Week 3 99

Coach Burnett Talks About Week 3

September 13, 1999

Ozen Game

The opening game was a lot of fun for the kids. We were able to play at home. For a lot of seniors, it was their first time. Our fans really energized us. The stands on both our side and the Ozen side were packed. Whenever the defense did good or the offense did good, the fans really got into the game. It was a great atmosphere to be in.

The offense set the tone by making big plays early. Dustin had big pass plays to Joey Price. We electrified our fans and shocked Ozen. They didn’t think we could big play ‘em, but we did. There was excitement in the air.

Defensively, we knew Ozen’s offense was very physical, and their backs were outstanding. We bent but we contained them, other than one long pass play. In the 4th quarter, we got to play a lot of kids. We had a lot of fun.

It was a big win for us because of Ozen’s momentum coming into the game. We’re happy to be 2-0.

Silsbee

Record:

	L 42-7 vs. Vidor (week 1)
	L 26-9 vs. WO-S (week 2)

Silsbee is similar to last year in that they’re slow developers. Coach McGallion runs the veer, and had a bunch of turnovers against Vidor, but against West Orange, they played much better. They’re getting better and we’re aware of it. Coach McGallion does a good job. Last year they lost to West Orange and us to open the season, and then went on deep into the playoffs.

They are rapidly improving. Their defense gave West Orange a handful until the 4th quarter. I’m impressed with the aggressiveness of their defense. They’re real sound.

Their offense runs the Houston Veer. McGallion was the QB for the Coogers when Houston ran it. In fact, I played against him in the Dome when Lamar played U of H back in 1975. They’re getting it going. They run about six plays and are getting better and better. We have to have somebody on the dive, the quarterback, and the pitch.

We’re playing at Silsbee. I think it will be a good trip for the kids. It’s good at times to get out of this area, and go up to the Piney Woods. It’s different than down here on the coast. We’re looking forward to playing the Tigers.

On the Indians

We’re real pleased with the progress we made from the Kelly game to this last game. We knew it would be a matter of time. The improvement was strong. The thing we’ve got to fight now is to make the kids understand why we’re 2-0. We’ve got to continue to concentrate on assignments at practice. We’ve got to continue to get better.

Injuries

We came out of the Ozen game healthy.

Defensive Leaders

Defensive leaders against Ozen were:

	LB Cody Clark--11 first contacts, 4 assists, 15 tackles, 1 defected pass
	OLB Jared Hanks--6 first contacts, 6 assists, 12 tackles
	S Chris Gohlke--4 first contacts, 4 assists, 1 caused fumble that led to a TD
	DB Jonathan Lumbley--58 yard fumble recovery for a TD. The crowd went nuts!

--Matt Burnett, Head Coach