06-10-14 ECC sport
6
2/8/10
12:28 PM
Ellis County Chronicle
Page 1
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Sports
Dual-headed beast Hawks’ Dixon enjoying productivity on both sides of the ball By ALEX RILEY Chronicle sports writer
Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Chronicle
Defensive end Mandel Dixon grabs hold of Lancaster quarterback Thedford Rhodes during a win earlier this season. Dixon, who splits time between the offense and defense, has a team-high two sacks this year.
There are two sides to Mandel Dixon on the football field — the side that tries to score touchdowns and the side that tries to prevent other people from scoring touchdowns. And that’s just how Red Oak likes it. Dixon, a 6-foot-1, 215pound junior, is listed as a tight end on the Hawks’ roster but his position is a lot more complicated than that. “We call it H. It’s a mixture between tight end, fullback, sometimes wide receiver, wide out, stuff like that. Sometimes like a lineman too,” Dixon said of his multifaceted abilities. “It’s (the coaches’) design but I think it’s good for me to play both sides.” What Dixon provides to the Red Oak offense is a power player capable of bulldozing his way for tough yardage. The Hawks have some of the best speed in District 15-4A with players like Kentrell Holmes, Ishmael Harrison and Jeremi Lewis all playing speed positions. But for Dixon, it’s all about brute force. During the Hawks’ 17-14 win over West Mesquite two weeks ago, he took a handoff from quarterback Travis Wallis and shook off three would-be defenders en route to scoring a go-ahead touchdown. He followed that up by scoring the game-tying touchdown against Mabank last week as the Hawks went on to pick up a 14-7 win. See DIXON, Page 7
Courtesy Photo
Red Oak’s Meredith Milligan picked up a win in both doubles and singles play during the team’s narrow defeat by Waxahachie.
Tennis drops close match to county-rival Waxahachie The Red Oak varsity tennis team stepped out of district play for a chance to face off with cross-county rival Waxahachie. While the Hawks hadn’t lost a single district match, the Indians edged out a 10-9 win over the course of the matches. The following were winning match results posted by the squad against Waxahachie: Girls doubles: Lina Chehab and Meredith Milligan 8-6
Boys doubles: Will Temple and Garrett Lambert 8-6 Girls singles: Latoya Jones 6-2, 6-4 Erin Beattie 6-1, 6-1 Meredith Milligan 6-4, 5-7, 10-5 Emily Wesson 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 Boys singles: Brian Page 6-2, 6-0 Jonathan Martinez 6-4, 61 Will Temple 0-6, 6-3, 10-3
Leaving things in the past Veteran team learning from recent history, attempting to add to rich program tradition By ALEX RILEY Chronicle sports writer
Every time the Red Oak volleyball players walk into the home gym, they are reminded of the program’s history. In the foyer, a glass case holds the trophies, plaques and awards of tournament, district, regional and state championships. Walk through the doors and onto the court, and instantly they’re met with a wall smattered in championship banners from more than two decade of success. Each of the nine seniors and five juniors has tasted success. They’ve all been a part of the Hawks’ winning tradition. On assumption, one could say it’s the winning that drives them. But according to the team mantra, it’s the losing. Over the past few matches, a majority of the Lady Hawk players have taken the court with an inscription on their left wrists. Done in maker or pen, the girls have “FSU” boldly written facing in toward themselves. The meaning is simple yet heartfelt. “It’s just a thing for our team that stands for ‘Forget Stupid Upsets.’ It’s just for us to get focused on the game and it helps us to do that,” junior Gabby Pena said of the
Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Chronicle
Each of the 14 players on the Red Oak’s varsity roster is hoping to carry previous experience into the upcoming post season. letters. The idea is simple — forget about the past, you can’t change it. The Lady Hawks have nothing to be ashamed of. Over the last 19 years, Red Oak has claimed 19 straight district titles, three state championships and have
Another ‘banner’ season With a 25-9, 25-9, 25-13 win over Mabank last week, the Red Oak volleyball team ensured itself a fifth consecutive season with 32-plus wins. The Lady Hawks (32-4,
8-0 district) are inline for a 20th district title with three matches to go. Remaining schedule Oct. 16 vs. Terrell Oct. 20 vs. Lancaster Oct. 27 at W. Mesquite
made it to at least regional semi-finals four years in a row. Winning has bred more winning. It’s the desire to continue that pushes them. But for these girls, it’s the end of last season’s state tournament run that drives them. “We’re just starting to work hard for playoffs. We don’t want to let what happened last year happen this year,” senior Andrea McQuaid said. Squaring off against Highland Park in the regional semifinals last year, the Scots took a 25-19 win in game one. Red Oak responded by pushing Highland Park to the brink with back-to-back 2519 wins in games two and three. The Scots forced a deciding fifth set with a 2624 win in game four.
Highland Park ended Red Oak’s run with a 15-9 win in the final set. That ending might have driven some teams crazy. It’s driven Red Oak to up its game. The letters are a reminder to keep doing just that. “It’s pretty much for ‘Forget Stupid Upsets’ and how we need to stop worrying about bad things that have happened on the court,” senior Nicole Adamcik said. “Just any past that veteran, varsity players may have in their head like Highland Park, or Waxahachie or any of those that were previous upsets that they don’t worry. This year is our year and we’re going to go all the way,” Pena said. “It just helps See PAST, Page 7
Photo by Alex Riley/The Chronicle
Red Oak junior Lindsay Prasifka shows the letters “FSU” that have become the team’s mantra this year. The letters stand for “Forget Stupid Upsets.”