Cleburne Times-Review, Cleburne, TX

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November 19, 2009

Godley looking to move into regional final with a victory

By Zack Cunningham/sportsreporter@trcle.com

When the Godley Wildcats take on Winnsboro in the regional semifinals on Friday at Midlothian ISD Stadium, it will be Godley’s toughest test to date, Wildcat head coach Randy Brawner said.

After a dominating 34-0 victory over Troy in the opening round, Godley (11-0) will face a similar style of team in the Raiders, but Winnsboro will have a more active quarterback than did the Trojans, Brawner said, and that could pose problems for the Wildcats.

“They’re a ball-control type of team,” Brawner said. “Their whole backfield is really talented. Their quarterback is a good operator, their tailback is fast and the full back is a tough runner.”

Winnsboro head coach Steve Pinnell said his squad will have its work cut out for them.

“They’re a great football team that has run the table so far,” Pinnell said. “They’re so explosive on offense and they’ve got good team speed. We’re hoping to play well and give them a good game.”

With the Raiders operating out of the triple-option on offense, Pinnell said the goal is to chew clock to keep the Wildcat offense off the field.

“We’ll do everything we can,” Pinnell said. “We were thinking about putting 25 guys on the field if they would let us. We need to be sound and tackle well because they’ll make you miss. When one guy misses, they can go the distance.”

Brawner said the Raiders represent a more well-rounded threat than the Trojans did.

“They’re a lot like Troy, except their team speed is better,” Brawner said. “They’ve got two halfbacks that can fly. They have more explosive plays than Troy and the way [the Trojans] played us, their quarterback wasn’t that big of a part.

“That’s another dimension we’ve got to shut down. He throws the ball extremely well.”

With the exception of perennial Class 3A powerhouse Pittsburg, Pinnell said the Wildcats are the biggest challenge Winnsboro has faced to date.

“Pittsburg is pretty stinking good, and I hate to compare them,” Pinnell said. “It’s hard to tell, but since we began district, they’re by far the best team we’ve faced.”

With the level of competition increasing with each passing playoff round, Brawner said his team needs to ratchet up its play, accordingly.

“Any time you get to the second round, there’s no doubt the teams you will face are high level opponents,” Brawner said. “They have tons of playoff experience and it’ll be a big test for us.”

While the Wildcats possess lots of speed at the skill positions, Brawner said the quickness of the Godley offensive line shouldn’t be overlooked.

“Our line plays pretty fast, too,” Brawner said. “Sometimes we catch people off guard.

“Troy did a good job of catching back up and Winnsboro should do the same.”



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