Even with Temple (1-4) winless in two District 12-5A games and most likely needing four wins in its final five games to qualify for the playoffs, Monsen declined to declare tonight's 7:30 game against Killeen Ellison (3-2, 1-1) at Wildcat Stadium a must-win affair for his Wildcats.
"No, we look at them all the same," he said. "It's another district game to get ready for."
Reminded that Temple was 0-2 in district at this point last year before outdueling Ellison 49-42 at Leo Buckley Stadium to spark a five-game winning streak that led to a second straight state postseason berth, Monsen didn't bite on the whole big-game outlook.
"Every year is a new year and every game . . . they're all important," he offered.
But there has to be at least a slightly heightened sense of urgency around the fieldhouse this week, right, Coach?
"There's always urgency," Monsen said.
Asked if he thinks Temple needs to win at least four more games to be in the mix for one of 12-5A's four playoff berths, Monsen said the Wildcats aren't thinking about that.
"It's hard to tell. I don't know," he said. "We're going to take it one game at a time and see where it falls (at the end). We really have no idea."
Monsen isn't alone in the they're-all-big camp. Ellison second-year coach Buddy McBryde doesn't discount the importance of tonight's duel, yet he doesn't seem to see it as a make-or-break matchup, either.
"It's very important," he said, "but all district games are very important. We approach every one of our district games like a playoff game."
Fair enough, gentlemen.
Temple's shootout win at Ellison a year ago certainly contributed to the Eagles' 3-4 district finish for a three-way tie for fourth place, with Killeen Shoemaker getting the tiebreaker over Ellison and Belton for the last playoff spot.
Therefore, McBryde didn't want to pin his squad's entire season on one loss to Temple.
"We pointed to several games (after last year)," he said, "because we missed it by one game."
As for tonight's game, it matches athletic teams that employ Wing-T offenses and have 14-point losses to defending 12-5A champion and district favorite Copperas Cove on their ledgers.
One week after Temple struggled in the second half of a disappointing 38-23 home loss to College Station A&M Consolidated, the Wildcats turned in a feisty performance at Cove. They limited the potent Bulldawgs to 228 yards of total offense and gained 294, but incomplete drives and a pair of lost fumbles stopped their bid for an upset victory.
Nonetheless, Monsen liked what he saw from his team.
"We don't believe in moral victories, but our kids played hard, our coaches coached hard and we gave Cove our best shot," he said. "We played with a lot of confidence and effort. Our coaches had them prepared and the mistakes were less."
Temple won at Ellison in 2007 to complete a perfect district season and then pulled out the dramatic win last year, but Monsen knows this year's Eagles have a lot going their way.
"They're better in their second year (under McBryde) and they've got a lot of kids back," Monsen said. "On defense they're very physical, strong and fast and they tackle well. On offense they're very good in the Wing-T and their backs (David Cobb and Eric West) run real hard."
The star of Temple's win at Ellison last year was now-senior running back Lache Seastrunk, who went off for career-best totals of 291 yards and four touchdowns. The Wildcats needed every bit of his production because Ellison wiped out deficits of 28-6 and 42-21 with eight minutes left before Seastrunk galloped 81 yards for the winning score.
Seastrunk has been contained to 463 rushing yards and five TDs this year, and McBryde knows that limiting Seastrunk's effectiveness in crucial.
"You've got to get off blocks and you've got to tackle and have a lot of people there," he said. "You definitely have to prepare for him, but you also have to prepare for all of Temple's weapons."
gwille@temple-telegram.com
