 1-36, Yanez 2-8, Anderson 2-5, Tevian Parnell 1-6; Frenship, Phillip James 1-29, Jon Phariss 1-22, Rivas 1-13, Dallas Croyle 1-13, Zach Kittley 1-12. |
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| | Steers have target on their chest vs. Frenship |
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| Posted By: Tanner Henry on 2009-10-08 17:00:14 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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| Steers have target on their chest vs. Frenship |
| Thursday, 08 October 2009 | 
By JONATHAN HULL
Sports Editor
They've played every year since 1998, but if the matchup between the Big Spring Steers and the Frenship Tigers is considered a rivalry, then it's been a one-sided affair. The Steers have just one win over Frenship during that timeframe, coming 10 years ago in the 1999 season. Big Spring hopes to chance that trend with the two teams lock horns at 7:30 p.m. at Tiger Stadium in Wolfforth in the District 4-4A opener for both squads. It's a game undefeated Big Spring (5-0) believes it can win after enjoying a bye last week. "It wasn't too hard to get back into a routine. Once we got out and started practicing, it felt like we hadn't even missed a week," said Big Spring Head Coach Phillip Ritchey. "There wasn't really any rust shown. Everybody has been upbeat and sharp. "Certainly, this has been the easiest game for our guys to get focused on," Ritchey added. "We know what's at stake Friday. It's going to be fun and we feel like we can beat them this year." The backdrop for this year's matchup between Big Spring and Frenship isn't typical. In fact, the two squads are essentially reversing roles. While Frenship's dominance over its district, which has included Big Spring since 2000, is duly noted, it's the Steers with the target on their back this season. The bull's eye on Big Spring's chest is only magnified by its No. 9 ranking in the latest edition of the Associated Press' Top 10 Class 4A Football Poll. "From Frenship's point of view, our ranking puts a big target on us," noted Ritchey. "They're certainly not accustomed to us being ranked ahead of them. They're not used to this being a big game with Big Spring." Still, even with the ranking, Ritchey is preaching to the Steers that they're still the underdogs in this game. "This is a big game on the road in a hostile environment. We're still not favored to win even with our ranking," he explained. "Frenship expects to beat us still and now they're playing with extra motivation based on our ranking." Friday's game also serves as a part of Frenship's annual homecoming celebration, spurring on the Tigers' need for a winning performance even further, while also provoking the Steers. "The homecoming factor is interesting. I think Coach (Brad) Davis knew we were going to be good this year and is just trying to give their kids a little extra motivation to play us," said Ritchey. "There are going to be a lot of ex-players and students in attendance and I think that's another reason he picked us. They could've picked some of the other teams they blew out at home during their non-district schedule. I think Davis wanted a good football team to showcase his squad against for the homecoming crowd. "He's also saying he's confident they can win this game by making us their homecoming opponent," he continued. "It's an extra motivation for us, too. We're taking it personally that he scheduled us as the homecoming opponent." The Steers expect to face a typical Frenship team that prefers to utilize a power run game between the tackles with a big offensive line serving as the offensive catalyst. "After watching Frenship on film for two weeks, they are just as talented as Denison. They're bigger up front than Denison. They're offensive line is big and strong and their backs are tough. They're a very talented team and play with a lot of pride in their tradition." The Tigers are led by running back Bobby Huey, who has 391 yards on 66 carries. Quarterback Brandon Hanslik hasn't thrown an interception this season, completing 36-of-66 passes for 589 yards and eight touchdowns. However, Frenship's passing game develops out of the ground attack as the Tigers utilize play-action passes frequently. "Frenship probably uses the play-action pass as well as anyone I've seen in all my time as a coach," said Ritchey. "That's something we'll have to guard against. They force defenses to cheat an eighth guy into the box to stop the run and they they send receivers deep as safeties begin to creep up more and more. It's tough to defend." The Steers come into district play with the most balanced offense in the league, having passed and rushed for more than 1,100 yards. Tailback Monte Anderson has 1,080 yards on the ground, averaging better than 9 yards a carry. Meanwhile, quarterback Tyler Tannehill has passed for 1,156 yards and 17 touchdowns, while throwing just two interceptions. Tannehill has spread the ball out evenly to a litany of receivers, including Thaddeus Straughter, Matt Ritchey, Martin Yanez, Pavel Plakhotny, and twin brothers Xavian and Tevian Parnell. Even with a balanced offense putting up numbers never before seen at Big Spring, Coach Ritchey says its an intangible that is making the most difference for the Steers this season. "One of our biggest advantages this year is the confidence we have going into the game. We believe we can beat (Frenship)," he said. "That hasn't been true for Big Spring in the past. We felt the same way last year, but we had the accident and it took some key players off the field. We know we can go play with these guys. If we don't make a bunch of mistakes, we can win this game." The accident Ritchey mentions was a car wreck the night before the game with Frenship last year that forced four starters onto the sidelines, including Anderson. That was just one of several mishaps off and on the field last season that kept Big Spring from playing with a full squad for most of the year. Frenship defeated the Steers 39-21 in 2008, although Big Spring had nine starters sitting on the sidelines. "Honestly, for our seniors, this is going to be the first year they've faced Frenship together since they've been on the varsity," noted Ritchey. "Last year, a bunch of those guys were out with injury. They weren't all together on the varsity as sophomores. This is a special senior class and I know they're all looking forward to facing Frenship one last time. "We're healthy this year, too. The only player who had missed significant time had been our center Julian (Ramirez) and he was cleared to play this week," said Ritchey. "Matt (Ritchey) dislocated his middle finger against Sweetwater and it's been tender, but a finger isn't going to keep him out of this game. I don't know that any injury could keep him off the field Friday. That goes for all of our seniors. They're all looking forward to this game." A victory over the Tigers is one that could carry the Steers through the remainder of the season, according to Ritchey. "If we beat Frenship, we pick up a lot of momentum for the rest of the season. A win over them would just re-emphasize our feelings of how good this team is," said Ritchey. "This is going to be a very hostile environment for us to play in. It's Frenship's homecoming. They're expecting to have standing room only for the crowd in attendance. Friday hasn't come quick enough for us this week. We've been dwelling on this game for two weeks now. We're all ready to get on the field." |
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| | Steers crack AP's Top 10 poll |
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| Posted By: Tanner Henry on 2009-10-07 15:45:04 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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| Apparently, all the Big Spring Steers had to do to break into the state's Top 10 football poll was not play for a week. Coming off a bye week and now heading into their District 4-4A opener against the Frenship Tigers, the Steers have finally cracked the Associated Press' Class 4A Top 10 Football Poll, debuting at No. 9 with 38 points. Last week, the Steers had 25 points after having 23 the week before. The Steers were tops in points for teams not in the Top 10 during that time frame. Big Spring (5-0) benefitted from losses by two teams — Sulphur Springs and Hewitt Midway — in last week's rankings. Sulphur Springs fell completely out of the poll after being smothered by Longview — then ranked No. 6, now seeded third — 45-0. It was Sulphur Springs' second loss of the season. Hewitt Midway dropped from No. 3 to No. 10 after falling to Corsicana 40-31. A total of 25 schools received votes in this week's poll, which is five more than any other classification. Three of those schools receiving points hail from District 4-4A. For the first time this season, Hereford received a single vote. Frenship also scored 1 point. The Tigers have been ranked as high as No. 9 this season, but fell out of the poll after losing to Class 3A's No. 4-ranked squad, Abilene Wylie. The Steers and Tigers meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Wolfforth. Big Spring has only one win in school history over Frenship and it occurred 10 years ago in 1999. The two programs have met on the gridiron every season since 1998 and have been in district together since 2000. Needless to say, the Steers could entrench themselves into the Top 10 poll with a victory over Frenship, which has dominated its district this decade. |
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