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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Speed game translates into tough day By ALEX RILEY Mirror sports writer
WAXAHACHIE — Midlothian coach Robby Clark has seen what kind of speed Waxhachie High School posses on its offense. Not necessarily on the gridiron, but the rubber track surrounding it. “We knew that they were fast. We go to the district track meet last year and we finish second in the track meet and we were competing for second and third. Waxahachie ran away with the district track meet. And all that speed that won that track meet is out here on this football field,” Clark said. Clark and the Panthers got reacquainted with that speed on Friday night as the Indians’ first string did the bulk of rushing, including a 115yard, three-touchdown day by Venique Benton in the 49-26 loss. Combined with some of the work by the second-stringers late in the game, the Indians’ cleared the 400-yard mark. The breakdowns are what Midlothian players attributed to simple “mental mistakes.” “Coming into the game we knew they were going to be good. They were 3-0 coming into this game. We knew they had talent coming into the backfield and we knew we could stop them. It’s just mental errors and we were hurting ourselves tonight,” linebacker Colton Clanton said. After Waxahachie slowly chipped away with
rushing yards on the game’s opening drive, the Panthers were hit with what can only be described as a momentum changing play. A pass from Benton glanced off the hands of a Midlothian defender and lofted up in the air. It was snared by tight end Chip Lorfing for a 21yard gain that set up the first of Benton’s touchdown runs for a 7-0 lead. From there, the Panther defense got a stop on fourth down during the Waxahachie’s next possession before giving up three straight touchdowns to dig a hole. Following Midlothian’s first score, the defense looked to use the momentum to get the team back in the game. The unit gave the offense a chance late in the first half as senior Wes Hill recovered a fumbled handoff to halt a drive. Clanton got the other turnover of the night with a fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter. The defense also had two stops on fourth down. The problem for the Panther defense came in determining what aspect of the Indian offense it wanted to focus more on. While the running game produced big numbers, Benton and the air attack also got a solid night with over 150 yards receiving and two scores. That balance made Photo by Neal White/The Mirror
See DEFENSE, Page 2C
Midlothian junior linebacker Clanton Colton tries to wrap-up Waxahachie quarterback Venique Benton during Friday’s contest.
Photos by Gary Puckett (left) and Glenn Johnson (right)/Special to the Mirror
Former Midlothian teammates Caleb McEachern (left) and Caleb Russell (right) both saw their first collegiate action during victories on Saturday night.
Chasing their dreams McEachern gets chance in late game win, shines during first collegiate opportunity By ALEX RILEY Mirror sports writer
WACO — Saturday night, Caleb McEachern walked into the Baylor media room with a grin covering his face. He was happy. But he was in no way content. The former Midlothian football player was given the opportunity some only dream of, as he took the field for the first time in his early collegiate career getting carries late in lopsided 68-13 win over Northwestern State. For the walk-on, the work had finally paid off. “It gets tiring. It’s a drag having to go through pretty much 365 days of work. You get a week, two weeks for Christmas, maybe depending what bowl you play in and that’s it. I was here all summer,” McEachern said. “It’s a lot of work. So far, I’ve worked a year and half for tonight. It’s definitely a lot of
work but once you get out there it’s worth it.” On a night when the Baylor offense rolled, McEachern earned the chance to show the coaching staff what he can do. In the fourth quarter, the 5-foot-9 running back entered the game with 13:21 left for his first career offensive play. With a handoff from quarterback Nick Florence, McEachern bolted for 14 yards. He jokingly says he had the end zone in his sights but a tackle by Xaiver Lee just stopped him from breaking loose. Over the course of six plays, the red-shirt freshman had five carries for 33 yards to bring the Bears inside the red zone. However sportsmanship got best of McEachern’s See MCEACHERN, Page 3C
Russell’s work ethic earns him 12th Man honor, sets goal as more time on the field By ALEX RILEY Mirror sports writer
What Caleb Russell describes as his last few days some might call a whirlwind experience. Then again, some might call Russell’s whole college experience a whirlwind. So when Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman and his staff dubbed the former Midlothian standout as the week’s selection to play the role of 12th Man during the Aggies game with Alabama-Birmingham, it came as a surprise. But one he has been preparing for. “It was Monday meetings, and coach Sherman stood up there and said ‘Well, we had some guys on service team that are really busting their butt and one of those guys was Caleb Russell so we’re going to give him a shot, give him a look and see how he
does.’ That was the start of it,” Russell said. “Later on that day after practice, our specials teams coach came up to me and was like ‘Oh, by the way, you’re going to be wearing the 12th Man jersey.’ That alone was a great honor. Not everyone gets to do that. Not everyone gets to contribute.” After finishing out his time with the Panthers, Russell turned down scholarship offers from smaller Division-I schools to try and walk on at A&M. He took a red-shirt last season, working with the scout team and managed to stay on the practice field this season. But it was Saturday night’s experience that served as the culmination of all his hard work. With everyone, from family back in See RUSSELL, Page 3C