Playoff previews ... all up in your area: Beauregard at LeFlore

Since I’m obsessive and psycho, I’ve decided to do more in-depth playoff previews than what’s going to run in the paper. Three a day until Friday.

Today: Beauregard at LeFlore in the Class 5A first round:

Beauregard Hornets (7-3)

Aug. 28 vs. Russell County (W, 29-6)
Sept. 4 at Carroll-Ozark (W, 41-19)
Sept. 11 vs. Rehobeth (W, 22-20)
Sept. 18 at Eufaula (L, 7-13)
Sept. 25 vs. Holtville (W, 45-7)
Oct. 2 vs. Charles Henderson (W, 14-0)
Oct. 9 at Tallassee (L, 22-35)
Oct. 16 vs. Valley (W, 20-7)
Oct. 23 at BTW (W, 27-16)
Oct. 30 at Handley (L, 7-48)

Points scored: 234 (23.4)
Points allowed: 169 (16.9)
Rushing yards: 1851 (185.1)
Passing yards: 1268 (126.8)
Total yards: 3119 (311.9)

Key Players
WR Christian Collis, Jr., 6-1, 185: 27 rec., 438 yds., 16.2 TD, 4 TD
LB Dre Finley, So., 6-2, 210: 79 tackles, 11 for loss, 2 sacks*
QB Charles Floyd, So., 5-9, 165: 91-of-149 passing, 1224 yds., 12 TD, 9 INT; 344 rushing yds., 4 TD
S Von Gibson, Sr., 6-0, 180: 78 tackles, 6 for loss, 3 INT*
RB Kris James, Sr., 5-9, 175: 177 att., 1210 yds., 6.8, 8 TD
* - thru 9 games

LeFlore Rattlers (7-3)

Aug. 28 vs. Blount (L, 6-12)
Sept. 4 vs. Citronelle (W, 26-22)
Sept. 11 at Gulf Shores (L, 14-41)
Sept. 18 vs. St. Pauls (L, 14-35)
Sept. 25 at Selma (W, 22-6)
Oct. 2 at Escambia County (W, 32-21)
Oct. 9 vs. Spanish Fort (W, 18-13)
Oct. 16 at Faith Academy (W, 34-14)
Oct. 23 at Vigor (W, 15-14)
Oct. 29 vs. Williamson (W, 20-13)

Points scored: 201 (20.1)
Points allowed: 191 (19.1)

Key Players
WR Danny Woodson, Jr., 6-1, 184

Beauregard on the road: 2-3
LeFlore at home: 3-2
Last meeting: First meeting.

Pick: Beauregard 22, LeFlore 20

Emptying out the notebook on a fantastic Friday

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After a one-week hiatus, the emptied-out notebook is back in full effect.

Get some.

****Auburn had some issues on short third- and fourth-down situations against Ole Miss, letting a number go to waster. Neither Gene Chizik nor Gus Malzahn could put a finger on the problems.

Chizik: “When there are some blitzes on and we get penetration and that’s usually what stops any third- and fourth-and-one. But we just have to block it better and we’ve got to execute better. That hasn’t been happening as much as we would like it to happen recently. So we certainly need to improve in that category. That’s obvious.“

Malzahn: “There’s a lot of different things. The bottom line is we’ve got to be better in that situation. We do have a solid line and a solid back so we need to find a way to get that done. Of course fourth down also, that was a big play. Anytime your head coach allows you to go on fourth down, you’ve got to make the most of it and we didn’t do that. And we’ll be working extremely hard and that will be a point of emphasis in practice this week.“

****Meanwhile, Auburn’s defense was thriving on third downs, limiting the Rebels to just three conversions all game. Obviously, Ted Roof was pretty happy about that. “I was pleased with that. We’ve done a better job here lately on third down. We had the West Virginia game where they did good job on third down but we’ve been playing better on third down. Getting off the field is critical. When you have opportunities to get off the field, you’ve got to get off and we were able to do that.“

****Chris Todd showed that his arm isn’t the only valuable body part he possesses, landing a pooch punt inside the 1-yard line against Ole Miss. His thoughts: “It had a nice roll to it and it ended up pretty well.“

****Walt McFadden, who was recently named SEC Defensive Player of the Week, was asked if this was his best season to date. He had a somewhat surprising answer. “I don’t know think this is my best year. I learned a lot of things with (Will) Muschamp. I understood that style very well. I understand this defense, too, but that defensive scheme was a pretty sight. Anybody could make a play. These last two years, the defense I played in was surrounded by other players. But when the ball is in the air, you have to make a play, so it really doesn’t matter.“

****Linebacker Josh Bynes spilled the beans on Auburn’s new “Shhh…“ campaign, which is promoting silence as opposed to boasting about the surprisingly strong performances Auburn has been able to muster. Here are the details. “Basically just be quiet and let our actions speak louder than our words. That’s what we broke down to prior to the Ole Miss game, just breaking down to ‘Shhhh!‘, letting everyone know we’re not finna talk about it, we’re going to be out there and be about it and show our actions on the football field.“

****Bynes kind of contradicted himself, though, when he talked about getting in Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead’s head. “He was getting frustrated. He was getting tired of me because I was talking to him the whole game. It was all in the game. We were having fun out there. We were out there handling our business and at the same time having fun with it. There was a lot of laughter on the sideline and during the game but at the same time we knew everyone was on the same page and taking care of their business.“

****Bynes was full of great quotes this week. He had this gem when talking about Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes, who is serving a self-imposed, one-game suspension for attempting to gouge the eyes of Georgia’s Washaun Ealey. “I haven’t ran across anything like that since I’ve been playing college football. Of course, that’s something that shouldn’t occur and I think that’s real childish and out of hand. That’s something that the NCAA, they’ve got to handle that. I’m not worried about it. That’s something that’s uncalled for, especially when you’re playing a game. We’re out there having fun. At the same time you want to win. I think all the other stuff is uncalled for. Whatever he did, put his hands in the facemask, that’s really uncalled for and unnecessary. That’s not a football play.“

****Antonio Coleman has some experience with scary-looking injuries. He thinks Zac Etheridge will definitely be able to rebound. “When I was injured I was just ready to get back on the field and play football. When I’m on the field, my body, I just let it go. So it might be tough on him and it might not. He’s a baller and he’s going to come back and play no matter what.“

****Malzahn said one of the most key components to his offense is the man in motion. “We’re a misdirection offense. When we get things going quick and our pace going, a lot of times it gets defense’s keys a little bit off and they get to look in the backfield, so that’s very important as far as our motion goes, our reverses and our play-action off that.“

****Ben Tate had some pretty lofty expectations thrown his way when he signed with Auburn four years ago. This year’s proven to be his biggest. He talked about that.

“I think a lot of people have kind of been waiting for this as well, and I’ve been waiting for it too. But it’s just first getting here and then sophomore, getting an opportunity for a while, and then last year not really getting the type of opportunity. There are lots of guys who have had years like me where they have a down year, things like that, teams have down years, but to put up numbers like I am this year, you also have to have opportunities. Coach Malzahn and coach Chizik have definitely given me the opportunity to showcase what I can do, so with the talent you also need to be able to showcase it.“

****Jeff Grimes gave his thoughts on freshman Andre Harris, who has lost 40 pounds since arriving this summer. He has yet to play but Grimes is hoping he’ll be ready one of these years. “I think he has a future here. He’s got good feet. He’s the guy that didn’t come in the best of shape. But he’s lost a lot of weight. He’s gotten himself in better shape; still has a ways to go there. He’s really raw but has really good feet. If a guy’s got size and he’s got really good feet, that’s something we can work with.“

(Photo credit: Cliff Williams)

Men’s basketball set for exhibition with Miles College

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Yes, it’s that time of year again.

Everybody wave to Lucas Hargrove. He promises to be a big factor for the Tigers, who were picked to finish last in the SEC West by the media and coaches.

They open their 2009-10 campaign tonight with an exhibition game against Miles College.

In our advance for today’s newspaper, we talked about the new guys. The three freshmen—Rob Chubb, Andre Malone and Earnest Ross—aren’t expected to do too many things, but get used to hearing about Kenny Gabriel and Tony Neysmith. Those two will have to contribute if Auburn is going to prove the majority wrong for a second consecutive year.

If you’re not checking out some of the great high school football around Lee County tonight, we recommend stopping by The Beave for this one. Admission is free and, hey, this will mark the last-ever exhibition game at the 40-year-old building.

That’s got to be worth something.

(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)

Zachery provides big-play threat for Auburn offense

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Wide receiver Terrell Zachery came into the 2009 season with two career catches for 24 yards.

By the time his first-ever start came to a close in Auburn’s season opener, Zachery, a junior, nearly quadrupled that total on one catch – a 93-yard touchdown pass from Chris Todd that went down as the longest play from scrimmage in Auburn history.

Zachery’s knack for the big play has shined through in four of Auburn’s six wins this season. His two catches Saturday against Ole Miss for 42 and 41 yards, respectively, gave him six receptions of 20 yards or more on the season.

Those six catches have accounted for 317 of Zachery’s 437 receiving yards.

Players like senior Ben Tate said they knew Zachery had big-play ability. Now, he’s just getting a chance to display it.

“We’ve been knowing that T-Zach can do things, but when you’re just a player you can’t voice your opinion, your opinion doesn’t matter. It’s up to the coaches,” Tate said. “We asked him, ‘Were you doing something wrong? Were you doing this or that?‘ But you can’t really get into that because you’re not supposed to and it really isn’t any of your business, but we all knew he could play.”

Zachery’s two catches didn’t come easy. Both came in heavy traffic and neither were a sure thing until referees ruled that he, in fact, maintained possession of the ball.

The positive results went beyond the catches, alone. It helped open up Auburn’s downfield passing game, dormant during the Tigers’ three-game losing streak, which then made Auburn’s power running game more effective.

“That’s huge,” offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said. “When you’re not making big plays down the field in the passing game, that makes it so hard to run the football because they can commit so many people. And not even the number of people they commit, but the style of defense they are playing up front.”

Todd said Zachery’s proven ability to make those tough catches has had a direct effect on the confidence he has in him.

“When it gets to crunch time they’re looking for who I can get the ball to make a play for us and he’s been able to do that,” Todd said. “Some other guys have made some really nice plays as well but, in particular, he’s done a really nice job and called some plays for him and he’s made some big ones.”

In the evaluation stage
Gene Chizik said Tuesday that he plans to “re-evaluate” the process behind Auburn’s scheduling, which will have the Tigers play 11 consecutive games before their bye.

Auburn has the exact same quandary on its 2010 schedule.

“Everyone would love to have one right in the middle of the season. That’s the perfect world,“ he said. “It doesn’t always end of being able to be that way. But we will go back and look at it. The thing that is challenging for us right now with 11 straight weeks of football is the depth of the roster.

“Sometimes you get it at Week 8, Week 9. We just happen to get it after Week 11. We’ll always continually evaluate things and see if there’s a better way.“

Pugh makes all-academic team
Junior center Ryan Pugh was named Thursday to ESPN the Magazine’s Academic All-District IV Football Second Team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced.

Pugh, a building science major, carries a 3.45 grade-point average.

To be eligible for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his current institution.

(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)

Playoff previews ... all up in your area: Valley at Vigor

Since I’m obsessive and psycho, I’ve decided to do more in-depth playoff previews than what’s going to run in the paper. Three a day until Friday.

Today: Valley at Vigor in the Class 5A first round:

Valley Rams (7-3)

Aug. 28 at Auburn High (L, 7-28)
Sept. 4 at Rehobeth (W, 29-6)
Sept. 11 vs. Carrroll-Ozark (W, 38-6)
Sept. 18 at Charles Henderson (W, 31-17)
Sept. 25 at Lanett (W, 33-2)
Oct. 2 vs. Eufaula (W, 31-7)
Oct. 9 at BTW (W, 10-0)
Oct. 16 at Beauregard (L, 7-20)
Oct. 23 vs. Tallassee (L, 14-17, OT)
Oct. 30 vs. Smiths Station (W, 22-16)

Points scored: 222 (22.2)
Points allowed: 119 (11.9)

Key Players
WR/S Erique Florence, Jr., 6-2, 185
CB Cedric Moore, Jr., 5-8, 135: 4 INT
LB Koy Page, Sr., 5-10, 190
HB Tim’Vontae Walker, Sr., 5-10, 195: 128 att., 1028 yds., 8.0 avg., 14 TD; 10 kick returns, 360 yds., 36.0 avg., TD
CB Savosko Woody, Sr., 6-0, 175

Vigor Wolves (7-3)

Aug. 28 at Williamson (W, 28-27)
Sept. 4 vs. Escambia County (W, 31-16)
Sept. 11 at Citronelle (W, 43-7)
Sept. 18 vs. Gulf Shores (W, 43-27)
Sept. 25 at Opelika (L, 6-26)
Oct. 2 at St. Pauls (W, 33-7)
Oct. 9 vs. Faith Academy (W, 35-12)
Oct. 16 at Spanish Fort (L, 16-37)
Oct. 23 vs. LeFlore (L, 14-15)
Oct. 29 at Blount (W, 36-16)

Points scored: 285 (28.5)
Points allowed: 190 (19.0)

Key Players
DB Tremendous Campbell-Scott (Sr., 5-8, 150)
OL Quinterrius Eatmon (Sr., 6-5, 315)
WR Marvin Shinn (Jr., 6-4, 180)

Valley on the road: 4-2
Vigor at home: 3-1
Last meeting: First meeting.

Pick: Vigor 20, Valley 16