Sports Sports Thursday, October 17, 2013 13A • THIS WEEK’S AREA FOOTBALL GAMES • Athens (6-0, 1-0) at Van (1-5, 1-0) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Vandals Stadium LAST YEAR’S MEETING: Van 42, Athens 27 LAST WEEK: Athens 50, Canton 26; Van 50, Mineola 14. HARRIS RANKINGS: Athens is No. 23 in Class 3A with a Power Rating of 226. Van is No. 90 in Class 3A with a Power Rating of 203. HARRIS SAYS: Athens by 22. NEXT WEEK: Mabank at Athens, 7:30 p.m. Brownsboro (2-4, 0-1) at Mineola (3-3, 0-1) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Yellowjackets Stadium LAST YEAR’S MEETING: Brownsboro 40, Mineola 21 LAST WEEK: Mabank 17, Brownsboro 6; Van 50, Mineola 14. HARRIS RANKINGS: Brownsboro is No. 140 in Class 3A with a Power Rating of 185. Mineola is No. 137 in Class 3A with a Power Rating of 187. HARRIS SAYS: Mineola by 6. NEXT WEEK: Brownsboro at Van, 7:30 p.m. Canton (1-5, 0-1) at Mabank (2-4, 1-0) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Panthers Stadium LAST YEAR’S MEETING: Canton 48, Mabank 7 LAST WEEK: Athens 50, Canton 26; Mabank 17, Brownsboro 6. HARRIS RANKINGS: Canton is No. 121 in Class 3A with a Power Rating of 194. Mabank is No. 152 in Class 3A with a Power Rating of 180. HARRIS SAYS: Canton by 14. NEXT WEEK: Mabank at Athens, 7:30 p.m. Kemp (0-6, 0-2) at Malakoff (6-1, 2-1) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Tigers Stadium LAST YEAR’S MEETING: Malakoff 70, Kemp 8 LAST WEEK: Kemp observed a bye week; Lone Oak 45, Malakoff 27. HARRIS RANKINGS: Kemp is No. 105 in Class 2A Division I with a Power Rating of 164. Malakoff is No. 15 in Class 2A Division I with a Power Rating of 218. HARRIS SAYS: No line. NEXT WEEK: Quitman at Kemp, 7:30 p.m. Malakoff ob- serves a bye week. Eustace (3-4, 1-2) at Winnsboro (4-2, 2-0) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Red Raider Stadium LAST YEAR’S MEETING: Winnsboro 40, Eustace 16. LAST WEEK: Quitman 21, Eustace 0; Winnsboro 78, Grand Saline 21. HARRIS RANKINGS: Eustace is No. 86 in Class 2A Division I with a Power Rating of 182. Winnsboro is No. 48 in Class 2A Division I with a Power Rating of 201. HARRIS SAYS: Winnsboro by 25. NEXT WEEK: Grand Saline at Eustace, 7:30 p.m. Italy (2-4, 1-0) Cross Roads (2-4, 1-0) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Bobcats Stadium LAST YEAR’S MEETING: Italy 49, Cross Roads 2 LAST WEEK: Italy 46, Itasca 6; Cross Roads 36, Dallas Gateway 16. SIXMANFOOTBALL.COM RANKINGS: Italy is No. 46 in Class 1A, Division I with a Power Rating of 184. Cross Roads is No. 74 in Class 1A, Division I with a Power Rating of 155. SIXMANFOOTBALL.COM SAYS: Italy by 28. NEXT WEEK: Cross Roads at Kerens, 7:30 p.m. Athens Christian Preparatory (0-7) at Killeen Memorial (3-4) 2 p.m. Saturday, Killeen LAST YEAR’S MEETING: Did not play LAST WEEK: Fort Worth THESA 59, Athens Christian Preparatory 13; Killeen Memorial 55, Longview Trinity 50. SIXMANFOOTBALL.COM RANKINGS: Athens Christian Prep is No. 16 in Independent with a Power Rating of 115. Killeen Memorial is No. 19 in Independent with a Power Rating of 103. SIXMANFOOTBALL.COM SAYS: Athens Christian Preparatory by 11. NEXT WEEK: Legacy Bible vs. Athens Christian Prep at Trinidad Trojans Field, Saturday, 11 a.m. By Jayson Larson SPECIAL TO THE REVIEW It’s a phenomenon base- ball legend Yogi Berra called, “Déjà vu all over again.” The Athens Hornets know it well. As the Hornets (6-0) pre- pare to hit the road to face the Van Vandals this week, it’s hard to ignore the similari- ties to last week’s game against the Canton Eagles – a game the Hornets won, 50-26. Van, the reigning District 15-3A champion, hadn’t won a game until last week, when it manhan- dled Mineola, 50-14. The same was true for the Hornets last week, when they faced a Canton team that had been winless until the previous game. Athens was a one-win team heading into the Canton and Van games a year ago, and this time around, Canton and Van are the one-win teams. It’s been a far different run for the Vandals thus far, who are 1-5 a season after going 9-1 and 5-0 in district. Another similarity is that, once again, Athens head coach Paul Essary isn’t the least bit convinced his team has an easy task at hand despite the opponent having just one win. “Van put it on Mineola pretty well last week,” Essary said. “Stats-wise, they’ve got one of the best running backs in the dis- trict, a huge offensive line and their defense takes pride in shutting down the run. They’re young in some places, but they’re getting better every week.” If Van is, indeed, set against stopping the run, it should provide an interest- ing battle against a team that’s dead-set on riding its rushing attack. Through six games, the Hornets have scored 32 touchdowns (26 coming via the rush) and compiled 2,514 offensive yards (of which 2,207 have come on the ground). Sophomore fullback Logan Fuller leads the team with 802 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, and junior Devin Hall isn’t far behind with 648 yards and eight scores. Hall had a career game against Van in last sea- son’s 42-27 loss to the Vandals, running for 267 yards — the third-best sin- gle-game rushing total in school history. Essary said the success of the running game has a lot to do with what his ball- carriers are doing when they don’t have the ball. “All of our backs do a good job running their fakes out,” he said. “If they don’t do that well, our offense isn’t very good. They’re also do- ing a great job blocking, and that’s a key factor. (Offensive coordinator Kevin) Hayes isn’t going to let one of those guys on the field if he can’t block.” Van has a solid running back of its own in Matt Savis, who is the second- leading rusher in East Texas with 1,025 yards to go along with nine touchdowns. Quarterback Peter Maddox, who replaced 2012 unanimous district MVP Garrett Smallwood, has thrown for 744 yards and five touchdowns, while Luke McGowan has caught 26 balls for 250 yards and three touchdowns. One thing the Hornets don’t want to see a repeat of this week are the mis- takes that plagued them last week. Athens lost a season- high five fumbles (after the first-team offense had just one through the first five games) and was penalized 12 times for 105 yards. “When you’re doing well and getting better every week, and then you play af- ter an open week, it can break your momentum and focus,” Essary said. “It’s hard to get back your focus, and I think Canton gave us a wake-up call. But I was proud of our kids overcoming the turnovers, the penalties and the ad- versity.” District 15-3A Overall Dist. PF PA Athens 6-0 1-0 248 86 Van 1-5 1-0 158 172 Mabank 2-4 1-0 124 206 Mineola 3-3 0-1 141 169 Brownsboro 2-4 0-1 144 162 Canton 1-5 0-1 116 230 This week’s games: Athens at Van; Browns- boro at Mineola; Canton at Mabank. District 7-2A DI Overall Dist. PF PA Lone Oak 5-1 2-0 247 174 Winnsboro 4-2 2-0 152 139 Malakoff 6-1 2-1 379 108 Quitman 2-5 2-1 140 134 Eustace 3-4 1-2 125 153 Kemp 0-6 0-2 77 261 Grand Saline 0-7 0-3 59 339 This week’s games: Eustace at Winnsboro; Kemp at Malakoff; Grand Saline, bye; Lone Oak at Quitman. District 6-1A DI Overall Dist. PF PA Cayuga 5-0 1-0 247 71 Italy 2-4 1-0 107 181 Cross Roads 2-4 1-0 128 225 Kerens 2-4 0-1 168 203 Dal. Gateway 0-6 0-1 100 236 Itasca 0-6 0-1 79 238 This week’s games: Italy at Cross Roads; Itasca at Cayuga; Kerens at Dallas Gateway. District 16-Six Man DII Overall Dist. PF PA Calvert 6-0 0-0 303 149 Milford 5-2 0-0 405 203 Trinidad 4-3 0-0 362 160 Karnack 1-6 0-0 136 407 • AREA DISTRICT STANDINGS • MICKEY GARCIA/SCOREBOARDPHOTOS.COM Athens junior Raul Campa (68) takes care of a Canton defender during last week’s 50-26 victory over the Canton Eagles in the District 15-3A opener at Norris Birdwell Stadium. The Hornets head to Van looking to take care of the defending district champions. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. AHS looks to dethrone defending champ Van Sports Calendar FOOTBALL Friday, October 18 Athens at Van .................................. 7:30 Brownsboro at Mineola .................... 7:30 Italy at Cross Roads ........................ 7:30 Eustace at Winnsboro ...................... 7:30 Kemp at Malakoff ............................ 7:30 Canton at Mabank .......................... 7:30 Saturday, October 19 ACP at Killeen Memorial .................. 2:00 Tyler at TVCC.................................... 3:00 Friday, October 25 Mabank at Athens .......................... 7:30 Van at Brownsboro .......................... 7:30 Cross Roads at Kerens .................. 7:30 Grand Saline at Eustace.................. 7:30 Quitman at Kemp ............................ 7:30 Trinidad at Milford ............................ 7:30 Saturday, October 26 Southeast Prep at TVCC ................ 3:00 Legacy Bible vs. ACP .................... 11:00 Friday, November 1 Athens at Mineola .......................... 7:30 Canton at Brownsboro .................... 7:30 Cayuga at Cross Roads .................. 7:30 Kemp at Winnsboro ........................ 7:30 Mabank at Van ................................ 7:30 Malakoff at Quitman........................ 7:30 Calvert at Trinidad............................ 7:30 Saturday, November 2 ACP at Tyler Heat .......................... 10:00 VOLLEYBALL Friday, October 18 Athens at Van (9/JV/V) .................... 4:30 Brownsboro at Mineola (9/JV/V)...... 4:30 Eustace at Life Oak Cliff (9/JV/V) .... 4:30 Hampton Prep at Kemp (9/JV/V) .... 4:30 Malakoff at Faith Family (V/JV) ........ 4:30 Canton at Mabank (9/JV/V) ............ 4:30 Saturday, October 19 Cross Roads at Trinidad (V) ............ 10:00 TVCC at Tyler JC .............................. 2:00 ADR_10-17-13_A13,A14_Layout 1 10/16/13 4:00 PM Page 1