Published: October 01, 2008 05:03 pm            

A CSI look at everybody

Since one of the three lake area teams didn’t play last week, (Mabank) and the other two were out of lake-range, we’ll do an abbreviated CSI this week.

Not about one team in particular, but about all of them through the first five weeks of the season.



Strengths:

Eustace: Offensive line, good, tough mental attitudes, gutsy, hard-running backs in senior fullback Shawn Baldwin and option quarterback, junior Chris Compton. Probably the most consistent chain-movers of the three lake area teams. Exciting breakaway running back and defensive back in junior Trevan Johnson. Wherever he goes, he draws a crowd.



Kemp: Good running attack with quarterback Jeremy Quick and fullback  Josh Carr. Jackets believe they move the football on anybody.



Mabank: Great passing attack with quarterback Kolton Browning and a good group of receivers.

Improved defense and a good placekicker in Michael Blackburn. With Browning, one of East Texas’ top quarterbacks, the Panthers are seldom out of a football game, as Kaufman found out in the season opener when Mabank rallied from a three-touchdown deficit to win in the final seconds..

Weaknesses:

Eustace: Very little depth, which hurts team in the fourth quarter. Specialty teams give up too much yardage on kickoffs. Two games have been lost on blocked field goals.

Dogs’ open-field tackling is weak, but so is everybody else’s on the lake. Though Dogs are capable of scoring on any play, the passing attack is anemic, though the return of Zach Keeling should help.



Kemp: The Jackets have lost a lot of games in recent years and they’ve been woefully short on confidence.

Because of it, Kemp has beat itself numerous times the last couple of years.

Kemp runs out of its spread offense and its passing game isn’t going to scare anybody, at least up to now.

The Jackets are having to shake off a losing tradition in recent years. Biggest weakness has been not believing in themselves. That may have changed the last two weeks, but Jackets will have to beat a quality team to gain the respect they crave among their peers.

Kemp defense is better than last year, but the Dogs’ secondary, though all are back from last year when they were sophomores, has some soft spots, as Mabank exposed earlier this season.



Mabank: Still struggling to find a running game that will complement quarterback Kolton Browning’s passing.

Good ball-control teams can keep Browning on the sidelines and wear down a depth-thin Mabank defense. That cuts down on Browning’s number of passing attempts.

Receivers, though, talented, have been inconsistent. Several of the receivers are capable of breaking it all the way to the house.

Team will have to learn how to win on the road in hostile enemy territory.



Prospects: Here we go with that inane prognostication stuff.

Kemp and Eustace are long shots for a playoff spot, though both could surprise the big boys down the stretch.

Mabank has a decent chance, but the Panthers will have to keep getting better.

If the running game doesn’t improve, the Panthers probably won’t make it to the playoffs. But even moving up to 4A, I like this team’s chances for a playoff spot over the other two. The Panthers simply have more talent than the other two.

Now, for the second half, Bring it on, please.

        

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