After opening the 2008 season on Sept. 4 with a 48-7 thrashing of South Hills at Herman Clark Stadium, the Cleburne Yellow Jackets return to Yellow Jacket Stadium for Friday night’s game against Granbury.
The Jackets (1-0) had success on both sides of the ball last week, rushing for 273 yards on 35 carries against the Scorpions.
Micah McCoy led the ground game with 10 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown. Robert White gained 20 yards on five attempts, scoring twice.
Quarterback Ty Taylor, who was making his first varsity start, completed 11-of-18 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns.
“We’re excited about what we did last week, but we’ve got to put that behind us and stay focused on what’s ahead,” Cleburne head coach Phi Young said. “We need to correct some of the mistakes we made, so we won’t make the same mistakes this week. We’re excited to play Granbury, but we want to get better each week. The kids are going to be excited because it’s the home opener.”
Young said though the scoreboard read 48-7, there were several mistakes the Jackets made against South Hills. He said the players must play assignment football, maintain their blocks and limit turnovers to have success against the Pirates (0-2).
Granbury lost to Arlington Sam Houston 62-16 on Friday night, but Young said the Pirates’ offense is effective.
“We’re going to play a good Granbury team,” Young said. “They moved the ball well. They just didn’t get the ball in the end zone. I know they’re going to fix some things defensively. We can’t take anything for granted. Granbury is going to bring their A game, so we’ve got to bring our A game.”
Young said Granbury employs the spread formation on offense, similar to the Jackets’ alignment. At times the Pirates use three receivers, but they also put two running backs in the backfield in some formations.
“Their quarterback can really throw the ball and they’ve got two receivers that can go up and get it,” Young said. “They’ve got a huge offensive line. They are very similar to us, they’re just not as versatile as us.”
Since the Jackets’ defense has been practicing against the spread in the spring and in the preseason, Young said they know what to expect, but must watch for certain patterns and schemes to be able to stop the Pirates.
Though he said the players will be motivated to play well in the home opener, Young doesn’t want to see an ebb and flow in the Jackets’ intensity level.
“I’m hoping the intensity stays the same for every week,” Young said. “They’re going to be more excited because they’re playing Granbury. This has always been a big rivalry for us. But we want the intensity level to stay the same for every game.”
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Cleburne faces Granbury at The Rock
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