chronicle sports 2-10-10

Sports6 Ellis County Chronicle, Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Dynamic defensive

duoRed Oak pair in running for personalaccolades but putting team results first

MESQUITE – It’s proba-bly a good thing Red Oakboys basketball coachPreston Foster can’t vote forhis own players during postseason district awards.

Honestly, he’s not surewhat he would do if he hadto.

In the race for District 15-4A defensive player of theyear, the Hawks have a pairof standout players who makelife miserable for opposingteams’ offenses. GaylonEdwards and Earl Graves areimposing, hard-nosed playerswho make the team’s defensego.

The problem — which onedo you vote for?

“I’m sitting there and tome, I’m not allowed to vote

on my own kids, but if I hadto vote on them I don’t knowwho I’d vote for,” Fosterlaughs.

Edwards, the defending15-4A defensive player of theyear, has lived up to hisbilling this season as theteam’s primary front man onother teams’ ball handlers.With his long arms and quickhands, Edwards has devel-oped a knack for poking theball away from guards andconverting the turnovers intoeasy buckets down on theother end.

In a game last week againstWest Mesquite, Edwards’prowess was on display as hesquared off all night withWrangle guard Javier Sora. In

By ALEX RILEY

Chronicle sports writer

See BOYS, Page 9

Photo by Alex Riley/The Chronicle

Gaylon Edwards has lived up to his status as2009 defensive player of the year for 15-4A.


Red Oak center Earl Graves is a shot blockingspecialist. He leads the team in rebounds as well.

Photo by Alex Riley/The Chroniclet

Members of the Red Oak girls basketball team begin to celebrate as time runsout in last Friday’s win over Terrell. The Lady Hawks are in the playoffs for thefirst time in five years and could be a No. 2 seed.

Bound for the playoffs

It has been the mantra of the team all sea-son. It was said in practice, on the bench, onthe court and in the locker room. Anytime thesquad needed focus, the saying was what theyturned to. It was even written on the game ballitself.

The Red Oak girls basketball team made“on a mission” the catch phrase for this sea-son and with last Friday’s win over Terrell theLady Hawks accomplished part of that goal.For the first time in five years, the girls pro-gram will be playoff bound and could finishas the No. 2 seed from District 15-4A.

“Yes we’ve been on mission since thebeginning of last year and we have succeededand we’re (still) on a mission. And we finallygot (to the playoffs) this year. It’s been a lot ofhard work,” senior Danyel Harris said.

That hard work came to a head on Fridaynight as players, fans and even the coachingstaff could not contain itself from a little post-game celebration.

Armed with a ladder and a pair of scissors,the Lady Hawks proceeded to cut down thenets in celebration of many things — a berthin the playoffs, a possible second place finishin the district, senior night and the final girlsbasketball game at the old Red Oak gymnasi-um. With the new high school set to open nextfall, the victory and season accomplishmentsserved as a backdrop to sending the old venueout in style.

The hope is that the momentum will carryover into the new building.

“We knew that if we took care of business

Lady Hawks earn spot in coveted postseason tourney

By ALEX RILEY


See GIRLS , Page 9

Red Oak ISD Round-upNinth-grade girls basketball update

The season ended on a positivenote for the freshman Lady Hawkbasketball team last week as itknocked off Terrell 49-34 to closeout the season.

Kristen Kistner’s 16 points ledthe way while Bailey Hebert addedanother 12.

“They’re playing at a level thatrequires more ball movement andso they have to kind of learn how tomanage the ball, we can’t just runplays all the time. That’s kind ofwhere we were at the end of the sea-son,” coach Brian Rogers said. “Butdefinitely we’ve got some playersthat are ready to move up and takethe game to whole new level.”

For the season, Kistner scored ateam-high 285 points while Hebertwas just behind her with 273.Lauren Mclin led the team inrebounding with 123 and BriArriola recorded 76 steals. Theteam finished at 13-14 overall and5-7 in district.

Junior varsity girlsbasketball update

Three different players hit dou-ble-figures as the junior varsity girlsbasketball team just missed out ontying its single-game scoring recordfor the season with a 79-61 winover Terrell.

“We got that final victory, wewere so excited. We were actuallygoing for 83 points to tie our all-season high but we didn’t get it,”coach Jane Laws said. “We blew alot of easy lay-ups but you knowwhat? A win is a win is a win andwe are district champs.”

Taylor McCollugh led in scoringwith 26 while Sydnii Noland (15)and Kara Kistner (14) each had bigdays to close out the season. RedOak finishes the year with a 24-3record and was 10-2 in district.

Varsity girls basketballupdate

The Lady Hawks also stayed inthe playoff hunt with a 62-52 roadwin over Mabank. In all, 10 of the11 players on the team had points inthe game.

Freshman Diamond Lockhartfinished with a team-high 18 whileKiona Robinson, Raquel Dent andDaphene Ward had eight pointseach.

With flash bulbs popping, cheersflying and a step ladder in hand, theLady Hawk basketball programcapped its regular season by cere-monially cutting down the nets incelebration of a turnaround season.A 73-58 win over Terrell ensuredthe team would claim either the sec-ond or third seed from District 15-4A in the upcoming playoffs, gavethe team it’s first berth in the postseason in five years and turned outto be the final girls game played atthe old gymnasium as the new highschool opens next fall. And if allthat wasn’t enough, it was seniornight.

Six players took the court fortheir final home game in a highschool uniform and all six made themost of their farewell evening. The

group combined for 36 of theteam’s points as all six scored atleast three points. They also helpedforce numerous turnovers andgrabbed key rebounds along theway.

Of the six seniors who took thefloor, Dent made the biggest impactdefensively as the 6-foot-4 postplayer narrowly missed out on adouble-double with eight points and12 rebounds.

When the night started, itappeared as though Red Oak (19-11, 8-4 district) was about to get ahard charge from Terrell. After tak-ing a 4-0 lead, the Lady Tigersresponded with a 10-0 run and helda lead until Danyel Harris hit a pull-up jumper to tie the game at 16.

Robinson’s shot off the glassgave Red Oak an 18-16 lead itwould not give back the rest of theway. Lockhart sank a pair of freethrows then stole the inbounds passand hit a jumper just before the halfto give Red Oak a nine-point lead.

After Terrell cut the lead back tosingle digits in the third, seniorsWard, Symone Jackson and Dentwent to work, starting with a 3-pointer from Ward to make it 53-41.Ward then dished to Dent for a lay-up followed by a Lockhart jumperand a Jackson tough shot off the

glass to go up 59-43. While Lockhart’s 19 and

Robinson’s 15 led the way in scor-ing, it was the play of the seniorsthat stole the show. Dent led thegroup with eight and those 12boards while Jackson, Ward andKaitlyn Smith each had six. WendyMartinez (six) and Harris (three)rounded out the senior group.

Varsity boys basketball update

Nine players finished with fouror more points as the Red Oak boysrolled past Mabank 93-68.

Five Hawks posted double-figurescoring as Earl Graves and GaylonEdwards each had 16 whileDominique Bonner added 15.Brothers D.J. and Brandon Bradyhad 14 and 10 points respectively.

The Red Oak boys basketballteam earned its 20th win of the sea-son on Friday night with a 68-54victory at Terrell.

Led by Earl Graves’ 22, theHawks broke a fairly tight gameopen in the third period by outscor-ing the Tigers 15-8. Over the firstthree periods, Red Oak (20-9, 6-4district) led Terrell in scoring eachtime before both teams combinedfor 41 points in the fourth period.

Gaylon Edwards was next in linewith 16 while Brandon Brady added10. The victory ensures the Hawksof a trip of to playoffs where theyare currently locked in a third seedfrom District 15-4A.

Varsity girls soccerupdate

Ashley Gonzales’ goal againstThe Colony forced a 1-1 draw forthe Lady Hawks last week. Whilethe boys were at home hostingRockwall, the girls made the trek toplay the Yellowjackets on the road.The Lady Hawk offense wasstymied by Rockwall in a 1-0 loss.

Junior varsity boyssoccer update

The JV boys soccer team fell toRockwall 3-1 on Friday. The teamswere tied at 1-1 going in at the halfbefore Rockwall scored early in thesecond to take the lead and go on towin.

Varsity boys soccerupdate

Goals by Josh Mrozinski, DillonMalke and Richie Barrientos helpedthe Red Oak boys soccer team pickup a big 3-1 win over MansfieldTimberview.

The Red Oak boys soccer teamfinished the early portion of its sea-son with a 10-1 record by defeatingRockwall 2-0.

Timely offense and stellardefense continue to be the team’scalling card. In 11 games, the squadhas given up just four goals in regu-lation all season. Friday’s game wasno different as the squad pitched itsfourth shutout in the last fivegames. Goals by Preston Hancockand Ramen Lopez were all theoffense the team would need to getthe win.

Photo by Alex Riley/The Daily Light

Bailey Hebert finished theseason with 273 points for theninth-grade girls team as itclosed out with a win.


Taylor McCollugh scored 26points as the JV closed out theseason with a win.


The Red Oak junior varsitysoccer squad dropped atough 3-1 game to Rockwall.

6-2-10 ECC sport 3/10/10 1:38 AM

UIL RealignmentWednesday, February 10, 2010 Ellis County Chronicle 7

Recent athletic achievements of District 5-5A teams

CorsicanaFootball2009- 4A area finalists2005- 4A area finalists

Boys soccer2009- 4A area champs2008- 11-4A district champs

Girls soccer2009- 4A sectional champs2008- 4Abi-district champs2007- 4A bi-district champs2006- 4A area champs

Baseball2007- 4Aregional semifinalists

EnnisFootball2008- 4A area champs2007- 4Abi-district champs2006- 15-4A district champs2005- 4A state semifinalists

Boys soccer2007- 4Aregional semifinalists

Girls soccer2009- 4A area champs

Baseball2008- 4A area champs

ForneyFootball2009- 4A bi-district finalists

Volleyball2009- 4A bi-district finalists

Girls basketball2009- 4A area champs

Girls soccer2008- 4A bi-district champs

Baseball2008- 4A regional finalists2005- 4A area champs

Softball2008- 4A area champs2007- 4A regional finalists

LancasterFootball2008- 4A bi-district champs2005- 4A bi-district champs

Boys basketball2009- 4A regional finalists2008- 15-4A district champs2007- 15-4A district champs

Girls basketball2008- 4A area champions2007- 4A area champions

Mesquite PoteetVolleyball2009- 4A bi-district finalists2008- 4A area champs

2007- 4A area champs2005- 15-4A district champs

Boys soccer2009- 4A state runners-up2008- 4A regional finalists

Girls soccer2009- 23-4A district champs2008- 4A area champs2007- 4A area champs2006- 4A area champs

Baseball2009- 4A area champs2008- 4A area champs2007- 4A state runners-up2005- 4A regional finalists

Softball2009- 4A Region II champs2008- 4A area champs2007- 4A area champs

TerrellFootball2009- 4A bi-district finalists2005- 4A bi-district champs

Boys basketball2008- 4A bi-district champs2007- 4A area champs

Girls soccer2007- 4A bi-district champs

WaxahachieFootball2009- 4Aregionalquarterfinalists2008- 4A bi-district champs

Volleyball2009- 4A regional semifinalists2007- 4A area champs

Boys basketball2008- 4A bi-district champs2007- 4A bi-district champs

Girls basketball2009- 4Aregional semifinalists2006- 4A state champs

Girls soccer2009- 4Aregionalquarterfinalists2006- 4Aregional semifinalists2005- 4Aregionalquarterfinalists

Baseball2008- 4A state runners-up

Softball2008- 4A regional semifi-nalists2007- 4A area champions

West MesquiteFootball2007- 4A regional finalists

Boys basketball2005- 4A area champs

Girls basketball2009- 15-4A district champs2008- 4Aregional semifinalists2007- 10-4A district champs2006- 4A bi-district champs

Boys soccer2009- 4Aregional semifinalists


Defending the District 15-4A championship just got tougher for Red Oak and coach Mike Shields as thedistrict expanded to nine teams in the realignment.

A tough road aheadNine team district makes route to playoffs hard difficult path to follow

When Red Oak won the District 15-4A football title last season, coachMike Shields knew the Hawks wouldgo from being the hunter to the hunted.He just never imagined the pack chas-ing his team would get so big.

After realignment was announcedlast week, Red Oak was placed backinto District 15-4A allowing them todefend that title. The road to thatdefense just got a lot tougher as the dis-trict slate jumped from seven to nineteams as three members of the former16-4A joined the list.

“You keep thinking that they can’tmake it tougher and they keep doing it.With nine teams, adding one teammakes it tougher when only four get inso more than half of us aren’t going toget in,” Shield said.

Red Oak’s road to the playoffs nowfeatures a district with six teams that

made the playoffs last season. In theold 15-4A, Forney, West Mesquite andTerrell made the playoffs along withthe Hawks. Waxahachie, the 16-4Achampions who advanced to theregional quarterfinals, and Corsicana,who claimed a bi-district champi-onship, round out the list of teams whomade appearances in the post season.None of the 15-4A participants in lastyear’s playoffs won their bi-districtgame, all of which were played againstteams from 16-4A.

The good news for the Hawks isWaxahachie will lose a lot of talentfrom last year’s team that rose to a top5 state ranking and none of the Wacoarea teams previously in 16-4A willcontinue to play in the metroplex.

However that isn’t much comfort asthe window to get into the post seasoncontinues to get smaller.

“It just makes it tough and eachweek is going to be tough. It’s going to

be a tough season when you’ve got tobe ready each week,” Shields said.

What Shields hopes for is the experi-ence of last season pays dividendswhen the Hawks hit the field this fall.After winning the school’s first districtchampionship since 1982 and the firstas a 4A program, he believes the desireto continue building on that traditionmight be something Red Oak can useas a guiding tool to get through thetough district slate.

With any luck, he might be right. “You hope it carries over but you

never know. Every year’s different,”Shields said. “You’ve got to come inready to go and that’s what we’retelling them already. We said you betterstart now because I promise you thoseother eight teams are too.”

Contact Alex [email protected] or at 469-517-1456.

By ALEX RILEY


Improved district schedule puts win-streak at high risk

As if pressure from within wasn’tenough, the Red Oak volleyball teamnow faces a much tougher task tokeep its district win streak alivethanks to last week’s realignment.

Joining the Lady Hawks in thenew District 15-4A are last season’s16-4A champion Waxahachie alongwith Ennis and Corsicana bringingthe total number of schools in thenew district to nine. Coupled withthe fact that playoff teams likeMesquite Poteet are still in the dis-trict and the chances of winning a21st district title in a row are startingto get less likely. Six of the nineteams in the new district took part inthe playoffs last year

“Waxahachie didn’t really loseanybody and they were a gamebehind us (in the playoffs). Poteetwas pretty good, I know they losttheir big hitter but other than thatthey should still be pretty tough,”junior Hunter Porter said of the newdistrict.

The biggest problem arises inschedule as the eight teams Red Oak

must now schedule will take awayfrom non-district competition. TheLady Hawks have generally liked toplay in tough tournaments andupper-level non-district competitionin the early months of the season toget warmed up before diving intodistrict play.

That scheduling looks less likelyto happen as 16 games will be devot-ed to district with the need for a gapat the end of the season in case of tie-breaker playoff games.

While there is still a chance forappeal, the odds of a change in thecompetition is unlikely making nextseason a tough one for the team.

“Nine is a lot and we’re going tohave to cancel some of our othergames which we’ve already sched-uled which is not going to be goodfor us,” Porter said. “We play a lot oftough competition in preseason andeliminating those games doesn’tgive us a chance to play thoseteams.”

Contact Alex [email protected] or at 469-517-1456.

Photo by Lezley Norris/Special to the Chronicle

Continuing to win district titles got alittle tougher for Hunter Porter andRed Oak as the district expanded tonine teams for the next two years.

By ALEX RILEY


Red Oak coaches look ahead to the new District 15-4A

Football coach Mike Shields

Boys basketballcoach Preston Foster

Softball coachTheresa Thibodeaux

Volleyball coachHope Porter

Baseball coach Heath Autrey

“The main thing that disappoints me is for us to bethe only nine-team district inthe state for 4A. The difference for teams in a six-team district when fourmake the playoffs comparedto a nine-team district ishuge. I knew it would beagainst some tough teamswhether we went north orsouth, but to make it all nineis real tough.”

“It should be a good, competitive district. The teamsshould all be pretty familiar witheach other, it is kind of a combination of our current district, and our previous one. Iam not real excited about having 9 teams. I do not like theodd number of teams, whichmeans that you have a coupleof off nights during district.”

“The new alignment makes itmuch more competitive forsoftball. I am really excitedabout it. We gain three solidprograms and that forces usto have to improve that muchmore.”

“The problem with therealignment is we might haveto drop around five non-dis-trict games from our scheduleand we might have to backout of a tournament. Thatdoesn’t leave our team muchtime to ease into the seasonas district play will startalmost immediately.”

“I am really looking forward tobeing in this competitive 4Adistrict and getting the opportunity to coach againstsome of the best baseballcoaches in Texas. It ought tobe interesting. I wish we startedthis thing today.”

“I think it is a great districtfor us. We will see greatcompetition for our districtgames and will have toearn every victory we get. Ilike this district and theteams we have an opportunity to play. Wehave some great rivalrieswith a few of the schools soevery night should be exciting for girl’s basketballin district 15-4A.”

Girls basketball coach Melissa Fullmer

6-2-10 ECC sport 3/10/10 1:38 AM

Ricky Tellez already plays soccer in coldweather. Next season, he’ll take it up a fewnotches. Or down a few, depending onwhich temperature gauge you’re looking at.

A senior on the Red Oak boys soccerteam, Tellez signed his national letter ofintent on Tuesday to continue his playingcareer at Bradley University next season.

“It’s pretty far to go there but I guessthings happen for a reason. I guess I’ll getused to it eventually, the change in weatherand being up so north and being away frommy family and everything. It should befun,” Tellez said.

The standout defender is hoping hisefforts will help the Braves get back ontrack after a slight lull the past few years.Bradley was a contender in the mid-2000sfor deep runs into the NCAA tournamentbut fell off slightly over the past few sea-sons.

All that is something Tellez believes hecan change and apparently the Bradleycoaching staff believes he can too.

After going through different workouts inthe summer trying to catch the eye of col-lege recruiters, Tellez began talk to theBraves about a possible spot on their roster.Half of his scholarship will be from soccerwhile the rest will be academic.

“I was going through different combinesand stuff through the summer and in thebeginning of the year. And my older broth-er, he’s in college now, he’s a freshman, heactually told me about a camp they had so Iwent up there to Illinois and I just got intouch with the coaches after the campbecause they really liked me and I just keptin touch,” Tellez said. “I had them come outto a couple tournaments that I had and justfrom there is how it happened.”

The signing marks one of the biggest inTrent Kutch’s time as head coach of theHawks who was proud of what his seniorcaptain has already accomplished. Kutchrecognizes that not many eyes are watchinga small town community like Red Oak, sowhen a player like Tellez shows up on the

Colby Houston knows one way of doingthings — full steam ahead.

The offensive lineman has spent his highschool career leading the way for runners andquarterbacks, opening holes and clearingpaths. So just moments after putting pen topaper and signing his letter of intent to play atAngelo State, Houston realized for the nextfew months he can simply enjoy himself.

“It’s relieving to get everything done withso you don’t have to look at colleges and allthat stuff. Now it’s just cruising until college,”Houston said.

The offensive guard, Houston capped hisstellar high school career by signing on withthe Rams where he expects to red-shirt nextseason before contending for a starting spot atthe guard position.

Over the last two seasons, Houston rackedup the accolades garnering first team all-dis-trict honors in each of the last two years. Thispast season, he was dubbed an honorablemention all-state selection by the AP, the onlyplayer in Ellis County to receive the honor.

Houston is the first player from the Hawks’District 15-4A championship team to sign acollege scholarship.

While grabbing all the individual and teamhonors was an accomplishment, coach MikeShields was most pleased with whereHouston’s money to play for college will becoming from.

“It’s a tribute to Houston. The thing I’mmost proud about is he’s getting athleticmoney and he’s getting academic money.That tells you what type of kid he is,” Shieldssaid. “He’s been a two-year starter for us, a

two-year all-district and we’re going to misshim obviously. He’s been a stalemate in thatoffensive line for the past two years.”

The choice of where to sign was a toughone for Houston who contemplated trying outas a walk-on at some smaller Division-Ischool. Standing 6-foot-1, most big-time

Signing Day8 Ellis County Chronicle, Wednesday, February 10, 2010


Eight Red Oak athletes representing four different teams signed national letters of intent to play college sports last week. (From left, sitting) Becky Lamar (soc-cer), Courtney Beene (soccer), Candace Halbert (volleyball), Devan Guynes (volleyball), Amber Franklin (soccer), Courtney English (soccer), (back row from left)Ricky Tellez (soccer) and Colby Houston (football) were part of the largest signing day class in Red Oak history.

Red Oak produces elite eight classHouston accepts scholarship to Angelo St.By ALEX RILEY


Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Chronicle

First team all-district lineman ColbyHouston will continue playing thefront line at Angelo State.

See HOUSTON, Page 9

Photos by Alex Riley/The Chronicle

A record setting four Lady Hawk soc-cer players signed to play collegiatelyon Tuesday. (Top from left) Courtney English (HillCollege), Becky Lamar (Howard PayneUniversity), Amber Franklin(McMurray) and Courtney Beene(Howard Payne University) comprisethe largest Red Oak girls soccer sign-ing class in history.

Four Lady Hawks ready forcollege soccer competition

Tuesday morning was a testament for theRed Oak girls soccer program. Not just aboutthe four players who signed for collegescholarships but for just how far the programhas come in the last few years.

Senior players Courtney English, AmberFranklin, Courtney Beene and Becky Lamarall put pen to paper in signing national lettersof intent, making the four player group thelargest signing class in the Lady Hawk pro-gram history.

“It’s came up from a lot actually. From notreally winning anything to having a newcoach in here my freshman year and it’sopened up,” Franklin said. “Everything’s got-ten a lot better since she’s pretty muchwalked in the door. We’ve accomplished a lotwith her here. (Coach Laurie Norrell) is agreat coach and we have a great group ofgirls.”

Franklin will continue her career atMcMurray University while English is head-ed to Hill College. Beene and Lamar are bothoff to Howard Payne University.

While signing a college scholarship is aspecial deal, the day became even better asthe four got to share the moment together.Surrounded by their teammates, parents andcoaches, each player expressed how gladthey were to continue playing. Getting thedecision out of the way was also a big relieffor the rest of the season.

“I’ve always been looking forward to this.I’ve always wanted to and have aspired toplay college ball,” Lamar said. “I’m veryexcited to have the opportunity to continuemy soccer career. I’m just looking forward to

See SOCCER, Page 9

By ALEX RILEY


Volleyball program produces two more collegiates

Photo by Gary Pucket/Special to the Chronicle

Candace Halbert (top) and DevanGuynes (bottom) became the sec-ond and third players from the 2009Red Oak volleyball team to sign.

The bad news for the Red Oak volley-ball program is there will be a lot of holesto fill come next season. The good newsfor college programs is there is plenty oftalent for the school to choose from.

During Tuesday’s signing day ceremo-ny, a pair of former Lady Hawks signed onwith colleges bringing the total number offormer players on team playing collegeathletics to four.

Senior Devan Guynes signed on withSouthwestern Assemblies of GodUniversity where she will join one of thetop volleyball programs in the NAIA.Fellow senior Candace Halbert signed onto play at Brookhaven Community Collegein Dallas home to the defending two-timeDivision III national champions.

The pair join fellow seniors AndreaMcQuaid and Tara McKenney as colle-giate signees. McQuaid will play volley-ball at Oklahoma next season whileMcKenney will play softball atNorthwestern State.

“It’s real exciting. We’ve always beenable to have a strong program here so whenyou have half your seniors or more signingto go somewhere and continue to playobviously it says a statement about yourprogram and I’m just hoping we can con-tinue,” coach Hope Porter said.

Adding to the lore of Red Oak volley-ball, the duo were key cogs in Red Oak’srun to the regional semifinals. Halbertdoled out 124 assists last season, third

By ALEX RILEY


See VOLLEYBALL, Page 9

Tellez heads to Butler for shot at championships

See TELLEZ, Page 9

By ALEX RILEY



Senior Ricky Tellez will head northto play at Bradley in Illinois nextseason.

6-2-10 ECC sport 3/10/10 1:38 AM

SportsWednesday, February 10, 2010 Ellis County Chronicle 9

two previous games between the teams, Sorapoured in 21 points each time. In the rubbermatch, he was held to just five all of whichcame in the fourth period.

Being back in the conversation for a postseason superlative is an honor in itself for the6-foot-2 senior.

“It would mean a lot (to win the title again)because I take a lot more pride in my defensethan offense,” Edwards said.

What Edwards is to the wing defenseGraves is to the post. At 6-foot-6 with a wingspan to match, last year’s 15-4A newcomer ofthe year has become a force for altering andblocking opponents shots in the paint.

On more than one occasion this season,Graves has flirted with a triple double inpoints, rebound and blocks. This defenseforces smaller players to try and shot aroundhim which is no easy task. That ability tomake other teams miss has helped Gravespost impressive numbers with over eightrebounds per game. At one point early thisseason, the senior was averaging a double-double with points and boards.

“It means a lot to be a good defensive play-er and an all right offensive player,” Gravessaid.

Don’t let either player fool you — there isnothing wrong with their offensive game.

Graves leads the Hawks with a 15.3 points

per game average while Edwards is second at10.8. Graves also leads in rebounds with 8.5.Edwards is third with just under four.

Both players recognize that winning theindividual honor would be a nice finish totheir high school careers but either wouldgladly trade it for a deep run into the playoffsin a few weeks. Having two players being insuch a conversation is something eachbelieves might allow Red Oak to make such arun when the time comes.

“It’s good because it means that one per-son’s not just putting forward defense. We’reall trying to work on defense and offense,”Edwards said. “It’s a lot of stability. We haveit at the top and the bottom. That’s why ourdefense is so good.”

“We’re just battling to win games and atthe end of the season we’ll see who wins it,”Graves said.

Until that time, Foster is just glad to have apair of defensive standouts playing on histeam. But, if it were to come down to thereplayers battling it out for a post season award,the veteran coach presents an interestingalternative solution.

“Gaylon does a tremendous job out of the

perimeter but then Earl’s so good inside withhis blocking shots and rebounds. I don’t knowwho I’d vote for. (How about) co-defensiveplayers?” Foster said.

Contact Alex at [email protected] at 469-517-1456.

highest on the Lady Hawk ros-ter. Guynes was a key defensiveplayer with 70 digs, 11 blocksand 53 kills last fall.

The pair both know howgood the high school volleyballprogram is and they’re lookingforward to displaying that at thecollegiate ranks as well.

“It’s just really fun to seepeople keep playing past highschool because we have somemories playing in highschool and growing our talentand stuff. It’s really cool to seea lot of people going to a newlevel and getting to experiencethat,” Guynes said. “We cantake a player pretty much fromany talent level and really grow.The coaches are great and I oweit all to them.”

“(This program is) verystrong. You do so much but youdon’t get tired or burnt out. Youend up loving it even more. It’sgreat. I love it,” Halbert added.

While the team came up a lit-tle short of its goal to win astate championship, both play-ers feel like they have a chanceto claim a title at the next levelas they join highly successfulprograms. Both programs haddeep post season runs last falland both will return a slew oftalent this season.

Halbert and Guynes arehappy to go places with richtradition and are looking for-ward to contributing to theschool’s continued success.

“It’s very exciting. Eversince I was little I wanted toplay volleyball in college and toactually do it is a success. Ifinally got there and I’m reallyexcited for it,” Halbert said.

“I visited a couple of otherschools and I just didn’t feelright about going anywhereelse. And I know this coach soI’m just excited the programand what it’s all about,” Guynessaid.

Contact Alex [email protected] or at469-517-1456.

college recruiters shied awayfrom Houston because of hissize.

But in the end, the senior feltlike he had found the rightplace to play his college careerout.

“It was definitely hardbecause I was thinking aboutwalking on at like Texas Stateor some D-I, trying to get ascholarship but I just wanted tohelp my mom out and take thescholarship at Angelo,”Houston said. “And the facili-ties are real nice and it’s allnew. The newness of it mademe want to go there.”

four more years of myfavorite sport.”

“It’s always been part ofmy life and to go have theexperience of playing incollege is just amazing,”Beene said.

Percentage wise, thesigning class is one of themost spectacular in all ofsports. With just six seniorson the roster, four havealready signed and Norrellexpects another to possiblyfollow suit later on thisyear.

The players know thatTuesday’s ceremony was ashowcase of why the LadyHawks have become one ofthe area’s toughest teams toplay.

“It’s an awesome feeling.It’s the most we’ve ever had(signed). I’m excited veryexcited,” Beene said. “Welove each other. We hangout all the time and it’s justgreat.”

Though there is still a lotof season left to play out,

Norrell knows that each offour players will bring a lotof talent to the program theyplay for next.

While she still has themon her team for a few moremonths, Norrell realizesthere will be a lot of talentleaving the Lady Hawk ros-ter at the end of the season.Until then, the group willset their sights on a districtchampionship and provingthey are as good as adver-tised.

“This is my largest sign-ing class since I’ve beenhere at Red Oak. This is agreat group, this seniorgroup all together. I thinkthe leadership this year hasbeen better and I think it’s asign of the four that aregoing on,” Norrell said.“They’re definitely going toleave holes next year to befilled. It’s going to be diffi-cult. Even the ones that did-n’t sign, this senior group isgoing to leave a mark andhopefully they’ll leave amark in college too.”

Contact Alex [email protected] orat 469-517-1456.

BoysContinued from Page 6


Red Oak center Earl Graves (right) congratulates teammate Gaylon Edwardsafter making a free throw. The duo are two of the top defensive players inDistrict 15-4A and could be battling for defensive player of the year honors.

HoustonContinued from Page 8


Offensive lineman Colby Houston signs his letterof intent with his family looking on. Houston was atwo-time first team all-district selection.

VolleyballContinued from Page 8


With family and friends in attendance, DevanGuynes (top) and Candace Halbert (bottom)signed on to play volleyball in college.

national radar it is a significant deal. “It’s great for program but it’s even

greater for the kid to have the opportuni-ty to go, especially out of state, and go toa good level soccer program so it’s verypositive not (only) for the program andfor him and his family,” Kutch said.

While he still has a large part of hissenior year left to play out, Tellez is gladto be able to focus on the season at handrather than worry about where he willplay next year.

The chance to play soccer at the high-est collegiate level is one that has theveteran player ready to finish out hishigh school career strong.

“I’m really excited about it. To playD-I soccer is pretty good,” Tellez said.

TellezContinued from Page 8


With his family looking on, Ricky Tellezsigned his letter of intent to play soccer atBradley next season.

this week we were probablygoing to have a nice seed andnice chance for post seasonplay,” coach Melissa Fullmersaid. “And I’m just so proudof the kids and glad for theseniors to have this opportu-nity and start a tradition thathopefully doesn’t go awayanytime soon.”

Now the Lady Hawks mustsit and wait for their nextopponent to be announced.After Friday’s game, theteam’s regular season wasdone as the other squads inthe district wrapped up theirregular seasons on Tuesday.

Those results will deter-mine who Red Oak will facein the bi-district round of theplayoffs. If the team finishesas the second seed fromDistrict 15-4A, the teamwould potentially face WacoHigh. There is a chance theWaxahachie Lady Indians, ateam Red Oak will face aspart of its district schedulenext season, could become apotential opponent. If RedOak drops to the third seed, itwould face Cleburne. The bi-district round will be playedfrom Feb. 15-16.

Either way, the LadyHawks are just happy to begoing to a place no one on theroster has been to before.

“We haven’t been to play-offs in five years. This isexciting. I’ve always wantedto go my senior year to play-offs and it’s finally happen-ing and it’s in Red Oak. Thelittle town of Red Oak whereno one expects to win,” sen-ior Raquel Dent said. “Nowwe’re there. Now we’ve gotto go prove ourselves thatwe’re ready for playoffs andwe are ready for playoffs.”

Contact Alex [email protected] orat 469-517-1456.

GirlsContinued from Page 6

SoccerContinued from Page 8


(From top left) Courtney Beene, Becky Lamar, Amber Franklin and CourtneyEnglish all signed national letters of intent on Tuesday to play soccer in college.The four players are the largest class in the Lady Hawks’ program history to sign.

Upcoming schedule

Feb. 12*vs. Mesquite Poteet5 p.m./6:30 p.m./8 p.m.(ninth-grade/JV/varsity)

Feb. 16@ Forney6 p.m./7:30 p.m.(ninth-grade, JV/varsity)

*Senior Night

To see who RedOak will face in

the playoffs, seethe WaxahachieDaily Light on

Sunday, Feb. 14.


Girls basketball coachMelissa Fullmer wavesthe net in celebration ofthe Lady Hawks victoryon Friday. The contestwas the final girls gamein the old school.

6-2-10 ECC sport 3/10/10 1:38 AM

chronicle sports 2-10-10

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