King is on a playoff chase The Mustangs are determined to get their first postseason berth since 1992
By Lee Goddard, Caller-Times
George Tuley/Caller-Times
King’s Marcus Jackson (7) will battle it out with Brian Pope for the starting
quarterback job. The two players shared time at the position last season.
The way Moody coach Steve Castillo describes it, King coach Jim
Elam has a plan to turn around a program within three seasons.
The way Elam talks about it, there is no solid plan. He said it just
takes time for the coaching staff and the players to come together and form a
common bond.
Whatever the means, the positive results could be at hand.
This will be Elam's third season at King and, following the trend
he established when he was the head coach at Moody, this could be the perfect
season to complete the turnaround of the program, which hasn't seen the postseason
in 10 years.
When Elam first moved over to King in 2000, the Mustangs went 0-10.
Last season, they went 5-5, and missed out on the playoffs due to a season-ending
loss to Moody.
"I think that's a little bit of motivation," said defensive William
Gavit. "It's kind of heartbreaking to miss by that little."
With many players back from that team, the heartbreak could end this
season with a trip to the playoffs.
"It's something we want," Elam said. "We want it badly. We want to
be in the Texas high school football playoffs. That's the goal we set at the beginning
of each year."
Building expectations
Making the playoffs may have been an unreasonable expectation when
Elam first arrived at the school. And, on the heels of the 0-10 season, thinking
playoffs may have seemed overly optimistic heading into last year.
But, after its near miss of a year ago, King should be considered
in the hunt this season, although it's tough sledding as far as which teams will
and which won't make the playoffs. Victoria Memorial has sheer numbers, Carroll
has nearly its entire defense returning, Ray features a
good nucleus of returning starters and Miller, the defending district
champs, boasts a solid core group of skill players and defenders returning.
Then there is King. The Mustangs have a good group of returning starters
to build around, decent depth in the backfield and, led by Gavit, some potentially
tough defenders.
And, if an omen is needed, this is Elam's third year at King. In
1996, Elam's third season at Moody, he took the Trojans to the postseason. Under
Elam's guidance, Moody made the postseason two more times in the next three seasons.
"Coach Elam's always had a three-year plan," Castillo said. "He goes
to King and he has a three-year plan. You could see the improvement last year.
I think we just caught them off guard (in the season finale). It wasn't that we
dominated. It seemed like bounces were bouncing our way. They are one of the teams
with an excellent chance at making the playoffs."
Elam claims there is no agenda that automatically makes King a playoff
team in three year's time.
"I'd like to have a one-year plan," Elam said with a laugh. "It takes
a while for us to get to know the kids and the kids to get to know us, for us
to come to a common point philosophically and figure where we're at, and where
we're trying to get to. It took three years at Moody for us to get that corner
turned, and hopefully we can get that corner turned in the third year here."
Ignoring the negative
The players have confidence in their ability to break through into
the postseason, even if others don't. Dave Campbell's 2002 Texas Football ranked
team the fifth in the district in its preseason picks.
Rather than use the ranking to inspire themselves, the players simply
choose to ignore it.
"You can't pay attention to what other people say," runni
ng back Daniel Hayden said. "We know what we can do. Our goal is
to make the playoffs, and we've got to play hard to make it."
Hayden is one of a group of experienced runners in the Mustangs'
stable. Chris Owen, after a breakthrough sophomore season, returns, as does Wayne
McNary.
The most interesting race will be at quarterback where Marcus Jackson
and Brian Pope both return after alternating at the position last season. Both
Jackson and Pope are happy to have a race for the starting job, hoping the battle
between teammates translates to victories on the field.
"It's going to be a game-time decision for who starts," Jackson said.
"It's good. It stirs the competition."
There may not be much competition at tight end, where Christian Ayers
is heralded by Elam as a player that could make an impact this season. James Brown
lends some speed at receiver.
The offensive line has a knockout guard-center combination in the
Garcias - Richard and Chris. Along with imposing tackle Gary Beveridge (270 pounds),
they will be expected to pave the way for the running game.
Defensive look
Aside from Gavit, there is a lack of returning starters along the
defensive front.
"We've got a good mix of experienced kids, and young kids that have
to learn to fit into the system," Elam said.
The experience comes through with the linebackers, where Diego Arroyo,
Nick Castaneda and James Valdez all return.
The secondary should have some new faces among the starters, but
Robert Harrison is one of the area's better defensive backs.
If all can mesh together in the Mustangs' system, then Elam's "three-year
plan" will pay dividends with a playoff appearance.
