Published October 07, 2009 09:23 pm
MID-SEASON ANALYSIS
By Tom Halliburton
The Port Arthur News
PORT NECHES — Those rabid legions of Port Neches-Groves football followers are encountering different problems at mid-season of 2009.
The 5-0 Indians are defeating the problem of winning enough games on Friday nights at their own stadium. Not much displeasure exists toward Brandon Faircloth and his new coaching staff either.
Yet the purple people still have their unique reasons for discontent. They’re eager to see PN-G play everywhere. Some stadiums, such as Livingston’s, lack a large enough stadium capacity to come close to accommodating their ticket requests.
Brownwood native Faircloth is not interested in a Class 4A state top 10 ranking either. He just wants the zero to remain next to PN-G’s total of losses. Yet Indians fans have to keep their eyes on the state polls a bit more and more with each passing week.
PN-G has ranked 12th overall (or second among others receiving votes) in the last two Associated Press high school football ratings.
The Indians chief knows a Top 10 ranking becomes inevitable if PN-G’s victory trail continues to extend longer and longer. A Top 10 ranking is great news and Brandon knows it becomes a huge distraction, too.
Faircloth’s overriding concern centers on steady improvement in the various areas of his team. Here’s his mid-season grades:
A for the wide receivers
A for the running backs
A minus for defensive backs
B plus for linebackers
B for the defensive line
B for the offensive line
B for individual kickers
B minus for quarterbacks
C for the overall kicking game
There’s more A grades on Brandon’s mid-season gradebook than anyone else and rightfully so. PN-G has been way above average in the skill position areas, delivering a terrific performance in both backfield and pass receiving areas.
“Our wide receivers have been very consistent at catching and blocking, as well as blocking downfield for the running backs,” Faircloth said. “They’re complete football players.
“Our defensive backs have done a wonderful job. They have saved us in some games.”
PN-G receivers do not rank anywhere close to 20-4A receiving leader Zack Sonnier of Little Cypress-Mauriceville but there’s an easy explanation for that. Quarterback Brennan Doty distributes the ball to so many receivers that it’s harder for any one pass catcher to build up real gaudy statistics.
Faircloth definitely would not trade his troop of Spencer DeRon, Kyler Segura, Blake Reyenga, Garrett Boudoin and Amir Jalali. That batch has done an unselfish and commendable job of inflating Caleb Harmon’s rushing numbers, too.
The 20-4A’s No. 2 rusher — behind Livingston’s Quinton Jackson — Harmon looked to be a terrific fit for PN-G’s new offense in May and has delivered spectacular overall performance, particularly with his trusty ball security late in games. Brandon might like to pat his offensive system on the back for Harmon’s fine season, but the PN-G coach would not do so.
“It wouldn’t matter what the system is,” Faircloth said. “Caleb’s just a great downhill runner and he was a good player last year.”
Last year’s first-year inside linebackers are this year’s second-year inside linebackers. Seniors Christian Kerr and Kane Benoit were A students in Faircloth’s mind, although the overall linebacking corps’ evaluation was a B-plus.
“It’s a good feeling going in there game after game with Kerr and Benoit,” the Indians chief said.
After an encouraging spring training, the Indians liked their chances to be above average in their interior lines. That’s exactly what they have been. The kicking game tended to pester Matt Burnett’s outstanding era at PN-G. So far it’s picked up with Faircloth where it left off with Burnett.
“It seems like we have some kind of a breakdown in our kicking game every week,” Faircloth lamented. “And it’s not from a lack of hard work. We put in a lot of time working on it.”
All is far from gloom and doom on The Reservation, though. PN-G boasts a spectacular new, but same old playing environment. The fan support, Indian Band, Indianettes, and new press box are first class. The Indians have provided such a good entertainment package that the fans have encountered new and different issues to address besides victories.
Indian Inklings
Faircloth was disappointed to report two varsity players would be out three weeks due to academic reasons, but neither would have started on Friday night at 7:30 when PN-G (5-0 and 2-0) will visit Livingston. The Indians’ chief did not know the number of JV players who would be academically ineligible after the first six-week grading period. That three-week ineligible time frame starts Friday at 3:30 p.m…. Livingston ISD sent PN-G 1,500 tickets on the visitors side and approximately 300 went to Indian Band, Indianettes and halftime performers. PN-G principal Marc Keith said Wednesday after school that about 100 student tickets and between 70 and 80 adult tickets remained on sale for the Livingston game on the south side of Lion Stadium which has a stadium capacity listed as 3,000…. Junior Patrick Braud will draw his first start at offensive left tackle while junior Gabe Langlois will share left guard duties with fellow junior Ben Parks. Last week’s starter, senior Robby Parks, is awaiting MRI results. Robby sustained a knee sprain in the Nederland game… Senior inside linebacker Christian Kerr (twisted ankle) missed virtually all of the Nederland game and was regarded as probable for Livingston…. Lion Stadium is located just south of Livingston’s Intermediate School off US 190 by three blocks. It is located 1 1/2 miles east of US 59. The stadium address is the intersection of N. Pine Ave. & N. Marsh Dr.
