A year later, Temple is back in the playoffs - its first consecutive postseason trips since 1996-97 - and hungry to take the next step by seizing its first playoff victory since 2003.
The surging Wildcats (5-5) carry a five-game winning streak into their Division I bi-district clash with DeSoto (5-5) at 1 p.m. today at Waco ISD Stadium, but the Eagles also are flying high after going 4-1 to share the District 11-5A title.
Temple certainly has no shortage of eagerness.
“We’re excited to be back in the playoffs and to get out and play somebody we don’t see all the time,” Wildcats fourth-year coach Bryce Monsen said. “Temple-DeSoto sounds like a game you might not see until the fourth round.
“The crowd we had at Leo Buckley Stadium (in last year’s playoff against Pflugerville in Killeen) was phenomenal and we’re really excited about our fans coming up to Waco and being there for Week 11.”
The excitement isn’t limited to Temple, however. DeSoto first-year coach Claude Mathis - a former Bartlett star in the early 1990s - has his Eagles in the playoffs for the 13th straight season, and he believes this might one of the most competitive bi-district duels.
“We’re expecting a great ballgame and one of the better games in the first round in the state,” said Mathis, who won Class A state titles at Bartlett in 1990 and ’92. “You’ve got two great programs who have played tough schedules. It’s going to be a great game to watch for the fans.”
Temple junior running back Lache Seastrunk rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown in the overtime playoff loss a year ago, and he says he and his fellow returning Wildcats learned plenty from the experiences of that classic.
“It taught us that we needed to be more prepared and that you need to have poise,” he said. “If you have no poise, the pressure of the game will eat you alive. We were upset, but knowing we lost to a team that made it to the final game, we knew we played a good game.
“This year we feel like we can take it all the way.”
Seastrunk, the area’s leading rusher with 1,452 yards, needs 86 yards to overtake Delarrius Wilson (3,069 yards from 1992-93) as Temple’s all-time leading rusher.
Mathis, an all-state running back at Bartlett and an NCAA Division I-AA All-American at Southwest Texas State, is fully aware of the speedy Seastrunk’s breakaway ability.
“I see a kid who has a God-given talent and is using it well,” Mathis said. “He has a lot of speed and can change a game. He’s as good a running back as there is in the state.”
Of course, Mathis also is wary of the Wildcats’ other top options in their potent Wing-T offense that averages 288.8 rushing yards per game. Powerful junior fullback Derrick Davis has 493 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns during Temple’s five-game winning streak, senior Daniel Carr is an explosive runner, and Baylor-committed senior receiver Tevin Reese (31 catches, 542 yards) is Kevin Lock’s favorite target.
The Wildcats have been getting the job done on defense, too, allowing only 16.3 points per game in the last four and playing remarkably well after halftime.
They’ll need to step up again against a multiple-look, balanced DeSoto offense that’s paced by sophomore quarterback Ryan Polite and junior running back Marcus Murphy (968 rushing yards, 18 TDs overall). They consistently made crucial plays to lift the Eagles to a 4-1 district record after a 1-4 start.
“He keeps this offense running and gives us a chance,” Mathis said of Polite, who got playing time as a freshman. “To be a sophomore quarterback playing at this level, that tells you a lot about how much he studies and prepares. He’s come a long way.”
“They’re so good athletically, they have their own identity and they have all the pieces,” Monsen said. “We think their offensive line is as big and as good as Plano’s.”
Plano (9-1) is the only common opponent for Temple and DeSoto. The Wildcats lost 49-29 to then-No. 2-ranked Plano two weeks after the Eagles led Plano 20-7 at halftime before allowing 21 straight points in a 28-20 loss.
The Temple-DeSoto winner will advance to the area round to battle Dallas Skyline (10-1), which beat Garland Rowlett 40-21 on Friday.
gwille@temple-telegram.com
