Greenville prepares to play Texas High
October 12, 2010

By David Claybourn
Herald-Banner Sports Editor

The Greenville Lions are hoping to get some of their key players off the injured list as they prepare to take on the Texas High Tigers of Texarkana in District 13-4A football here Friday night.

Thirteen injured players sat out Friday's 56-0 loss to Sulphur Springs in addition to the eight players who left the program after choosing not to run extra as punishment for missing a practice prior to the start of district play.

"Hopefully we'll get five or six back this week," said Lions coach Chawn Cooper.

Jeffro Davis, who had been the Lions' starting quarterback until he was injured, is one of the players expected back. Cooper said he plans to move Davis to wide receiver and keep Mikey Riskey as the starting quarterback. Riskey made his first varsity start at quarterback on Friday night, completing one of seven passes for a minus one yard and rushing for one yard on six carries.

Running back Alfred Champion accounted for most of the Lions' offense with 44 yards on 14 carries. Lajorian Harris ran for 26 yards on 11 carries.

Greenville finished with 72 yards of total offense. The Lions are now averaging 117.7 yards per game on offense.

Sulphur Springs managed 379 yards, including 226 rushing and 153 passing. Opponents are averaging 377.2 yards per game on offense against the Lions, who've been outscored 289-38 this season.

Cooper said he saw some positives from the Lions' last performance.

"We're getting so much better up front," he said.

The Lions cut down on the penalties, getting marked off twice for 21 yards compared to nine for 58 yards against Mount Pleasant.

They still lost the turnover battle, giving up three fumbles and an interception without forcing a turnover. The 0-6 Lions are a minus-14 in the turnover ratio for the season, giving up 15 fumbles and five interceptions compared to four fumbles and two interceptions for the opposition.

Texas High is 4-3 for the season and 2-1 in district play following a 39-36 loss to Sherman on Friday night. Sherman quarterback Thor Long, who was 21-of-36 passing for 254 yards, threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Nathan James for the game-winning touchdown with 28.1 seconds remaining.

Texas High was very balanced on offense against Sherman with 182 yards rushing and 175 passing.

Running back Kody Sutton led the Tigers with 165 yards rushing on 27 carries, including an 80-yard touchdown run.

Texas High's starting quarterback Levi Saxby was 9-of-20 passing for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper said Saxby has a "rocket arm."

The Tigers mix up the formations on offense, lining up mostly in the I-formation but also operate out of the spread.

They also shift around a lot on defense, basing out of either a split, a 50 or a 4-3.

"They've got 11 athletes on defense," said Cooper. "They're as good a hitting team as I've seen in high school football."

Texas High has beaten Vidor (47-41), Arkansas High of Texarkana (44-20), Royse City (56-0) and Denison (27-20) and has also lost 26-13 to Jacksonville and 30-7 to a highly rated Bentonville team from Arkansas.

The Tigers will also have a big advantage in depth and numbers.

"They've got 72 kids on the roster," said Cooper. "At least all 27 of our kids are going to get on the field."