Looking for a spark on offense, Bullard Brook Hill coach Terry Pirtle made a quarterback change, of sorts.
Guard senior Will Weathers, the team leader in passing and rushing, lined up at running back a few times Friday, with sophomore Grant Hanks taking over behind center.
Weathers responded with 290 total yards while accounting for six touchdowns. Hanks threw for 102 yards and two more scores.
It added up to a 66-44 win over Carrollton Prince of Peace and a playoff berth in Brook Hill's first season in TAPPS Division II.
"I just wanted to get him the ball in a different way," Pirtle said of Weathers. "He's an unselfish player."
The entire Guard offense put up strong numbers, rolling to 554 total yards, including 303 on the ground. The offensive line had its best game of the year, Pirtle said.
Brook Hill needed that output with the way its defense performed. Defending Prince of Peace's triple option offense requires discipline, something the Guard often lacked on Friday.
"On any given play we were blowing assignments," Pirtle said.
Brook Hill will play at Midland Christian at 7 p.m. Friday in the TAPPS Division II area playoffs in a matchup of two defending state champs. The Guard won in D-III last year while the Mustangs won in D-II.
Pirtle said the team will travel to Abilene on Thursday and do a walk through practice at Abilene Wylie that night. On Friday, the Guard will travel the remainder of the way to Midland, creating a game day trip similar to that of when Brook Hill plays teams in the Metroplex.
Following Friday's game the Guard will drive all the way back to Bullard, a trip of at least 7.5 hours.
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GRACE REMEMBERS 2010
Grace Community remembers the last time it had a first-round playoff matchup with Fort Worth Christian.
The Cougars were playing in their first-ever home playoff game and let a sure win slip through their hands.
Needing to run out 2:24 of lock with a two-point lead, Grace fumbled the ball away and the Cardinals escaped Clyde-Perkins Stadium with a 44-38 victory on the way to the state final.
This year, Grace travels to Fort Worth Christian for a first-round playoff game. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
"We'd like to return the favor; we sure would," Grace coach Mike Maddox said.
The seniors on this year's Cougars squad were sophomores at the time. Many of them were on the sideline for that loss.
"They remember," Maddox said.
That Grace is on the road this week instead of hosting a playoff game as it has the last two years is due to the loss it suffered to Dallas Parish Episcopal on Friday. The game decided the second-place team in TAPPS D-II District 2. The Panthers are hosting Waco Reicher this weekend.
"We've got our program to the point where losing really hurts us; it really bothers us," Maddox said. "We take those losses pretty hard."
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LADY CRUSADERS LOOKING TO HELP SALVATION ARMY
The Bishop Gorman Lady Crusaders basketball team has volunteered at the Salvation Army once a week for the past couple years. The players teach basketball and mentor kids in the after-school program.
A couple weeks ago toys and gifts that the Salvation Army was collecting for Christmas were lost in a fire.
So the Lady Crusaders decided to do what they can to aid the charity.
For three varsity basketball games next Tuesday (Nov. 20), admission is free to anyone who brings a new, unwrapped toy. The Lady Crusaders are also hoping to put up an angel tree.
The games include All Saints vs. Troup (2 p.m.), Grace Community vs. Marshall (3:30 p.m.) and Gorman vs. Martins Mill (5 p.m.).