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Sports
irror
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Shoemaker ready to put loss in bowl behind him Houston offensive lineman optimistic about senior season in 2010 By ALEX RILEY
Armed Forces Bowl Air Force 47, Houston 20, Final
Mirror sports writer
Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Mirror
Houston offensive lineman Jordan Shoemaker talks with fellow Ellis County resident Chris Campbell after the game. Houston played Air Force in the bowl for the second year.
FORT WORTH – Jordan Shoemaker was walking off the field at Amon G. Carter Stadium when he heard his name being called. As he turned around, it was Air Force offensive lineman and fellow Ellis County native Chris Campbell. Campbell, a senior on the Falcons’ front line, had just closed out his football career with a 47-20 win over Shoemaker’s Houston team in the Armed Forces Bowl. The two caught up for a few moments before Campbell returned to the celebration and Shoemaker headed to the locker room. Already Shoemaker had set his goals for next season – be a part of
@Amon G. Carter Stadium Dec. 31 the celebration at the end of the year. “You’ve got to forget about this, you can’t sulk on it. Yeah, it’s a loss but I’ve got another year and I’ve got to focus on my last year,” Shoemaker said. A junior starter on the Houston offensive line, Shoemaker helped engineer a Cougar offense that was dominant for much of the season. The Cougars averaged 43.9 points per game and were tops in the nation
with 581.2 yards per game. However, against an upstart Air Force defense the high-flying attack was anything but. Houston gained just 331 yards on 61 plays. A large part of that sluggish performance came off turnovers as Houston quarterback Case Keenum tossed a bowl-record six intercepSee BOWL, Page 4C
The view from the press box
Ellis County products shine in bowl game
Future remains bright as area talent pool continues to refill FORT WORTH — The scoreboard was a bit deceiving by game’s end. Yes, Air Force had just picked up a lopsided 47-20 win over Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl. Of that, there was very little doubt. The Falcons deserved to be victorious and by a wide margin. But it was not indicative of the microcosm connected to Ellis County. On both sides of the ball there were former high school rivals who had one final chance to square off against each ALEX RILEY other. And when it was all done, they shook MIRROR hands, talked for a few SPORTS minutes and even WRITER shared a laugh or two. Former Midlothian standout Jordan Shoemaker took the worst of it as the Cougars suffered through the season ending loss. The left guard provided protection for All-American quarterback Case Keenum who had little go his way. He threw six interceptions in the game, three less than his total for the entire season. However, the turnovers didn’t show how See RILEY, Page 4C
Photo by Alex Riley/The Mirror
After coming back from the holiday break, the Midlothian boys basketball team won the consolation bracket of the Fort Worth ISD Coca-Cola Classic. The Panthers have now won four of their last five games.
Picking up momentum Boys basketball team comes back from break, earns big wins in tournament By ALEX RILEY Mirror sports writer
FORT WORTH — A few weeks ago, Glenn Hartson was a little bit worried. His Midlothian boys basketball team was on a bit of a swoon late in the non-district season. After dropping the championship game of the Joshua Tournament, the Panthers fell in the next three straight to fall to 5-7. However, the team rallied for a win in the district opener against Waxahachie just before going on break for the holidays. They returned on Dec. 28 for the Fort Worth ISD Coca-Cola Classic. The boys won three of the four games they played in three days and have now picked up wins in four of their last five games to improve to 9-8 as district play gets ready to tip off. “I think it’s good and I think it speaks volumes for the program. I know last year we had a little down year but this is what we’ve done in the past. This is Midlothian basketball,” Hartson said. “We’ve always been right there and it all goes to kids. They practice. After our loss the other day, we went back and practiced and they’re willing to do that. They know that it’s going to help them be successful.” Following the 19-point loss to Fort Worth Polytechnic, the boys rallied to reel off three straight wins and claim the tournament’s consolation bracket title. Of Midlothian’s nine wins, seven have come
Tournament warriors
Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Mirror
Former Midlothian offensive lineman Jordan Shoemaker was one of two Ellis County products playing in the Armed Forces Bowl. Shoemaker and Houston fell to Air Force 47-20.
In a 9-8 start this year, the Midlothian boys basketball team has found its greatest success while playing in regular season tournaments.
Photo by Alex Riley/The Mirror
In three tournaments this season, Eddie Johnson (right) has been named to the all-tournament team twice. Johnson and Nimitz guard C.J. Shelton were honored after the consolation championship game last week. in tournament play as the Panthers (9-8, 10 district) have amassed a 7-3 tournament record with two consolation bracket titles and a runner-up finish. It did not come as easy as that though. Against Houston Northbrook in the sec-
Highland Park Tournament: 2-1 record, consolation bracket title Joshua Tournament: 2-1 record, runner-up finish Coca-Cola Classic: 3-1 record, consolation bracket title
ond game of the tournament, Hartson called a timeout early in the second half to light a fire under his team after some lackluster effort. The plan worked to perfection as the Panthers went on to post 25 points in the period and roll through the rest of the tournament. “I called a time out and I got pretty animated I think. I haven’t yelled at them like that all year. I felt like they needed that and it worked. I was proud of them. I’m proud that they scored 25 points in the third quarter but we’ve still got to work on the rest of our game,” Hartson said. “If we’re going to be good in district and go to the playoffs we’ve got to get that taken care of.” See HOOPS, Page 2C