Friday, Oct. 10, 2008

Indians not taking Grapevine lightly

Keller Football

By JOHN ENGLISH

On the heels of an impressive performance in a loss to Trinity, the top-ranked team in the country, Keller pulled its district record even last Friday against Keller Central and will face a team tonight that it has only beaten once in the last six seasons.

Coach Kevin Atkinson said he is not taking Grapevine’s 0-5 record for granted this week and said he knows his team will have its hands full.

"Gary Mullins does a great job over there, and we definitely are not going to take them lightly," Atkinson said. "As a head coach, I’ve went up against them for six years now, and we’ve gotten one victory.

"Previously, as an assistant coach, I went up against them eight times and won once. They’ve always seemed to find a way to play well against Keller."

Atkinson said he was pleased with his team’s effort against Central last Friday night.

"I was hoping after we had such an emotional game the week before [against Trinity] that the kids would not have a letdown," Atkinson said. "I was glad to see that they didn’t. We started off a little slow, but I felt like we ended up doing what we needed to do to win he football game."

Atkinson said he was especially happy with the effort of quarterback Cameron Allerheiligen, who passed for over 270 yards and had four touchdowns against the Chargers.

"He’s only played football since the seventh grade, and he didn’t start playing quarterback until halfway through is freshman year," Atkinson said. "I was a little bit nervous this year about him maturing in that role.

"The thing that I thought would go to his advantage was that we had such a strong offensive line, which I knew would provide a good running game for us and pass protection for him, but I have never been around anyone in 16 years of coaching that has the poise and presence that he does in the pocket. He is a natural leader, and the kids rally around him."

Colleyville Heritage, Trinity and L.D. Bell have jumped out to 5-0 starts on the season and are each 2-0 in district.

Keller and Northwest are tied for the fourth spot in 5-5A, and while Atkinson said there is a lot of parity at the top of the district, he does not look at whether Keller is one of the better teams or not.

"I look at it in that, when we play our last game this year, we want it to be our best game," Atkinson said. "We tell our kids, 'You never stay the same; you either get better or you get worse,’ and we want a commitment from them to get better every week."

Atkinson said he expects a chess match tonight against Grapevine.

"I think it will be more of a defensive game," Atkinson said. "I think they will play more toward ball control to keep it away from our offense and run the clock. When we get a chance to be on offense, we have to make the most of those opportunities, and then try to create some turnovers and unmanageable downs for them on defense."