Back to football and more importantly week 1 of district play this week as the La Porte Bulldogs take on the Channelview Falcons Friday 7pm at Bulldog Stadium in La Porte.
La Porte comes into district play with a 4-1 record after a huge victory over rival Deer Park in overtime 34-31.
Channelview begins district play also at 4-1 after beating Dobie 51-43 to finish out their pre-district schedule on a four game winning streak.
This game has major playoff implications as the winner of this game will have the inside track on one of the four available playoff spots out of district 21-5A.
The Falcons offense has become a juggernaut over the last four games. Senior Quarterback (and coaches son) Averion Hurts has put up video game numbers with over 1800 yards passing and 20 touchdowns (only 2 interceptions. He is completing passes at a 66% clip. His targets have been equally great with Senior Wide Receivers Stanley Wesley (45 catches 761 yards and 5 tds) and Marquise Johnson (24 catches 520 yards and 7 tds) combining to provide a target for Hurts. At running back Senior Terrell Williams (413 rushing yards, 197 receiving yards, 5 total tds) has provided enough threat to open up the passing lanes. Channelview has not faced a defense like La Porte this season, but could do some serious damage after Deer Park threw for 340 yards last game. The key for the Falcons will be their offensive line and giving Hurts time to throw. The Bulldogs will be coming after him this week.
Channelview's defense will be trying to slow down La Porte's multi-back running game. The last two weeks the Falcons have given up over 40 points in victories and has relied on the offense to outscore their opponent. They are lead by Junior Defensive Back Robbie Miller (2 interceptions) and Senior Defensive Tackles JaMarcus Dorsey and Toddrick Cane.
La Porte's offense got the tough yards playing a physical game against Deer Park. Playing most of the game with a two score lead played into their grind it out offense. Once the Deer got 10 men in the box (the safety was also headed that way) a pass over the top loosened it up again. With better overall athletes up front for the Bulldogs they will be looking to dominate the Falcons up front and grind the clock. A couple of stops on defense and the time of possession advantage could dominate the game. Junior Running Back Keith Whitely (377 yards, 6 touchdowns) leads the Bulldogs in rushing, but I expect to see more of Sophomore Jonathan Lewis (215 yards, 6.4 yards per carry) this week as Whitely should see an increase of duty on defense. Senior Quarterback Josh Vidales will look to keep the Falcons defense honest with Senior Wide Receiver Aaron Nance-Garrett (11 catches, 162 yards, 2 tds) and Sophomore Taejon Wearen getting loose. The Bulldogs must control the line of scrimmage and the offensive line lead by Juniors Maurice Morris and Tony Briones will be looking to open up the running lanes.
The Bulldogs defense will be stepping into the spotlight this week against the Falcons surprising rise in the passing game. They will need to force Channelview and Hurts into bad throws by not giving him time to throw. Hurts can scramble, but La Porte should have a better time containing him than they did against Klein Forest and Matt Davis. The defensive line will need to eat up blockers and the linebackers will need to get to Hurts quick before he can get comfortable and complete easy passes. Senior Linebackers Chad Sutherland, Cameron Whilley and Chris Hickey along with Sophomore Hoza Scott will be disguising blitzes and trying to confuse the Falcons into making mistakes. Through five games the Dark Side has caused 10 turnovers and will be looking to add to that total this week.
Keys to La Porte Victory:
-Control the clock, keep the Falcon offense off the field
-Win the turnover battle
-Get pressure in the backfield before Channelview can get their passing game going.
The Bulldogs need a big crowd this week at home! Come on out and fill up the stands. A win this week will greatly increase La Porte's playoff chances.
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