Win and you’re in, Jackets

By Zack Cunningham/sportsreporter@trcle.com

It all comes down to this for Cleburne.

With a win on Friday at Corsicana, the Yellow Jackets are playoff bound one year removed from a winless 16-4A campaign in 2008.

A win coupled with a Waco University upset over Ennis and the Jackets claim third place in 16-4A.

Lose and a dream season comes to an end.

Cleburne head coach Phil Young describes the game in less dramatic terms.

“We’ve told our guys all year long that every game is very important,” Young said. “This game is no different. Every game has been kind of like a playoff because any team can get in at any time.”

But there is a buzz in the air, Young said.

“The thing that I see which is different right now is that there’s really a true sense of urgency in our kids and our coaches,” Young said. “They know how important it is and how fun it is. What a great opportunity we have.”

Knowing what’s at stake and preparing like you know what’s at stake are two different things, Young said.

“We understand we have to show up in practice and go harder than we’ve ever practiced,” Young said. “They’re going to do the same thing. You can’t just say everything will be the same in preparation. All eyes on are this game and we want to play loose and fun, but there’s got to be an intensity and urgency.”

If you throw out the overall records, Cleburne and Corsicana are very similar teams on paper.

The squads possess the top two rushers in the district with Corsicana’s Cody Evans leading the way and the Jackets’ L.J. Holmes second on the list.

“[Evans] is averaging six yards per carry,” Young said. “He is the key to their offense being successful and he’s a big strong back. They’ll get in the I-formation and hand it to him to run the zone, power, counter and they’ll give the long play-action fake to him.

“They’ll try to hit some long balls with that, but they’re a very grind-it-out type of offense.

“They remind me a lot of us.”

Evans has rushed for 1,197 yards on the year and has scored 13 touchdowns.

Young said the Tigers will probably appear more impressive on the field than Cleburne, but that’s been the case all season.

“They’ll probably suit up and look better than us,” Young said. “They’ve got some good looking athletes, but that doesn’t win you games. Guys that are well-coached and play hard win games.

“Every game we’ve been the underdog and we lose that contest every game. It doesn’t mean you’re going to lose the game.”

A week after shutting down University’s offense that spread the field with quarterback Randy Price, the Jackets will need to stiffen up in the trenches to stop Corsicana’s rushing attack while also being mindful of the long play-action pass.

For Cleburne on offense, Young said it starts and ends with L.J. Holmes, but the Jackets have multiple threats if the Tigers begin to key on him.

“I think going into it, they’ll look at L.J. as the main carrier,” Young said. “The thing about what we’re doing if L.J. is getting shut down, we can hand it to Cody Hicks. We’re fortunate to have two backs and we’ve got three or four really good receivers to get the ball to.”

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Tiger Field.