District opener for Olton, New Deal could decide league title

Oct 09, 2009 (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CEILF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Regardless of what happens at Faubion Field today, the District 6-1A race will be far from over. New Deal and Olton will have four more district football games to play, and they're not guaranteed to win any of them.

Still, it's not unreasonable to think the 6-1A championship could be decided by today's league opener. New Deal and Olton took the top two spots a year ago, and with a combined record of 9-1 at this point, they figure to once again be the best teams in the district.

"Not to take anything away from anybody else, but it's going to either put us in or eliminate us (from contention) -- one of the two," said Olton head coach Joel Baker, who called this the Mustangs' biggest game in a long time. "When it's New Deal, you've got to beat those guys if you want to win the district championship."

The sixth-ranked Lions (5-0), who have lost only one district game in the last five years, are more reluctant to put so much stock into this one. But they acknowledged it's an important game and said it's critical to start league play with a win.

"I would say it's definitely key that we come out and set the tone against Olton," said New Deal junior Spencer Scott, who's already racked up 31 pancake blocks from his right tackle spot. "And just let everybody know -- everybody else in the district -- that we're for real."

The Mustangs (4-1) don't need any convincing. All they've got to do is look at New Deal's results so far this season.

The Lions have outscored the opposition 233-18, and they've rushed for nearly 300 yards per game. Defensively, they've posted three shutouts and are allowing only 59 total yards per contest.

Olton quarterback Bobby Wayne Workman, who leads all Class 1A passers in the area with 1,032 yards and 11 touchdowns, said he must unload the ball quickly to counteract New Deal's relentless pass rush.

"We're not afraid of them, but we respect their tough defense," said Workman, who also leads the team with 308 yards and eight TDs rushing. "We're just going to come out and do what we do, and hopefully it works."

The Lions' defense, and their offense for that matter, might be short-handed. Quarterback and safety Stephen Bryant suffered a high ankle sprain against Tahoka two weeks ago, and New Deal coach Ron Mayo said the 6-foot-4, 215-pound TCU pledge is "questionable" for today's game.

Not having Bryant could greatly impact the Lions' defense -- "No doubt, he's a big part of us," Mayo said -- but their offense has plenty of other weapons. Running backs Larry Dennis and Juan Calderon have racked up a combined 790 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, and Isaac Chavez, who has split time with Bryant under center, has thrown for three TDs.

Baker said containing New Deal's running game is a huge concern. The Mustangs didn't face a run-oriented team until last week, when River Road churned out 249 rushing yards en route to a 30-21 victory.

"Defensively, we've got to get some stops and get our offense on the field and put points on the board, where we put pressure on them to make some plays," Baker said. "That's kind of what we ran into Friday against River Road. We didn't make enough plays offensively to get River Road out of their comfort zone. If we don't do that Friday, New Deal is going to stay in a comfort zone."

The Lions might be a little rusty coming off a bye, but Scott said the break gave New Deal two weeks to recuperate and more time to prepare for Olton.

The Mustangs are coming off their first loss, but Baker hopes it was a blessing in disguise. They got to evaluate their run defense and make the necessary adjustments, and they also got somewhat of a reality check after cruising through the first four games.

"I think it opened our eyes. It really fired us up," Workman said. "We just want to come out and prove to people we can win, even though we lost to a really good team last week. We want to come out and prove to everyone that we're still a team to mess with."

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CLASS 1A District 6-1A Olton at No. 6 New Deal

7:30 p.m., Faubion Field, New Deal

Broadcast: www.tsrnsports.com

Records: Olton 4-1, 0-0 in 6-1A; New Deal 5-0, 0-0

Olton vs. New Deal

lost to River Road 30-21 Last week Idle

313.6 Total offense 363.8

207.2 Total defense 59.0

32.8 Points scored 46.6

16.8 Points allowed 3.6

WR Ryan Nieto Player to watch LB Garrett Mayo

(395 receiving yards, 5 TDs) (48 tackles, 3 sacks)

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