Cleburne Times-Review, Cleburne, TX

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July 7, 2009

Joshua picked 6th in District 8-4A

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By Zack Cunningham/sportsreporter@trcle.com

JOSHUA — The Joshua Owls are picked to finish sixth in District 8-4A according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine.

The Owls, sporting a brand-new home stadium, will be entering the first year of the Jerry Bird era in Joshua, and Bird said the polls couldn’t mean less to his team heading into the 2009 season.

“Usually, if you’re on top, everyone is after you,” Bird said. “If you’re down in the middle, or toward the back, sometimes teams take you a little lighter. All we care about is where we end up.

“I don’t believe they know what to expect. We’ll use it as motivation and as our season gets closer, and as we get into district, we’ll use it to motivate our kids. We know where we stand. The real key is where you land in your district by what you do on the field.

“The predictions mean absolutely nothing in the preseason. Our goal is to be in the playoffs.”

Senior Jesse Williamson will be the quarterback for the Owls this year, and Joshua also returns key holdovers in the receiving corps.

Junior Garrett Rhoades and senior Jordan Allen will both suit up in 2009 and Josh Sigmond and Weston Foster will see time at running back.

For Bird and the Owls, the goal is not to get caught up in what lies down the road.

“You can’t put too much stock into these preseason picks,” Bird said. “We’ll start with our scrimmage against Red Oak and do things we have to do in that. We’ll put the next game in front of us and never look ahead.

“Obviously, we’re in a tough district where you’ve got to be ready each week. We won’t allow our kids or us to look ahead. We’ll prepare them the best we can.”

Everman is picked to win the 8-4A title, with Stephenville picked to grab the district’s second berth.

Mansfield Timberview and Crowley round out the preseason playoff picks, and Arlington Seguin sits between the Owls and the playoff picture in fifth.

Mansfield Legacy and Granbury are picked seventh and eighth, respectively, to round out 8-4A.

Bird said Joshua can make a push at the postseason.

“We feel like we’re going to be good in all phases; offensive, defensive and special teams,” Bird said. “I think our whole key is taking care of the football and eliminating turnovers. We want to shorten the field and play field-position games.

“We rely on a strong defense that can turn the ball over. If we can do those types of things, that’ll definitely help our ability to score. We’ll key on limiting turnovers and taking care of the ball. If we can do that, I think we’ll do pretty well offensively.”

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