Sports
Tigers to face Bryan in first home game
Monday, 24 September 2012 by David Tuma
Belton kicker Caro Mosnia kicks the game-winning field goal against Round Rock Stony Point last Friday. The Tigers will face former District 12-5A foe Bryan tomorrow night at Tiger Field.Belton host Bryan at Tiger Field in the first home game of the season for the Tigers. Bryan defeated Magnolia 19-7 last week and lost to Midway 34-7.
Viking quarterback Chris Johnson 6'4" 215 is one of best quarterbacks in the state and he threw for 250 yards last week. Johnson is big, mobile and has a strong arm. "He doesn't run as much as did the year before. He runs to set up throwing the ball downfield. He moves well and creates opportunities," said Tigers head coach Rodney Southern.
The Vikings are coached by Ross Rogers and Belton fans remember his days from when he was the coach at Harker Heights. He was inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Association's Hall of Fame last year.
It is his first year at Bryan and they are using a different system. The one they are running is similar to what Stony Point ran last week. They spread the field and use one and two back sets. They don't use a tight end in their offense but when they go with an extra blocker they bring in another offensive linemen as a tight end.
Wide receiver V.J. Banks 6'1" 190 had over 170-yards receiving last week he is their go to guy. "They are throwing the ball more down field than the use to in the past. They ran 14 screens the other night. They aren't as big up front as they have been," said Southern.
Running back Damion Wilson is a solid back and is good of the edge. They use some play action passing to set up Banks last week. "They key is to know were no 19 is and where they move him on the field. They had some turnovers in the Midway loss and played a very good game against Magnolia," said Southern.
For the Tigers offense that great field position for most of the game last week it is back to basics. They didn't get very many points last week when the defense set them up. The defense dropped some interceptions but stopped Stony Point in the second half. "We tackled well last week and didn't miss many. They got the edge on us a few times but we missed two interceptions and they put the ball on the ground two times and we didn't get one," said Southern.
Last week Stony Point ran away from the side the Tigers put Joe Guthrie on but it didn't matter with Guthrie recording sack after sack.
Durham Smythe was double covered most of the game last week. The Tigers offensive line had a solid game considering of the eight that played only one was a varsity player last year. "You don't know about conditioning until you play a game. I thought we came in to the game in good shape. We have to get points in the red zones. If we would have done what we should have done in the first half last week we don't get into the situation we got into in the second half," said offensive coordinator David Brewer.
Belton featured two sophomores and two juniors at skill positions last week that were not starters on varsity last year. Bryan played man coverage last week and challenged the receivers. They play some zone. "They are athletic in the secondary. We have to make good reads down field. They are running a new defense and they are experimenting in who can do what," said Brewer.
Bryan runs the 50 defense similar to what Belton ran for years. They use five down linemen and two linebackers. One of the lineman is more of a stinger/linebacker. They only returned two starters on defense but after two weeks they are not green any longer. Sophomore defensive end Deondre Johnson could be something special. "They usually have five or six guys on the line of scrimmage. They are not a blitz team but last week Stony Point blitzed more on us than they did the game before. People will test us early on offense because we are young. You have to burn them when. If you don't they use man coverage on the outside and blitz you. We have some experience but we are learning," said Brewer.
Belton will settle on the five starting offensive lineman over the next two weeks. "The offensive line needs games under their belts more than anybody. They handled the blitz packages Stony Point used. I thought Rhoads ran the ball well and had several good kickoff returns," said Brewer.
The Vikings are predicted to compete for a playoff spot in district 14-5A which features Lukin, The Woodlands and A&M Consolidated. Game time is 7:30 p.m. and look for the Tigers offense to rebound after a poor start to the season. There is a tailgate party hosted by the Belton Educational Enrichment Foundation beginning at 5:30 p.m.
