Grid Picks

Different attitudes- “Team is like a family in Eagle land”-Dumont


 

 

The Pleasanton Eagle football team is unbeaten, winning all of their first five games this season. If they win their sixth in a row in Crystal City this Friday evening, that may be a record at Pleasanton High School, to begin a season with six wins in a row. There is excitement in the community.

I noticed that when the four captains from Pleasanton meet at midfield with their opponents’ captains, the rest of the Eagle team goes out on the field about half the way to midfield.

I asked coach Tab Dumont about this and he responded, “They all go out as part of a team family that the captains represent,” continuing, “We have a reason for selecting the team captains each week the way we do. To begin the season, we know who our team leaders are. There’s no sense in putting the team to a vote at that time. After the first regular season game and that week’s practices, the players, then, picked team captains for that week. That continues each week. We give everybody ownership in this team this year. We felt like we wanted them to earn the right to be one of these four to go out to the center of the field. The team is everybody’s ownership in what they have and what they do.”

“When fans see the players come out of the inflatable Eagle tunnel, what they are witnessing is a group of young men that are becoming a very tight, knit family. When you see them do things as a team and they listen to the leader’s ideas, it’s a reflection of what we put on the football field. The way they come out of the tunnel and form a group as a team before running forward was their idea – they came up with it. It’s important that they are getting along as a team and a family. When you work with that attitude, you have a chance to accomplish great things.”

Dumont continued, “We made the kids accountable this year. We’ve done some things differently. We have great parent support and we’re playing as a team. There’s nobody pointing his finger at the offense, to the defense or to the kicking game. Everybody has an ownership in what we’re doing and I think that’s the reason we’re seeing the positive results. I want the kids to feel confident and I think they’re feeling that way right now. You have to respect your opponent but at the same time you have to understand, we have to have the confidence that we can go out there and get the job done. That’s how it used to be in Pleasanton. I see a lot of things this year that used to be happening around here, years ago. Team support, their family’s support and community support are reflected in what you’re seeing on Friday night.”

Notes: Pleasanton quarterback Luke Walters continues to perform with amazing perfection. In The San Antonio Express-News Sports, Walters is listed as the third leading passer in the area in yardage, with 1,391 yards. One of the games used in the stats was the Lanier game that was called shortly after the beginning of the third quarter due to lightning conditions. Walters leads all top quarterbacks in TD passes with 19 and has not been intercepted this season. All other quarterbacks in the twenty listed have been intercepted at least once. Boerne Champion’s phenomenal quarterback, Kyle Poeske, has been intercepted eight times and has 13 TD passes, as he leads the pack of QBs in passing with 1,542 yards. Pleasanton has moved up to seventh place, in sub 5A, in San Antonio area rankings.

In grid picks last week, there were 15 correct picks out of 22 games to advance season pickin’ figures to 73 right out of 100 games. In an exact pick, Highlands was given 44 over Burbank and won, 53-9. In close picks, Somerset was given 7 over Kingsville, and won 42-34, and sub-5A leader, Brennan, was given 14 over Edison, and won, 35-17.

Here are picks for this week.

Boerne Champion by 24 over
Lehman
Brennan by 37 over Brackenridge
Jefferson by 21 over Burbank
Lanier by 1 over Highlands
Harlandale by 14 over Floresville
Medina Valley by 21 over Kennedy
McCollum by 20 over Memorial
Southside by 6 over Uvalde
Gonzales by 20 over Sam Houston Taylor by 1 over La Vernia
Pleasanton by 47 over Crystal
City
Antonian by 48 over Poteet
Somerset by 14 over Hondo
Schulenburg by 28 over Randolph George West by 56 over Brooks
Academy
Luling by 7 over Goliad
Marion by 47 over Cole
Karnes City by 27 over Bloomington Poth by 34 over Cotulla
Shiner by 20 over Weimar


The Pleasanton Eagles have stormed out to a 5-0 record this season.

The Pleasanton Eagles have stormed out to a 5-0 record this season.

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