Photo by Shiela K. Haynes
Ricky Castaneda (9) tracks down a
Plano Clark ball carrier.

By Shiela K. Haynes
Contributing Writer

The Raiders’ Blue team has excelled beyond its wildest expectations in 2009.
Eight games into the season, the first-year program has only one blemish, an Oct. 9 loss at North Forney, on an otherwise flawless 7-1 record.
Their season concludes Oct. 29 against Plano Shepton. The game will be at Pirate Stadium.

Head coach Joe Lepsis said, “Going into this year, we had no idea what to expect. They have been a very coachable group. They bought into working hard, doing your job and playing as a team.”

The squad faced a challenging JV schedule that included the Plano ISD high schools of Vines, Shepton, Clark, Jasper and Williams, as well as newl opened schools like Frisco Heritage, Northwest Byron Nelson, Keller Timber Creek and North Forney.

“You don’t know week in, week out what you’re going to play against. No matter what, when you win football games, it’s an accomplishment,” said Lepsis.

Lepsis said the young squad has made some mistakes and missed some assignments, but they have limited their turnovers.
Freshman quarterback Jesse Brubaker has yet to throw his first interception.

“We are making mistakes like anybody would at this age level, but we’re protecting the football. That’s something we focus on every week is not killing ourselves and executing our plan,” Lepsis said.

Wylie East has run three squads this fall, all classified as sub-varsity, with a mixture of freshmen and sophomores on all three. A full-blown varsity program takes off in 2010 with separate JV and freshman squads. Plans include a spring training season.

Offense
The balanced attack has averaged 32 points per game while the stingy defense has allowed opponents an average 17 points per game. That makes for a winning combination almost every time.
The Raiders’ Blue, made up of predominantly sophomores, is the foundation upon which next season’s varsity will be built.

Offensive coordinator Casey Whittle said, “We have treated them just like a varsity and had them go through the summer program. We treated this year with film, weights and practice time just like we would a varsity team. The preparation and dedication has helped them mature.”

The offensive line is made up entirely of sophomores.
Moving down line from left to right are Anthony LeNoir, Dominick Stives-Mitchell, Kaleb Huggins, Alex Barbosa and Kiefer Zimmerman. That line opens lanes for the Blue’s explosive firepower.
Brubaker has exceptional targets in outside receivers Marcell Ateman and Quan Jones, both freshmen and both 6-foot-4.

Whittle said, “The quarterback can throw the ball anywhere, and their reach helps us. We normally see smaller corners, and we can throw the ball up and they can go get it.”

On the inside, receivers Thomas Allen and Melvin Anderson are taking care of business.
The team started the season with another dynamic duo at tailback: Jabari Anderson and Brandon Young.

“Brandon is more of a get-the-ball, run-full-speed type of player. Jabari is a patient runner. He is powerful, strong and fast,” said Whittle.
Young has been out with an injury, and D’Allen Goode has done a good job of filling the role.

Defense
Defensive coordinator Brad Phelps said, “We have a group of kids that have bought into the philosophy and idea of being physical and fitting together like the pieces in a puzzle.”

The front three have size for young athletes. Kyle Fay, Brad Oliver and Ricky Castaneda average 210 pounds. Austin Morris also gets time up front.
As a whole, Phelps said, they have the explosiveness coaches want.

The inside linebackers are Tyler Morris, Angelo Hadnot and Cameron Pittman. On the outside are Michael Lyke and Tracy Norman.

Phelps said, “The reads with the outside and inside linebackers can be tough. We put a lot of pressure on those guys, and they have made tremendous strides.”

They have a three-man rotation in each of the secondary positions. The cornerbacks are Shon Johnson, D.J. Downs and Josh Dorsey, and the safeties are Fernando Morales, Chase Eckles and Jacob Hosking.

Overall, Phelps said, “Physically, we’re not where we want to be. We’ve got to get faster and stronger in the offseason, but in terms of how they relate to each other, having each other’s back and being a family, it’s a good group of kids.”