Winning the District 13-5A Offensive Player of the Year award, along with first-team all-district recognition as a junior, certainly will draw the attention of opposing defenses. But Coles isn’t worried about the extra attention.
“It seems like it’d be more pressure, but I just have to go out every game and just play the same way and have fun,” Coles said.
And why worry? Coles is just one piece of what might be the district’s best one-two scoring punch. Joining Coles on the attack for the Wildcats is an equally talented goal scorer, senior Ryan Staten. The pair of forwards finished as the district’s top two goal scorers.
The toughest question for opponents might be figuring out which one they want to try to stop.
Round Rock will be the first team to try to answer that question when Temple hosts the Dragons at 4 p.m. today at Woodson Field in the first pool play game of the three-day, 16-team Temple Wildcat Kickoff Showcase.
“It’s kind of a double-edged sword - you take one out, you’ve got another one up there just as good,” Temple coach Matt Corley said. “It’s a blessing to have two forwards like Sean and Ryan.”
Coles and Staten are two key players the Wildcats have returning from the team that went 14-7-3 and finished tied for second place in 13-5A last season. Temple’s season ended with a loss to Georgetown in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
They also are two of five returning first-team all-district players for the Wildcats, along with Jeff Pickett, Chase Moore and Brad Lawrence.
Temple also returns goalkeeper Matt Elliott, who as a junior recorded 11 shutouts in his first varsity season. He had a solid first season in the net, allowing 15 goals in 11 district games.
It was a year that certainly proved to be a valuable learning experience, Corley said.
“You’re young and stupid before you’re old and wise,” Corley said. “Matt made his fair share of mistakes like everyone else and I think he’s learned from it.”
The Wildcats certainly hope they’ve learned from their mistakes, namely in their two losses to close out the season.
Temple missed an opportunity to win the 13-5A championship with a 7-5 loss to Bryan and finishing as the district’s No. 3 seed. The Wildcats followed that with a 4-3 loss to Georgetown to end the season.
Corley said his team has moved on from the losses but certainly hasn’t forgotten about them.
“I don’t think we can necessarily forget about it,” Corley said. “I think we keep it in the back of our minds, because we were in first place all year long coming into that last game.”
The biggest improvement Corley has seen in both practice and scrimmages has been leadership. That leadership, especially on defense from Moore and Elliott, will be key to the Wildcats’ success.
Said Corley: “I just hope these guys that are coming back from last year that have their feet wet will help lead the way for the young kids.”
rschneider@temple-telegram.com
