Less than a week ago, the Wildcats saw their undefeated season end with a 3-2 loss to Belton in the third-place game of the Round Rock tournament.
But as these Bell County rivals get ready to meet tonight at 8 at Woodson Field, Temple doesn’t see this District 13-5A duel as a way to avenge its only loss.
“We didn’t play a very good game on Saturday,” Temple coach Matt Corley said. “Our kids know it and I think on Friday the Belton players will see a different Temple team.”
Both teams had played four games in three days entering their weekend meeting. Corley simply said the difference was that the Tigers (5-5-1 overall, 1-0 13-5A) handled the tournament stretch better.
On defense the Wildcats (11-1-2, 1-0) had trouble stopping two of the Tigers’ strong forwards, Josh Caffey and Vincent Crepeau.
“I think the key to stopping Belton is stopping their two forwards,” Corley said. “I think if we can do that and everyone else plays like we did (Tuesday in a 9-0 win at Killeen Shoemaker), we’ll be successful.”
While the Wildcats must do a better job defending the Tigers’ forwards, Belton’s defense also faces a tough challenge.
Belton coach Tarcisio Mosnia, who coached Temple from 2002-05, expects the Wildcats will test his young Tigers offensively more than they did in the first meeting. Belton has only three players who saw significant varsity experience in 2007.
“This time around I have a feeling Temple is going to be a bit more upbeat and maybe more aggressive in coming after us,” Mosnia said.
The Wildcats have averaged nearly five goals per game. That average is slightly tilted, though, because Temple scored 10 goals against Cameron Yoe and nine against Shoemaker.
Even with those offensive explosions, Temple has scored five or more goals in six of its 11 wins.
A big reason for the Wildcats’ high-scoring success has been senior forward Sean Coles. Through 14 games, Coles has scored 28 goals. He scored 22 goals as a junior.
“He’s a good player. It’s going to be difficult to keep him off the board,” Mosnia said. “We’re just going to try and play as best we can against him and we knew even in the first game that he’s capable of scoring goals.”
The Temple-Belton rivalry has been heated and physical in the past. But more than avenging their earlier loss or beating their main rival, the Wildcats simply are seeking to stay perfect in 13-5A.
“We’re past it, we’re over it,” Corley said. “We had a good showing (Tuesday) against Shoemaker and I think that’ll help us going into Belton."
Last season, Temple won 2-1 at Belton a few weeks before the Tigers defeated the Wildcats 3-2 at Woodson Field.
rschneider@temple-telegram.com
