Football: Alpine looking to erase last year's Kermit loss

Alpine has been here before. At this point last year, the Fightin’ Bucks were also 8-0, approaching a huge matchup against undefeated Kermit with District 4-2A title implications.

Alpine led the road game 28-7 at halftime before the Yellow Jackets came back for the 34-28 win.

The Fightin’ Bucks then dragged through the rest of the year, losing 58-0 to visiting Crane in the regular-season finale and dropping its first-round playoff game 56-7 against Idalou.

This offseason, it was clear Alpine realized that forgetting the end of 2008 would have to start with the beginning of the 2009 season.

When the Fightin’ Bucks (8-0 overall, 3-0 district) take on the visiting Yellow Jackets (5-3, 1-2) at 7:30 tonight, the circumstances will be a little different, but for Alpine the goal is straightforward: don’t go down like last year.

“It was great to be 8-0, but it sucked to be 8-3,” Fightin’ Bucks head coach Shad Hanna said near the end of two-a-days in August.

The team most different from last year’s version is Kermit. The Yellow Jackets lost much from 2008, and their defense isn’t as sharp.

Kermit head coach Gary Grubbs said last week’s 56-36 loss to Sonora, in which the Yellow Jackets yielded 440 rushing yards, didn’t reflect negative patterns in the defense. It was one bad game, with correctable mistakes.

“It’s called being aggressive,” Grubbs said. “We weren’t very aggressive Friday.”

They could use aggressiveness, but they need a win by more than two touchdowns just to stay alive in the playoff mix.

Because of the district’s common margin of victory (or loss) tiebreaker system, Kermit must win today by 15 points to hang in there.

The Yellow Jackets aren’t shying away from the facts.

“They know what’s at stake,” Grubbs said. “It’s pretty simple: we gotta win. We don’t win, we don’t have a chance.”

To give itself the best opportunity, a more effective Kermit passing attack — the team averages 109.4 yards per game — would be ideal.

Because the Yellow Jackets can sure run the ball.

Led by Gabriel Chavez’s 784 yards and 16 touchdowns, the Yellow Jackets average 284.3 rushing yards per game.

Kermit’s offensive strengths and weaknesses are reverse from Alpine’s.

Fightin’ Bucks quarterback Dominic Scott has put up eye-popping numbers — 2,799 yards, 35 touchdowns, four interceptions — and he has many capable receivers to choose from, starting with Taylor O’Bryant, with 52 catches, 832 yards and seven scores.

Meanwhile, Alpine averages just 107.3 rushing yards per game, Scott’s scrambles providing the biggest chunk.

Though the Fightin’ Bucks defense has allowed 324.3 yards per game, they have the firepower to hang in any shootout, if necessary. Also, Alpine bottled up Sonora two weeks ago in a 49-6 win.

Hanna is reminding his team not to panic if things don’t work like they have all year.

“Last year, I think we came out a little scared, a little worried the worst could happen and they stopped playing their game,” Hanna said.

But it feels different this time around, said Alpine outside linebacker Daniel Flud, second on the team with 72 tackles.

“I think we’re a closer team than last year,” Flud said. “We don’t have any hot heads.”

And as much as the Fightin’ Bucks have looked forward to this game, their intensity might be matched by Kermit, a team playing to survive.

“If we beat them, they’re out of the playoffs,” Scott said. “They need to beat us to sort of have a shot. They’ll be up for the game, too.”

>> KERMIT YELLOW JACKETS AT ALPINE FIGHTIN' BUCKS

Time, Date, Place: 7:30 tonight, Jackson Field.

Districts: This is a District 4-2A game.

2009 Records: Kermit 5-3 overall, 1-2 district; Alpine 8-0, 3-0.

Last Week: Sonora 56, Kermit 36; Alpine 43, Reagan County 12.

Last Season: Kermit 34, Alpine 28.

Radio: KPTX 98.3-FM (Kermit); KVLF 1240-AM (Alpine).

Web: www.98xfm.com; www.bigbendradio.com.

Notes: Six turnovers and a 354-yard rushing effort by Sonora’s Ethan Morriss hurt Kermit last week. … Yellow Jackets running back Gabriel Chavez has been consistent all season. He tallied 129 rushing yards and three touchdowns last week. … Kermit head coach Gary Grubbs said his team has no significant injuries. … Taylor Moore led Alpine last week with 14 tackles, including three for loss. … Fightin’ Bucks receiver Alfredo Armendariz, the team’s third-leading receiver with 446 yards, did not play last week because of a hamstring injury and he probably won’t play today, head coach Shad Hanna said.