Heading into today’s regular-season finale, the New Waverly Bulldogs have accomplished nearly everything they had in mind before the season kicked off.
Clinch a second straight playoff berth.
Check.
Win a share of a second consecutive district championship.
Check.
Claim an outright title.
Not just yet. That’s something that will be decided tonight when the Bulldogs clash with Buffalo.
The Dogs are far from satisfied and have no plans of resting on their laurels. Instead, they are focused on the Bison and look to finish district play the right way, without a single blemish.
“We just have to take it one game at a time,” senior wide receiver Kyren Watts said following Thursday’s practice. “We can’t look past Buffalo.”
“We really do need to finish strong,” senior Kody Coleman said.
Like New Waverly, the Bison have been cruising through district play.
After getting blanked by Corrigan-Camden in the district opener, Buffalo (3-1 in District 21-2A) blasted Groveton and Trinity and edged Centerville 21-14.
With plenty of confidence on both sidelines, the Bulldogs know they’ll have to do all the little things right to win their sixth straight this season.
“We really need to come out and set the tone for the game defensively,” head coach Ken Craig said. “We need to make a statement on that side of the ball. We’ve been good at times. Other times, we’ve bent a lot and done well when it gets into crunch time, but we need to have a solid four-quarter defensive game. We’ve got to line up correctly and we need to take care of our assignments.
“We also need to make that statement on the offensive side of the ball. We’ve come out and big-played everybody. We want to come out and execute on that side of the ball as well. We need to keep getting the ball into the hands of those guys that make big plays.”
Win or lose, New Waverly (4-0, 7-2) will be district champions. But with a loss to the Bison, the Bulldogs will have to share the title with Buffalo and possibly Corrigan-Camden, a team that New Waverly defeated three weeks ago on a last-second field goal.
Just the mere thought of sharing the 21-2A championship is a bitter pill to swallow and the Bulldogs want to avoid that from happening.
“We’re selfish. We’re greedy,” Coleman said with a smirk. “We don’t want to share it with anybody. We worked too hard and accomplished so much to not have it all to ourselves.”
Even with the Class 2A playoffs on the horizon, New Waverly knows that it still has a lot to gain, especially against a team that will also be going to the playoffs, and a lot to improve on.
“We always want to win,” Coleman added. “It’s just always good to go out on a positive note and build on it. We can always get better and that’s what we hope to do.”
Besides putting another district championship trophy on the shelf, the Bulldogs hope that they’ll gain some momentum to carry into the playoffs, which begin next week.
“You definitely want to go in with a win,” Craig said. “It’s tough to come back from a loss and regain focus. Sometimes that’s hard thing to overcome.
“I expect us to come out Friday and play the best that we can play. If we can play the best that we can, then we’ll be undefeated district champions by the end of the night.”
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One more goal to reach
Bulldogs looking to win district crown outright with win over Bison tonight
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Alive and kicking
For the third consecutive game, the Hornets played like a team that does not want basketball season to end anytime soon.
Desperate to notch another victory over Willis, the Huntsville boys jumped on the Wildkats early. The Hornets used their muscle and started pulling away in the second half, then when Willis made a late rally, Huntsville’s hungry bunch had enough energy left to hold off the Wildkats in a wild 76-63 victory at the Paul Bohan Hornet Gym. -
Lady Hornets roll through district undefeated again
The Lady Hornets did it again. For the second consecutive season, the Huntsville girls basketball team rolled through District 18-4A play without a loss.
On Tuesday night in Willis, the Lady Hornets closed out another perfect 14-0 district campaign with an 86-33 win over the LadyKats. -
New Waverly seniors close out regular season in style
In their final game of the regular season, the Lady Bulldogs just enjoyed themselves in a 60-46 win over Anderson-Shiro.
This was a team New Waverly beat on the road earlier in the season and a win in “Bulldog Country” would be the appropriate way to send out seniors Myeisha Williams, Morgan Eastland, Whitney McCullough and Alex Abbott. -
Streak stoppers?
The hottest team in the Southland Conference visits Johnson Coliseum tonight, riding a 13-game winning streak and sporting a perfect 9-0 league record.
Sam Houston State has a difficult task on its hands facing Texas-Arlington, a team which had its way with the Bearkats on Jan. 11 at Texas Hall. The Mavericks rolled to a 66-40 that night in what was Sam Houston’s worst loss in conference action all season. -
Bearkats to hold celebration befitting a championship team
A championship celebration unlike any in Bearkat history will take place tonight at Johnson Coliseum as part of the festivities for the Bearkats’ basketball game against Texas-Arlingon.
Walker County, the city of Huntsville and university officials will join with SHSU alumni, students, faculty-staff and fans in saluting the 2011 Southland Conference champion and NCAA Division I football national finalist Bearkat football team. -
Big week ahead for Bulldogs, Lady Bulldogs
To say that this is an important week for the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs basketball team would be a big understatement. With the regular season winding down, much is at stake for the New Waverly boys and girls.
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Bulldog lifters gain experience at Shepherd meet
Looking back on his lifters’ performance at last Saturday’s meet in Shepherd, New Waverly powerlifting coach Mike Carolan lauded his team’s efforts. Senior Tucker Saxton won the 220-pound classification and freshman Dillon Silvis took fifth in the 114-pound division.
- Running Shorts: First 50-miler in the books
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Hornet powerlifters fare well at Shepherd meet
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Huntsville’s Thompson cruises at Willis tennis tourney, wins singles title
Hard rain, blustery wind and a change of venue could not stop Huntsville senior Kyle Thompson last Friday. The Hornets’ top tennis player cruised to three consecutive victories and earned the championship trophy in boys singles at a dual match in Willis.
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