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Playoff bound?
By Brent Wilburn
The Paris News
Published November 5, 2009
This season hasn’t been an ideal one for North Lamar.
It began the season with five losses against their non-district opponents, a stretch when they were outscored 132-49. They have suffered setbacks in seven of their nine games this season, despite holding a halftime lead in five of them.
Yet in spite of all those bad moments throughout the season, the Panthers are still in line for a spot in the playoffs.
They can clinch a berth in the postseason in their road game against Commerce at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
North Lamar could enter the playoffs in one of these two scenarios:
• An outright win over Commerce
• A Commerce win by fewer than 17 points, coupled with an Anna win over Bonham
Clearly, the more appealing option for North Lamar is to win Friday without having to rely on what happens in Bonham.
“We’re in control of our destiny and we need to take care of it and not worry about the rest of them,” North Lamar head coach Tommy Felty said. “We need to play good, sound football mentally and physically, make tackles, and don’t make turnovers or mistakes.”
Bringing down Brown
The “missing tackles” portion of Felty’s comment can’t be understated when discussing Commerce’s shifty sophomore running back Jurase Brown.
Brown is a threat to find the end zone each time he carries the ball on offense, and he also finds plenty of playing time on defense as well. He earned a Defensive Newcomer of the Year in District 10-3A a year ago in a freshman campaign in which he intercepted seven passes.
“We’ve got a good scheme going into the game,” Felty said. “You definitely have to control Brown because he is a good runner...He has a lot of moves. He’s got the speed to get around the outside and if he has success early in the game, he’s tough (to tackle) all night.”
Brown has become even more of a focal part of the Tigers’ offense during the past three weeks. They began the season with a lot of plays from the spread formation, including in their District 10-3A opener against Paris High. Since then, they have reverted to more plays from the I-formation.
That change has also aided the team in its ability to have more play-action passes as well.
“The quarterback is athletic,” Felty said. “He’s a big kid, who is quick and likes to throw the deep ball. Sometimes they have play-action passes with him. He’s got pretty good speed to get on the perimeter and throw the ball around at times. He can see the field really well.”
North Lamar realizes the overall threat the athletic Commerce squad poses is great, especially after claiming a narrow 13-7 win over the Tigers a year ago.
Felty said the goal for his team is to take care of business in Friday’s game without relying on external factors.
“We certainly don’t want to rely on somebody else to do their job,” he said. “We need to do our own job. If we’re going to go (to the playoffs), we need to take care of our own business.”
NORTH LAMAR PANTHERS
Tentative starting lineup for the North Lamar Panthers:
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Ryan White, 6-0, 185, sr.
Running back — Dakota Boles, 5-11, 185, jr.
Fullback — Sam Harrington, 5-9, 160, jr.
Wide receiver — Canyon Conley, 6-3, 180, sr.
Wide receiver — T.J. Shirley, 6-2, 175, sr.
Tight end — Austin Parson, 6-2, 216, sr.
Left tackle — Matt Farmer, 6-2, 260, sr.
Left guard — Clay Flippen, 5-10, 190, jr.
Center — Dakota Newman, 5-11, 270, jr.
Right guard — Michael Davidson, 5-9, 205, jr.
Right tackle — Devin Noiel, 5-10, 255, jr.
Kicker — Will Harrington, 6-0, 180, jr.
DEFENSE
End — Ryan White, 6-0, 185, sr.
Tackle — Devin Templemeyer, 6-3, 210, jr.
Nose guard — Ethan Elliott, soph.
Tackle — Matt Farmer, 6-2, 260, sr.
End — Will Harrington, 6-0, 180, jr.
Linebacker — Austin Parson, 6-2, 216, sr.
Linebacker — Austin Sugg, 5-10, 165, jr.
Cornerback — David Bozarth, 5-8, 155, sr.
Cornerback — Dillon Wilson, 6-3, 165, jr.
Safety — Canyon Conley, 6-3, 180, sr.
Safety — T.J. Shirley, 6-2, 175, sr.
Punter — Ryan White, 6-0, 185, sr.
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