In 2007, Cleveland named Ricky Tullos head coach after a disappointing 1-8 record in ’06. After six straight losses, Tullos finally got the Indians turned around as they rallied for four straight wins to make the playoffs before losing in bi-district to Kirbyville.
But that success carried over into this year, with the Indians going 9-0 in the regular season and winning their first playoff game under Tullos - a 46-14 bi-district victory over Sour Lake Hardin-Jefferson.
That’s similar to Rockdale, which hired Jeff Miller in 2006 after a 3-7 campaign in ’05. It took Miller a bit longer to get the Tigers on the right track. They went 2-8 in 2006 and started 1-6 last year, then reeled off three straight wins to make the playoffs before being edged by eventual state finalist China Spring in bi-district.
Likewise, Rockdale’s success carried over in 2008, and the improved Tigers (8-2) will be looking for their first playoff win under Miller when they battle Cleveland (10-0).
“You get to the second round of the playoffs in Region III, there are no bad teams left,” said Miller, whose team had a first-round bye after tying Cameron Yoe and Caldwell for second place in District 24-3A. “Everybody is pretty darn good.”
The Indians’ Slot-T offense is what’s made them good this year. Their rushing game averages 308 yards per game, and seemingly each week a different player leads the team. Benny Wright has the most yards with 627 on 56 carries, but 14 players have carried the ball.
“They will run right at you,” Miller said. “They are well-coached and don’t make a lot of mistakes. They are very athletic and fast.”
But although the Indians have been impressive in their wins - outscoring opponents 430-73 - it’s also safe to say they haven’t seen a team like Rockdale. In fact, only two teams on Cleveland’s schedule ended the season with a winning record. But Miller isn’t putting much into that.
“If you go 10 games without losing, that says something,” Miller said. “You can’t fault a team for the teams they play on their schedule. You still have to go out and win and that’s what they’ve done. They’ve played some teams with a lot of talent.”
But Miller is also quick to point out something else.
“They are the only team in Southeast Texas that runs the Slot-T,” he said. “Most of those teams they played had never had to defend it before.”
That’s in stark contrast to Rockdale, which plays in an area where the Slot-T is becoming more and more popular. Former district rival Liberty Hill has won back-to-back state titles with the Slot-T, and Caldwell also runs it.
“We are not intimidated by it,” Miller added. “It takes a different style of defense. You have to be more disciplined. We feel like we are getting better at defending it because we’ve seen it quite a bit the last few years.”
Rockdale also features a running game but bases it out of an I formation. Junior Greg Chelf has been the starting running back recently and has gained 742 yards and 12 touchdowns on 112 carries.
But unlike the Indians, who have thrown only 54 passes all season, the Tigers will make putting the ball in the air a priority. Senior quarterback Mark Drake has completed 90 of 166 passes for 1,212 yards. His favorite target is Joe Sanders, who has 35 catches for 619 yards and 10 TDs.
Even though the Tigers had a bye last week, they already have been playoff tested. After losses to rival Yoe and unbeaten Navasota in district, they got into must-win mode three weeks ago against Caldwell. Rockdale got wins over Caldwell and then Taylor to secure a playoff spot and build momentum going into the playoffs. Now battle-tested, the Tigers feel like they can handle the Indians.
“There is no one that can intimidate us,” Miller said. “I don’t mean that in an arrogant or cocky way, but we have seen about as good as it gets just in our district, and that goes back to last year as well.
“The best thing about playing teams like Yoe, Navasota, Liberty Hill, Caldwell and China Spring is that now there isn’t anything teams can throw at us that we haven’t seen. We haven’t won all those games, but we’ve competed well. And I’m not saying we won’t go out and manhandle anyone, but we won’t be intimidated and we have a lot of confidence that we are going to make some noise in the playoffs.”
mhood@temple-telegram.com
