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| Hopes are sky high for two fall sports Wednesday, July 07, 2010 MARK K. CAMPBELL
Wealth of returning players bodes well for Springtown High volleyball, football
By the time you blink, volleyball and football two-a-days will begin at Springtown High.
In fact, head coach Leighann Strickland will conduct multiple volleyball practices beginning Monday, Aug. 2 three full weeks before the first day of school on Aug. 23. With football two-a-days starting Aug. 9, both sports will be well underway by the time the first bell rings in the start of the 2010-11 school year.
And both sports can certainly look forward to regular season success.
Volleyball Last fall, the Lady Porcupines barely missed out advancing to the postseason, finishing fifth in 6-4A play. In the new 5-4A created last February by the UIL in its biennial realignment, Springtown will see some familiar foes as well as some new ones. What SHS fans can expect at the high school gym is the return of some veterans. Six Lady Porcupines who received postseason honors as juniors in 2009 are back for 2010 from a team that won 24 matches. First Team honorees Hailey Henderson and Amber Tedder return. Henderson led SHS in aces and digs while Tedder was the 09 kill leader. Also back are setter Kendall Hayes, Skylar Cowan both Second Teamers and Danie Kersten and Abby Lamont (last years block leader) from the Honorable Mention list. The new district contains some perennial powers in Aledo and Birdville but two new schools will also be competing. Aside from newbies Keller Timber Creek and Northwest Byron Nelson, Brewer and Boswell reside in 5-4A, too. So does archrival Azle; however, the Lady Hornets have a new coach this year, Amy Woosley from Peaster, which can take a while to jell. With a stacked lineup, veteran players and coaches, and a new district, Springtown could rocket back to the postseason. Football The new district benefits the football team, too. Springtown got rid of pesky Mineral Wells the Rams dropped to 3A and Saginaw. With the two new schools from Northwest and Keller, Brewer (a team SHS defeats regularly), and bitter rival Azle breaking in a new head coach former Hornet, Devon Dorris the Porcupines are in a good position to pick up several 5-4A wins. Texas Football magazine likes Springtown to reach the playoffs. However, 5-4A still houses some stout competition in Birdville, Boswell, and perennial power and reigning state champ Aledo. SHS head coach Brad Turner has said the Porkys have had their best off-season ever. And, like the volleyball squad, the 2010 football team will be loaded with experienced athletes. Senior Imran Uddin, a Second Team 6-4A All-District selection in 2009, will anchor the defensive line. Seven other Porcupines, six of them incoming seniors, were Honorable Mention last season. One of those seniors will be quarterback Caden Cowan who already has two years of varsity helming under his helmet. Two linemen, Brent Jarvis and Justin Ackerman, return, too. Defensively, safety Brady Weaver, lineman Dallas Theisen, and linebacker Culley Callaway will join Uddin to give the Porcupines a solid defensive base. Certainly, Springtown players, coaches, and fans can look forward to seasons of excitement this autumn. |
