Published in the Frisco Enterprise:

Raccoons look to strengthen team unity; 2005 schedule

By JIM DONOVAN, Staff Writer 08/26/2005

There is an old saying that there is no "I" in team. That old saying is very true, but you can find a "me".

Football is a sport that emphasizes a team concept as much if not more than most others. It is hard for one player to shoulder the load of an entire offensive or defensive unit.

Sure, a team might have the best receiver in the country, but someone has to throw him the ball. In order for a defensive lineman to succeed, he needs the help of the other lineman to break through the line and sack the quarterback.

Some of the Raccoons think that the one thing their entire team has to do to be successful this season is to find the right chemistry.

"I think we need to overcome being individuals," said Laren Hays. "Whenever we get on some rough times, we have got to be a team through it all."

Teamwork has been a major focus during practice this season by both the coaching staff and the senior leaders on the team.

Granted, it all starts with the individual but a team is only as good as its weakest players. Therefore, helping everyone be where they need to be and offering positive encouragement to their teammates is a role everyone on the team needs to be ready to take.

"We are doing a whole lot better with teamwork," said Chase Poe, "but we can still do better."

According to a few of the players, last year, Frisco saw some tough times when it came to dealing with individual personalities over a team concept.

Some of the players were thinking about themselves first before thinking of the team. Ask most team sports players and they will tell you that a team like that will not be successful.

"We need to overcome what happened last year," said Bernard Bray of some of the troubles Frisco had last season. "Some people think we are the same team as last year, but I think this year is different."

He continued on to say that in order to move forward with this season, he and his teammates need to leave last season in the past.

Some of the players had trouble trusting a few of the coaches from last year's team, but according to Pierre LeBlanc, that will not be a factor this year.

"There were trust issues with...everything involved with last season," he said. "Because we have a new coach [Gibson] and because he kind of established that trust factor, everybody feels more comfortable."

Gibson and his coaching staff have made the entire football experience more enjoyable for their players.

Some of us "used to hate coming to football," said Jeremy Cotton. "But now, I kind of like coming down [to practice] every day."

That is the kind of atmosphere that the Raccoons hope can take their season to immeasurable boundaries. In other words, Frisco wants a chance to be back in the playoff hunt.

2005 Raccoons football schedule
Today, vs. Lakeview Centennial, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 2, vs. Richardson, 7:30 p.m. %
Sept. 9, at West Mesquite, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 15, idle
Sept. 23, at Keller Central, 7:30 p.m.*
Oct. 1, vs. Centennial, 7:30 p.m. %*
Oct. 7, vs. Lake Dallas, 7:30 p.m.*
Oct. 14, at McKinney North, 7:30 p.m.*
Oct. 21, vs. Hebron, 7:30 p.m. %*
Oct. 28, vs. McKinney, 7:30 p.m.*
Nov. 4, at Justin Northwest, 7:30 p.m.*

% - Varsity game at Pizza Hut Park
* - Denotes District Game


©Star Community Newspapers 2005

First senior class ready to lead CHS; 2005 schedule

By JIM DONOVAN, Staff Writer 08/26/2005

It has been a few long years in the works, but the day where the Centennial Titans can compete on an even playing level is here.

Centennial played its first varsity season only a year ago, but that was without a senior class.

Assistant head varsity coach Chris King knows that this year's squad will be more prepared to take on the load with a senior class.

"There is a huge maturity difference between a junior and a senior," said King, who's coaching staple lies on the defensive side of the ball. "Now, you have got a set of kids that have been in the heat of battle."

The fact that Centennial might be the only school in all of Class 4A that is returning 22 starters (11 offense, 11 defense) will do nothing but help the Titans as they head into the season.

"I don't think that I have ever heard of a team that can say they are returning all of their lettermen," said King. "Any time you can bring back people that have been in the heat of battle situation that is a huge advantage."

The Titans will have the ability to play more of thr athletes at one main position due to the increase in number of players on their roster.

At this time last year, the Titans were scheduling two one-hour practices a day. Practices would consist of an hour where the entire team would work on defense and an hour for offense. King thinks that having the ability to put more players at a single position that do not have to learn both the offensive and defensive scheme will be a big advantage over last year's team.

At one point last year, the Titans only dressed 19 players for the McKinney North game.

This year, practices have been around an hour and a half in length and the players have been able to work at one position.

"You can only imagine what that looked like on the sidelines," said King. "By going with a lot more one-way players, we can get a little more done scheme wise."

Having seniors on the team does allow for one thing that Titans have never had before: leaders.

"I admire these kids because they had to make their own path," said King of the seniors. The seniors will take a role that they have never had before in high school. They will have to lead the younger athletes both on and off the field and begin to set a tradition for those who will follow in their footsteps.

Having seniors "gives your younger kids something to look up to," stated King.

Coach King thinks that his players have a chance, if the chips fall in all of the right places, to make a run at a playoff spot in only their second year.

"I think we have got a shot," said King. "Hebron and McKinney pretty much have the top two spots locked up but the third spot is open."

At this point in the season, the six teams besides Hebron and McKinney all believe they have a shot at the playoffs. With Centennial's massive increase in maturity from a year ago, King thinks Centennial really does have a shot at the third and final district playoff spot.

The main thing that Centennial has to do to really shoot for the playoffs is avoid injuries.

"We need to stay healthy," said King. "We still are not as deep as everyone else. We can't afford to lose anybody."

The Titans had their second scrimmage of the season against Woodrow Wilson last night at FISD Memorial Stadium. Centennial will play their first regular season game on Sept. 2 when they travel to Mansfield Timberview.


2005 Titans football schedule
Aug. 25, vs. Woodrow Wilson (scrimmage)
Sept. 2, at Mansfield Timberview, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 9, vs. Garland Sachse, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 16, vs. Richardson, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 23, at Hebron, 7:30 p.m.*
Oct. 1, at Frisco, 7:30 p.m.*%
Oct. 7, at Justin Northwest, 7:30 p.m.*
Oct. 14, vs. Keller Central, 7:30 p.m.*
Oct. 21, at McKinney, 7:30 p.m.*
Oct. 28, at Lake Dallas, 7:30 p.m.*
Nov. 4, vs. McKinney North, 7:30 p.m.*

* - denotes district game
% - denotes game at Pizza Hut Park


©Star Community Newspapers 2005


Around District 9-4A

Staff 08/26/2005

A look at District 9-4A opponents

Lake Dallas
2004 record: 8-3, 5-2
Playoffs: lost in bi-district round to Lincoln, 7-48
Outlook: Experts predict that Lake Dallas will battle with Frisco, Centennial, Justin Northwest, and McKinney North for the final playoff spot. Quarterback Austin Chambers will look to pick up where Chris Webb left off. Last year, Webb threw for more than 1,500 yards.

Justin Northwest
2004 Record: 7-3, 4-3
Playoffs: none
Outlook: Northwest will be returning around half of their offensive starters. Preston Merritt will battle for the starting quarterback position throughout the season. Like Lake Dallas, Northwest should battle for a playoff spot.

McKinney
2004 Record: 8-3, 6-1
Playoffs: lost in bi-district round to Hillcrest, 17-20
Outlook: One of the experts' favorites to take the district crown. Texas High School Football online magazine predicts the Lions will battle Hebron for the title. Outside linebacker Brandon Ogletree and running back Chris Wimbush will play a large part in their respective defensive and offensive game plans this season.

McKinney North
2004 Record: 2-8, 2-5
Playoffs: none
Outlook: North may battle for a playoff spot early in the season, but experts predict the Bulldogs to finish out of the post season. Chase Barrett will look to shoulder the load on offense from the backfield for the Lions. Barrett is only one of a strong returning junior class for the Bulldogs.

Keller Central
2004 Record: 1-9, 0-7
Playoffs: none
Outlook: Keller has struggled to compete in the past few years during district play. They have worked on bolstering their offensive and defensive schemes with hopes of finishing the season with a .500 record.

Hebron
2004 Record: 10-1, 7-0, District Champions
Playoffs: lost in bi-district round to Woodrow Wilson,
Outlook: The Hawks will again battle for the top spot in the district. Some preseason polls have them ranked as high as 13th in the state. Hebron boasts three of the top players in the region with running back Derek Robinson, wide receiver Steven Harris and offensive lineman Ryan Leonard.


©Star Community Newspapers 2005

so it looks like the Oct 21st game will be played at new Pizza Hut Park

The information on the site for that game is contradictory. Some say "yes", some say "no".