This week, Hebron coach Brian Brazil was pleased to see an onslaught of attention for his team’s successful onside kick in its game against Allen last Thursday. The clip made it on Sports Center.
“I had no idea, to be honest, that it would get the attention it did,” Brazil said. “At the end of the day, we lost 44-10, and I’m glad we got that onside kick, but it would have been nice to get more points on the board.”
Brazil said his plan going into the game was to eliminate as many possessions by Allen as possible.
“We determined that every time we kicked off, we’d onside kick,” Brazil said. “That’s how we started the game. It was just an effort to keep the ball in our hands as much as possible.”
Allen has won two state championships in a row and is looking for a third.
“They are so, so explosive, and it’s hard to stop a team when they are as explosive as they are,” Brazil said.
Onside kicks are usually a desperation measure. Once the ball travels 10 yards, it is a live ball and either team can recover it. Many teams try a traditional onside kick. Brazil said that he tries to set up a rush up the middle by bringing all but one of the outside players to the center of the field.
Brazil said his team experienced something similar at the hands of Abilene Cooper in 2009, which is where he got the idea.
“I’d like to take full credit for sure,” Brazil said. “But like anything, you see things and adapt it for your team.”
He said the team tried two other onside kicks but both were unsuccessful.
“Our kids played hard. We were down 16-7 at the half and were battling well but weren’t able to convert some scores we needed to,” he said.
Hebron is 0-6 going into today’s game.
“That’s tough on our kids and coaches, but you battle through it,” he said. “In some strange way, we’re getting attention for this onside kick. At the same time, it’s just something you do.”
Brazil said Allen is well-coached with many good players.
“Heck, Allen is a great team,” he said. “They have a great program, but you have to play your best and hope they don’t.”
Hebron plays Flower Mound (1-6) tonight. The game is an important one for the two teams, he said.
“At times, we both play very well and other times we both don’t execute as well as we need to,” Brazil said. “They will play a good close game, then have a fumble. That’s a lot like what we’re doing. When we make a mistake, it becomes catastrophic.”
Brazil said the team is sharpening its execution.
Brazil said he and Flower Mound coach Dane Johnson are good friends and that Johnson is going through the same things on the field.
“That’s the way life is sometimes. You go through tough times. You’re struggling and tell yourself to keep going,” Brazil said. “You’ve got to work through things. To be honest, we as coaches are learning as well, even though we’re here to teach the kids, because were a part of it. So you keep staying with what you know is right and knowing things are going to get better.”
Zach Rogers, who committed to the University of Arkansas, is out for the year. Antonio Montez has been out since scrimmage. Noah Howard is out. David Brazil, the coach’s son, is out with a broken foot and should be back for the last game. Inside linebacker Clay Holford will be out for tonight’s Flower Mound game after getting chop-blocked last week.
“When you start losing key starters, it definitely has an effect on your football team,” Brazil said. “But they keep playing hard, and that’s all you can ask from them.”
Hebron won’t make the playoffs this season, but Brazil said the Hawks can still end strong.
“Everything we go through is teaching these young men to deal with whatever they face, and athletics, just like with academics and fine arts, is there to help these young men deal with things, whatever they may be, in the future.”
Brazil said he knew the Hawks were in for a tough season even if everybody stayed healthy.
“I’m proud of the kids, proud of the execution on the onside kick,” he said. “It probably worked better in the game than it did in practice and that was a good thing.”
Hebron players Angelo Garbutt and Omar Hicks Onu have committed to Oregon State. Clayton Holford committed to Eastern Michigan.
In another game important to many people in southern Denton County, The Colony played Frisco Wakeland last week and was winning deep into the fourth quarter, but the Cougers ended up losing 13-12.
“It was a tough night,” The Colony coach Rudy Rangel said. “We played a really good game defensively but made a few too many mistakes and they beat us with just a few minutes on the clock. We knew it would be a tough physical game, no doubt, so we were expecting it.”
He said Frisco Wakeland made some really good plays at the end.
“It was a pretty bad setback, but the kids had a great workout this week,” he said.
The Cougers are now 4-3 on the season. Rangel said he looks forward to bouncing back this weekend against Frisco Liberty.
“Frisco Liberty has a new head coach and he is doing a fantastic job,” Rangel said.
Frsico Liberty has had great defense all year long. As a result, The Colony will have to eliminate errors and protect the football, Rangel said.
“We’ll have to limit our unforced errors, anything we can take care of,” he said. “All of our losses have been really really close — four or five plays that cost us the game.”
Rangel said his team has to win every remaining game to get into the playoffs.
“We are making sure we do things right early and let the momentum of the game carry itself,” he said.
Rangel said his team is healthy right now and are looking forward to the first of its last two home games this season.
“We’ve been so up and down, and our losses have been gut-wrenching,” he said. “So to get that good taste in our mouths and let that play out is what we’re looking forward to.”
Lewisville/Flower Mound editor Adam Schrader can be reached at 214-773-8188 and on Twitter at @schrader_adam.
