Trio of trouble Navasota presents a 3D-pronged problem for any defense it faces
BY Bill Martin
Reporter Sports Editor
While LSU-committee Dexter Pratt garners most of the attention on the Navasota football team, the Rattlers are hardly a one man show.
While the running back leads the No. 4 Rattlers (5-0, 2-0) into Tiger Stadium Friday night at 7:30, he brings plenty of help with him in wide receiver Brandal Jackson and quarterback Jacolby Stokes.
While Pratt has verbalized his intentions of playing for the Bayou Bengals, Jackson will also have the opportunity to continue his playing career, just up the road at Texas A&M.
Stokes is uncommitted at present, but will no doubt have a host of offers to choose from.
“You’re not going to see a more talented team,” said Rockdale Coach Jeff Miller. “But, we’ve been looking forward to this game. We’re not scared of them and we think we can play with them.”
The trio combined for nearly 5,000 yards of offense last season to secure Navasota’s first playoff win since 1996.
Pratt ran for 2,054 yards and 20 touchdowns. Stokes passed for 1,922 yards and 19 touchdowns and Jackson caught 756 yards worth of passes.
It took state champion Liberty Hill to push the 9-4 Rattlers out of the playoffs last season in the regional quarterfinals.
However, Caldwell proved the Rattlers aren’t entirely invincible, missing a chance at victory after missing a two-point conversion attempt with 22 seconds left in the game and Navasota escaped with a 28-27 win.
Navasota rallied for 14 points in the fourth quarter after giving up three first half touchdowns and trailing 21-14 at halftime.
Pratt was limited to 79 yards on 12 carries. The Rattlers had just 163 yards rushing.
“Caldwell did what you have to do against them—keep the ball away from them,” Miller said. “They also stopped them two or three times.
“The game proves one thing. Either Navasota isn’t invincible or Caldwell is a pretty dang good football team too.”
For the first time this season, the Tigers will be the underdog in the game.
The Tigers have won five straight at home and nine of the last 10 regular season games.
They have also surrendered just nine points in the past two outings.
“The best defense is to keep a good offense off the field,” Miller said. “And right now we’re playing as good a defense as we have played all year.”
TIGER TRACKS
• If it wasn’t for bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck at all. Senior WR/DB Casey McIntosh had just returned from left knee surgery when he tore the ACL in his right knee chasing down Rudder quarterback Tre Hammond Friday night and will be lost for the remainder of the year. WR/LB Derrick Mynar sat out the game with a sore shoulder and has had an MRI and is questionable for Friday. Starting defensive tackle Michael Novick also missed the game with a sore ankle and is also questionable.
• Sophomore linebacker Anthony Montoya led the Tigers in tackles against Rudder with nine. Logan David followed with eight. Nic Hammett still tops the season hit list with 86.
• Quarterback Mark Drake’s first interception of the year Friday night is the first pickoff he has produced since the Cameron game to end the regular season in 2007. He had attempted 115 passes without an interception. In 282 career attempts, Drake has thrown just seven interceptions and three of those came against Madisonville last season. The senior now has 2,316 yards passing in his career, just 223 behind RHS career leader Dickie Summers.
• With Tyler Wright’s first appearance under center Friday night in relief of Drake, Rockdale fans may have gotten a glimpse of who the Tiger quarterback will be next season. Wright is a former junior varsity quarterback and one of six players on the varsity who has played the position (Drake, Wright, Joe Sanders, J.B. Debault, Justin Elliott, Lance Loewe).
• Waylon Boyd has begun a brand new streak of extra points after having his previous string stopped at 19 last week against Madisonville. He was a perfect 7-for-7 Friday night and has now made 27-of-29 on the season. Boyd leads the district in scoring by kicking.
• Terral Dixon was definitely man on the run Friday night. Not only did he ramble for 151 yards rushing, he also picked up one of five Rudder fumbles and returned it 61 yards to set up Rockdale’s fourth touchdown. Dixon is averaging 17 yards per carry.
• Junior Justin Gadison made his first catch of the year count as he hauled in a nine-yard reception from Wright for the Tigers’ final score. It was also Wright’s first completion of the season.
• There were some interesting twists and turns in District 24-3A Friday. While the Tigers held Texas-committee Chris Whaley to 60 yards last week, he struck back with a vengeance against Taylor with a career-high 373 yards and six touchdowns in the Mustangs’ 48-32 win. Taylor’s Tristan Meyer, the district’s leading rusher (902 yards) picked up 203 on 22 carries to counter Whaley in the game.
• Taking a look at how the teams the Tigers faced in pre-district are doing: Llano fell to Boerne Friday and is 4-2 on the season. Lampasas dropped to 0-6 with a 57-0 loss to No. 1 Lake Travis. Midland Christian is 4-2 after whipping Amarillo Caprock 61-33. Marlin is 1-5 after losing to Teague 55-34.
• The combined record for all seven teams the Tigers have played is 15-25.
• Former Rockdale Coach Robby Clark’s Midlothian team slipped to 2-4 after a 33-15 loss to Corsicana Friday.
