Texas High School Football is still going strong...
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THE CHOPS
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- Joined: October 24th, 2003, 10:42 am
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Texas High School Football is still going strong...
After Rita, East Texas has H.S. football
The Associated Press:
ADDISON, Texas (AP) — An ice machine and continental breakfast table flank the hotel fitness center where Chris Bronson works out. This is not the usual place where the linebacker stays in shape. At Jasper High School, there is more urgent business these days.
Relief workers operate a recovery center inside the field house at the school, which finally restored power Monday. Locker room showers are used by National Guard members, and bottled water is distributed under a tent near the football field.
Two weeks after Hurricane Rita plowed across East Texas, residents from cities hit hardest by the storm have begun returning home. For high schools in cities like Jasper, Buna and Newton, coaches resumed football practice this week for the first time since evacuating.
"Our kids are tired," said Buna coach Bradley Morgan, who is living in a generator-powered camper while he waits for power at his home to be restored. "They're out having to cut trees and fix fences. You can tell their minds are somewhere else. It's not a normal football mentality."
Most teams are missing players because some families are unable to return to homes that were destroyed or still are without power. Bronson and his extended family have spent nearly three weeks living among seven rooms at a North Texas hotel.
He hopes to return home Thursday. Other players aren't as lucky.
At Buna, Morgan said his starting left tackle moved to San Antonio after felled trees -- perhaps the biggest problem in piney East Texas -- destroyed his home. Two brothers may stay in Wichita Falls and there are several players Morgan hasn't been able to reach.
Morgan said it wasn't until 19 players showed for practice Monday that he knew his team could finish the season. But he said each remaining game would be on the road, since the hurricane toppled Buna's visiting stands and press box onto its football field.
On Saturday, Buna will play Jasper -- the first game since Sept. 16 for either school.
"It's been hard not being able to play," said Bronson, who spends his days playing video games or tossing a football with his brother in the hotel swimming pool. "I live for Friday nights. My whole family does. That's been the toughest part about all of this."
Bronson said his cousin, Jasper quarterback Gilbert Maye, enrolled in Diboll after it was apparent that Jasper would be without power for weeks. Jasper linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, with scholarship offers from Houston and Missouri, said his cousin at Houston Washington tried to persuade him to transfer.
After Jasper's first practice Tuesday, Weatherspoon knew he made the right decision.
"It was so good to see all these people that I love again," Weatherspoon said.
Newton will play its first game in four weeks when it hosts Hardin on Saturday. Newton coach Curtis Barbay said that while his team has looked rusty, he doesn't think the extended layoff will hurt the school's hopes of a state championship.
"I think we're going to be back the way we were by Saturday," Barbay said. "It's a matter of getting them out there practicing and moving around. All most of them have been doing is sitting around watching TV."
At Buna, Morgan knows his team probably won't even compete for a playoff spot once the season resumes Saturday. He said his weight room is being used as temporary quarters for the district superintendent's office after the administration building was damaged by the hurricane.
"The reason I kept this season going is because I've got 10 seniors who've been playing since the seventh grade," Morgan said. "I'm just trying to keep things as normal as possible."
"THE CHOPS".
The Associated Press:
ADDISON, Texas (AP) — An ice machine and continental breakfast table flank the hotel fitness center where Chris Bronson works out. This is not the usual place where the linebacker stays in shape. At Jasper High School, there is more urgent business these days.
Relief workers operate a recovery center inside the field house at the school, which finally restored power Monday. Locker room showers are used by National Guard members, and bottled water is distributed under a tent near the football field.
Two weeks after Hurricane Rita plowed across East Texas, residents from cities hit hardest by the storm have begun returning home. For high schools in cities like Jasper, Buna and Newton, coaches resumed football practice this week for the first time since evacuating.
"Our kids are tired," said Buna coach Bradley Morgan, who is living in a generator-powered camper while he waits for power at his home to be restored. "They're out having to cut trees and fix fences. You can tell their minds are somewhere else. It's not a normal football mentality."
Most teams are missing players because some families are unable to return to homes that were destroyed or still are without power. Bronson and his extended family have spent nearly three weeks living among seven rooms at a North Texas hotel.
He hopes to return home Thursday. Other players aren't as lucky.
At Buna, Morgan said his starting left tackle moved to San Antonio after felled trees -- perhaps the biggest problem in piney East Texas -- destroyed his home. Two brothers may stay in Wichita Falls and there are several players Morgan hasn't been able to reach.
Morgan said it wasn't until 19 players showed for practice Monday that he knew his team could finish the season. But he said each remaining game would be on the road, since the hurricane toppled Buna's visiting stands and press box onto its football field.
On Saturday, Buna will play Jasper -- the first game since Sept. 16 for either school.
"It's been hard not being able to play," said Bronson, who spends his days playing video games or tossing a football with his brother in the hotel swimming pool. "I live for Friday nights. My whole family does. That's been the toughest part about all of this."
Bronson said his cousin, Jasper quarterback Gilbert Maye, enrolled in Diboll after it was apparent that Jasper would be without power for weeks. Jasper linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, with scholarship offers from Houston and Missouri, said his cousin at Houston Washington tried to persuade him to transfer.
After Jasper's first practice Tuesday, Weatherspoon knew he made the right decision.
"It was so good to see all these people that I love again," Weatherspoon said.
Newton will play its first game in four weeks when it hosts Hardin on Saturday. Newton coach Curtis Barbay said that while his team has looked rusty, he doesn't think the extended layoff will hurt the school's hopes of a state championship.
"I think we're going to be back the way we were by Saturday," Barbay said. "It's a matter of getting them out there practicing and moving around. All most of them have been doing is sitting around watching TV."
At Buna, Morgan knows his team probably won't even compete for a playoff spot once the season resumes Saturday. He said his weight room is being used as temporary quarters for the district superintendent's office after the administration building was damaged by the hurricane.
"The reason I kept this season going is because I've got 10 seniors who've been playing since the seventh grade," Morgan said. "I'm just trying to keep things as normal as possible."
"THE CHOPS".