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GHS Lions to face formidable opponents in 2008
May 31, 2008
 By DAVID CLAYBOURN
Herald-Banner Staff
The Greenville Lions will face another formidable lineup as
they compete in the 2008 football season under new head coach
Jim Phillips.
The season kicks off on Aug. 29.
The 10 teams on the Lions' schedule went a combined 62-48 last
season for a .563 winning percentage. Four of the teams went
to the playoffs including 15-1 Highland Park, which lost in
the Class 4A state finals.
Royse City, which is moving up from 3A, was an 11-1
bi-district championship team last season.
Richardson Pearce was an 8-3 playoff team in 4A and Rockwall
was a 6-5 playoff team in 5A. Rockwall is dropping down to 4A
for the next two seasons.
Greenville's District 10-4A schedule starts on Sept. 26 at
home against 7-3 Rockwall-Heath, which barely missed making
the playoffs last season, followed by a game at Highland Park.
Then the Lions are at home on Oct. 10 against Royse City, at
Newman Smith in Carrollton, at home on Oct. 24 against R.L.
Turner of Carrollton, at home against Richardson Pearce and
then the regular season finale is on Nov. 7 at Rockwall.
Both Carrollton teams are moving down from 5A. Newman Smith
was 1-9 with the only victory over 0-10 R.L. Turner.
The Lions open the season with a non-district game on Aug. 29
at Forney, which was a 3-7 team last season. They'll entertain
Little Elm in the home opener on Sept. 5. Little Elm went 8-2
last season. They'll travel to Paris for the final
non-district game on Sept. 12 against a Wildcat team that was
3-7 last year.
Greenville's open date is scheduled for Sept. 19.
Phillips, who coached the last 18 seasons at Waller, will be
facing all of the 2008 opponents for the first time as a head
coach. He said he watched Rockwall in its spring game and
planned to watch Rockwall-Heath in its spring game. He'll also
have plenty of video from last season to study of teams from
Greenville's former district including Highland Park,
Richardson Pearce and Rockwall-Heath.
Phillips, whose football coaching staff is in transition,
chose to pick an early start for fall two-a-days rather than
have the Lions go through spring football.
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Tough schedules are nothing new for the Lions. Greenville went
3-7 last season against a lineup that had gone 64-45 the
previous season for a winning percentage of .587. Teams on the
Lionsʼ 2006 schedule went 65-39 in 2005 for a .625 winning
percentage. Greenville also finished with a 3-7 record in
2006.
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Greenville will scrimmage two teams in the preseason, facing
familiar foe Sulphur Springs in Sulphur Springs on Aug. 16 and
then will entertain an old rival, McKinney, on Aug. 22.
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Two more members of last season's varsity football coaching
staff have found other positions.
Tom Dracos, the offensive line coach for the Lions, is headed
to Mexia to serve as the offensive coordinator for the Class
3A Blackcats. He'll also be the head powerlifting coach, a
position he also held at Greenville. Dracos was a two-year
veteran on the Lions' staff.
Larry Wheeler, who coached one season in Greenville, will
coach wide receivers at 5A Mesquite Horn, where he'll join
former Royse City coach Rodney Webb, the Jaguars' new head
coach. Wheeler coached receivers in football and assisted in
powerlifting at Greenville.
Dale Trompler, the Lions' offensive coordinator last season,
is now at Class 2A Whitewright, where he is the head
coach/athletic director.
Patrick Harvell, Greenville's defensive coordinator for the
past two seasons, was named on Wednesday night as the new head
coach/athletic director at Class 2A Mildred.
Chris Armstrong, a defensive line coach for the last two
seasons, has joined the Lions' previous head coach Jeff
Cordell at Class 3A Andrews.
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Greenville Lions
2008 Varsity Football Schedule
Aug. 29 at Forney 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 5 Little Elm (PW) 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 12 at Paris 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 19 Open
Sept. 26 *Rockwall-Heath (TN) 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 3 *at Highland Park 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 10 *Royse City (HofH) 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 17 *at Newman Smith 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 24 *R.L. Turner (HC) 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 31 *Richardson Pearce (SN) 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 7 *at Rockwall 7:30 p.m.
*District 10-4A games
(PW) Pee Wee Night
(TN) Teacher Night
(HofH) Hall of Honor
(HC) Homecoming
(SN) Senior night |
