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November 11, 2009

Hornets preparing for a talented Buda Hays team that is rolling into playoffs

By Tom Waddill The Huntsville Item Wed Nov 11, 2009, 08:53 PM CST

It would be a serious mistake, Hornets head coach Mitchell Coey says, to judge the Hays Rebels on their overall record this season. Huntsville’s bi-district opponent brings a 4-6 mark into Saturday’s playoff game, but Coey warns that records can be deceiving.

The Rebels are a dangerous bunch, a team that is playing its best football right now. After an 0-5 start, Hays won four of its next five games. The Rebels’ only loss during the second half of the regular season came in overtime to Del Valle, the eventual District 17-4A champ.

“They’re a lot like us in that they struggled some early in the season,” Coey said Wednesday while the Hornets worked out on the turf at Bowers Stadium. “Looking at them on film, they’ve got a lot of different personnel on the field now. They had to search for folks and put people in the right positions. Once they did that, they started winning.”

Coey has watched the Rebels on tape, plus he’s talked to other coaches who have seen coach Bob Shelton’s team live. For Huntsville (7-3) to knock off Hays and advance to the area round of the playoffs, it’s going to take a complete and solid effort.

“They’re a well-coached team. They don’t have any real stars, but they’ve got two really good running backs,” Coey said of senior Trace Gandy (821 yards and five touchdowns) and junior Anthony Garza (713 yards and five scores).

“Their coach (Shelton) has been there a long time and he’s been very successful. They’re not going to beat themselves.”

Wing back Torrance Smith, a junior, may be the Rebels’ most potent offensive threat. He has rushed for 304 yards and 13 touchdowns, plus he’s caught 21 passes for 383 yards and one score.

“He has a lot of speed,” Huntsville quarterback/cornerback Justin Gilbert said. “He can hurt us.”

Defensively the Hornets are preparing for a team that does a little of everything. The Rebels try “lots of stuff,” according to Coey, and try to pinpoint their opponent’s weaknesses.

“They’ll run the veer and they’ll run some option stuff,” Coey said. “Their main thing is the inside and outside veer, but they’ll get in the gun and they’ll throw the ball. They’ll run the dive, they’ll get in the I-formation, an offset I and the wishbone.

“It looks like they’ve got five or six main plays, but they’ll line up in a thousand different formations. We’ve got to line up right. That’s a concern of our coaching staff.”

The Hornets, who have won five in a row, say they’re ready to tackle the Rebels. They’ve been waiting since late last year to rid themselves of that filthy taste left by a bi-district loss to Lockhart.

“We’re going into this game confident, but not cocky,” Huntsville lineman Forbes Baggett said. “Last year we came out of the regular season as district champs. Maybe we were satisfied with that. This year we’re co-district champs and we know there are bigger and better things in the playoffs.”

“This is what I’ve been doing all my life,” Gilbert added. “I’m not trying to end my senior year in the first round of the playoffs.”

Hornet football notes and quotes

Hornets hop on bus after bell rings early — School let out at noon Wednesday, which meant an early workout for the Hornets. Coach Mitchell Coey saw an opportunity to simulate game conditions, so he loaded up his players and took them to Bowers Stadium for a couple of hours.

“We wanted to practice at the time of day of our playoff game Saturday, two o’clock,” Coey said. “We’re getting familiar with the environment we’re going to be playing in Saturday.”

The Hornets said they accomplished a lot on the Bowers Stadium turf Wednesday.

“They’re getting us physically and mentally prepared,” senior cornerback Patrick Major said. “We had a great workout.”

The Hornets adjusted their workout schedule a bit, moving practice back a day since they don’t play until Saturday this week.

“We watched some film during the (athletic) period, but more or less we took Monday off,” Coey said Wednesday. “On Tuesday, we stressed focus and mental preparation. So far, we’re looking pretty good.

“Today we’re doing our normal Tuesday workout. We moved everything back a day. On Friday, we’ll do our walk-through and we’ll be ready.

“We brought some of our younger kids up from the JV to help us with our scout team,” Coey added. “Those guys are getting after it. They’re making the varsity kids work.”

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Hornets preparing for a talented Buda Hays team that is rolling into playoffs

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