Mirror Sports 12-30-09

EULESS — By his reaction, thequestion had never been presentedto Midlothian hockey coach RyanPfieffer. But after a moment ofthinking, the answer was simple— the first half of the 2009-10season is the best in the program’shistory.

With an 11-1-1 record athalfway point in the year, the teamis in the lead in the West division-al standings, a point ahead ofKeller.

In comparing the 13 games tothat of the Dallas Cowboys,Pfieffer thinks his team won thegames it was supposed to, lost theone it was supposed to and had a50-50 shot at the tie.

What does all that equal? Oneword — control.

“All in all, to control your owndestiny is the goal. This win todayputs us one-point above Keller inthe divisional race so we are in aposition after 13 games where wecontrol our own destiny and that’sall you can ask for,” Pfieffer said.“At the end of the day if you play13 games and control your owndestiny and five other teams belowyou can’t say that, then you can’task for anything more.”

Midlothian does just that. With a five-game win streak to

end the first half of the season,Midlothian is one of only twoteams in the Varsity Silver divisionstandings to finish without a lossin its last five games.

That momentum has beenshowcased in its improveddefense. Through the first ninegames, the team only had threegames with one goal or less givenup. In the last four games, the teamhas given up exactly one goal pergame.

The improved defense hastranslated into improved offenseas Midlothian has controlled thetempo of the game and kept theopposing teams backed up neartheir own net. On average,Midlothian is doubling up theshots on goal in each of the lastfour games, making it tough foropposing teams to get any offen-sive attack going.

On any given night, an offen-sive threat can emerge out of thepack for the team. Matt Bassettwas the hottest shooter at thebeginning of the season, followed

by the return of Tyler Hervey frominjury. Joseph Dancy and BrentJones have come on as of latewhile players like Tyler Colburnand Matt Bramhall have madeoffensive contributions in the lastfew games.

Team captain Micah Koutroscredits the renewed vigor to a teamcamraderie, a factor that might nothave been as deep in years past.

“It’s probably that we’re start-ing to gel a little bit more. We’rejust getting to know each other,”Koutros said. “We’re more confi-dent talking about how we knowwe can beat these teams, we’veplayed them over the years andknow their weaknesses and stufflike that.”

For now, Midlothian is justplanning to enjoy its wins so far.With a 15-day layover betweenleague games, the squad will havetime to rest and get ready for thesecond half of season. The teamresumes play against Marcus onJan. 3.

And no one on the squad hasany plans of the second half beingany different than the first.

“It feels pretty good. We’re feel-ing pretty good going into playoffsand making sure all the otherteams know we’re a confidentforce this year,” Dancy said.

Contact Alex [email protected] or at469-517-1456.

Sports irrorWednesday, December 30, 2009

Photo by Alex Riley/The Mirror

Team captain Micah Koutros credits experience and a teamunity as the reasons for Midlothian’s success in the first half.The team leads the West division standings by a point.

Startingoff strongMidlothian hockey enjoying beststart to season in team history

By ALEX RILEY

Mirror sports writer

Second straighthomecoming


Midlothian’s Matt Bassetthas been one of the offen-sive forces for the team in an11-1-1 start this year.


Houston offensive lineman Jordan Shoemaker (right) goes over a list of items with his team-mates at a gift suite for the Armed Forces Bowl. Shoemaker, a former Midlothian standout,will face Air Force in Fort Worth on Thursday.

Former Panther standout gets another chance toclose out football season near home family, friends

FORT WORTH — The momentwasn’t lost on Jordan Shoemakerthe first time around. Odds are, itwon’t be lost again either.

For the second straight season,the former Midlothian offensivelineman will join his Houstonteammates just minutes awayfrom his home as one of the teamstaking part in the Armed ForcesBowl in Fort Worth. Ironically, it’sthe same bowl the Cougars playedin last season. Against the sameopponent.

But for Shoemaker, the deja vudoesn’t make it any less special.

“It’s awesome. It’s always goodto come back close where every-body can watch,” Shoemaker said.“To get the opportunity to go to abowl game, it doesn’t matterwhere it is, is just a special deal.”

Last season, the 34-28 win overAir Force served as the exclama-tion point to a coming out seasonfor Shoemaker. His hard work inpractice had paid off through theseason as the then-sophomoreplayed in all 13 games while earn-ing a starting spot for the final sixgames of the season, including theArmed Forces Bowl.

A broken foot and subsequentsurgery during the offseason lefthis status for the 2009 season a bitup in the air but the juniorrebounded to secure his spot onthe offensive front before the firstsnap of the season.

He held that spot until an ankleinjury against Mississippi Stateput him out for a few weeks. Aftersome much needed rest for fourgames, Shoemaker returned to thefield and the starting lineup asHouston (10-3) advanced to theConference-USA championshipgame where it fell just shortagainst East Carolina.

On the season he has nine startsat the left guard spot. While get-ting back to the field was his maingoal, Shoemaker recognizes thepositives of his absence and whatthat means for the team.

With an offense that averages43.9 points per game (second

nationally) the assumption wouldbe a team loaded with senior play-ers. Instead, the Cougars are ladenwith younger talent, including 12true freshmen, while Shoemakerand classmate Case Keenum makeup a portion of the most dynamicpassing offense in the country.Keenum’s 5,449 passing yardsthis season are nearly 2,000 morethan the next quarterback inAmerica as Houston averages 450yards passing per game.Shoemaker, as part of that stead-fast front, blocks for Keenum’sblind side.

However, when he was out a

few weeks ago, the junior wasglad to see teammates step in andfill his void while also continuingto win. That is something he hopeswill translate over into next sea-son.

“We’re losing a few key playersbut we’re getting a lot of peopleback,” Shoemaker said. “It waskind of good that I did get injuredbecause people stepped up and wekept winning. That’s all I can askfor.”

On the opposite side of the field

By ALEX RILEY

Mirror sports writer

Photo courtesy University of Houston media relations

Jordan Shoemaker (73) has blocked the blind side for All-American quarterback Case Keenum (7) this season.Houston leads the country in passing offense.

See BOWL, Page 4C

Armed Forces BowlWho: Houston vs. Air Force

Where: Amon G. CarterStadium in Fort Worth (TCU)

When: Thursday, Dec. 31 at11:30 a.m. on ESPN

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Sports2C Midlothian Mirror, Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Mid-season evaluation: Midlothian boys basketballTough competition, scary third periods and a pair of tournament

trophies highlight the first half of the season for the Midlothianboys basketball team.

As the Panthers take a few days off for the holiday break, Mirrorsports writer Alex Riley takes a look at the ups and downs of thefirst half and analyzes what is to come for the team in the upcom-ing district schedule.


Tournament play has been kind to theMidlothian boys basketball team as it has a4-2 record in two tournaments this season.In the Scot Classic at Highland Park (above)the Panthers rallied from an opening roundloss to win the consolation bracket. Twoweeks later, the team advanced to the cham-pionship game of the Joshua Tournamentbefore falling in the finale.

Tournament successDespite a 6-7 overall record, the boys team has

found plenty of positives in the two tournaments ithas played in.

In the Scots Classic at Highland Park, Midlothianrallied from a first game loss against Lake Highlandsto beat Trinity Christian Addison and Ennis en routeto winning the consolation bracket. A few weekslater, the team opened the Joshua tournament withwins over Saginaw and Dallas Molina before fallingin a tightly contest game to Abilene Wylie.

What does all this mean? It’s a good sign for theprogram as the Panthers have a 4-2 record in the twotournaments they’ve taken part in. This shows theteam can respond to adverse situations away fromhome, meaning playing on the road in district and inthe playoffs will be situations they are ready for.

The tournaments have also been good opportuni-ties for individuals to have standout efforts. At theHighland Park event, Cameron Lowman earned all-tournament team honors while at Joshua it wasEddie Johnson who claimed the distinction. Withdifferent players stepping up in do or die situations,it’s a good sign of maturity and balance from theteam.

First half story lines

Pressing the issueCoach Glenn Hartson has not been afraid to play press

defense with his team and the Panthers have respondedaccordingly. By forcing other teams into halfcourt traps,Midlothian has forced turnovers and held seven of its oppo-nents to 50 points or less.

While the team isn’t very lengthy, the guard play is quick asguys like Trent Morgan, Zach Hofstad and Lowman bringquick hands to floor that will force the issue. When DerrickAgbaroji is in, the press defense only gets better because of hislength and speed to watch the pass and force the oppositioninto a turnover. That defense will be crucial in district play asthe 16-4A group has speed to burn. Slowing down the oppo-nent might give Midlothian a better chance of winning thantrying to battle in a shootout.


The defensive abilities of guys like Zach Hofstadhave been key to Midlothian’s success so far thisseason. With his quick hands and long reach,Hofstad is often asked to defend one of the primaryscoring threats for the other team as well as con-tribute on the offensive end.

Surprise of the first halfA lot of people knew the Panthers would

have good guard play, but the spotlight hasbeen on one guard in particular. JuniorBlaine Blackburn’s role has risen rapidlythanks to the absence of Derrick Agbaroji,making his role as a scorer all the moreimportant. While he isn’t pouring in the 16points per game average that Agbaroji was,Blackburn has quietly made shots when thePanthers needed it.

His scoring presence, along with soliddefense, have helped the team hold its ownin Agbaroji’s absence and should make hima viable aspect off the bench now that theline-up has returned to normal.


Blaine Blackburn’s scoring has beena huge boost to Midlothian whileDerrick Agbaroji is out. His ability tohit from long-range has been clutchso far this season.

Developing the depthAlong with Blackburn, the Panthers have

gotten good play out of guys like BrandonMundie, Cody Meyers and Trevor Pinsonwho have all played well but will be askedto continue stepping up.

Mundie has been able to score in bunch-es when he’s on while Meyers is a solidshooter from the field and free throw line.

Pinson could be the most important ofthem all as the all-district offensive line-man could see his role in the post start toget bigger in an effort to help EddieJohnson out.


Getting guys like Trevor Pinson (left)and Brandon Mundie (right) ready toplay will be key to the Panthers’ suc-cess in the second half as thestarters will need reliable benchplayers to fill in during their rest.

First half MVP(s)The easy answer is Johnson (above) because of the

physical presence he brings down low. At 6-foot-4, thebig man isn’t afraid to battle double teams for a rebound,which is a task he has been asked to do a lot as of late.

Johnson gets a share of this honor but the consistentplay of guard Trent Morgan (below) has been somethingthe Panthers have desperately needed and he has beenhappy to provide. While he doesn’t pour on the points,Morgan sets the tone for the team’s offense and defensewith his hard nosed attitude.

If these two players can continue to play at this levelin district play, the Panthers should be in good shape.

Second half outlookCoach’s take on the second half

With some teams (including Midlothian) already a gameinto district play before the holiday break, coach GlennHartson sees the 16-4A race as more of a marathon than sprintas many teams could contend for the title.

His hope is to catch a few breaks along the way so thePanthers are one of those teams.

“District’s going to be tough, we knew that going in, beforethe season started. We knew this district was going to betough,” Hartson said. “It will be interesting. I think every-body’s got a shot.”

What the team needs to work onWhile getting Agbaroji back for the second half will be a

huge boost, Midlothian will need to find points without him ifthat doesn’t happen.

Johnson’s post-play has been outstanding thus far, but theteam does need to give him some help in the paint as the dou-ble teams will only get tougher as teams begin to key in onhim.

Those two aspects are connected, according to Hartson,who believes stressing the importance of an inside-outsidegame to his team.

“We’ve got to be able to score. When we’re not hitting ourshots from outside, that’s when we’ve got to penetrate and dishto Eddie or penterate and hit the mid-range jumpers,” Hartsonsaid.

Along with that, Hartson is emphasizing the need to pushthe tempo and make sure things are set as the team runs theoffense.

“We can’t be a lot of people off the dribble and we’re goingto have to learn to do a better job of that if we’re going to com-pete in this district,” Hartson said. “It’s an athletic district, soif you can’t beat people off the bounce you’re going to strug-gle.”

By thenumbers:the firsthalf

Recordthrough 13:

6-7 overall, 1-0 district

Pointsscored:

49.8 pointsper game

Pointsallowed:

51.9 pointsper game

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SportsWednesday, December 30, 2009 Midlothian Mirror 3C

Mid-season evaluation: Midlothian girls basketballFrom a sluggish start to thrilling buzzer-beating finishes, the

Midlothian girls’ basketball season has been a roller coaster ofemotions and it’s only halfway over.

As the Lady Panthers take a few days off from the holidays,Mirror sports writer Alex Riley takes a look at the first half of theseason and what the team needs to continue to do as things rollinto district play.

By thenumbers:the firsthalf

Recordthrough 18:

7-11 overall, 1-2 district

Pointsscored:

41.6 pointsper game

Pointsallowed:

45.8 pointsper game

First half story linesSlow start becomes frantic finish

Saying Midlothian has rebounded from a dubiousstart might be an understatement as the Lady Panthersopened the 2009-10 campaign with a 2-8 record. Sincethen, the team has gone 5-3 with the five wins comingby a combined margin of 21 points.

Whatever clicked with the team has worked outextremely well as the Lady Panthers have beenunphased by tightly contested games and have beenable to hit big shots down the stretch. AgainstGranbury, it was a total team defense led by playerslike Lauren Daniell that allowed just 26 points in thewin. In games against Mansfield Legacy and Ennis,the team got a clutch shot from Natalie Ruud for thego-ahead points and then sealed the game with stellardefense as time ran down.

If that is the formula Midlothian has developed, ithas worked so far and with any luck will continue towork.

Photo by Alex Riley/The MIrror

Senior Lauren Daniell has been asked to pro-vide the Lady Panthers with a steady hand onoffense and defense. Her play often mirrorshow the team does on any given night.

Ruud a scoring machineMost teams knew how much Midlothian would

rely on Natalie Ruud at the offensive end. So far,they’ve done very little to stop her. Through the first18 games, Ruud has cleared double figures 15 timesthus far.

Along with rolling up the points, Ruud has alsomade those clutch shots previously mentionedincluding a 3-pointer for the go-ahead points in thatwin at Legacy. She has also been the Lady Panthers’most relied on player down low, battling with muchtaller opposition for rebounds and loose balls. At 5-foot-9, she often times faces off with girls that haveover two inches of height on her, making for a tallorder. So far, Ruud hasn’t backed down from thechallenge.

Coupled with all that, Ruud has developed a senseof knowing where her teammates are and is becom-ing a key assist giving threat for the team.


Natalie Ruud has hit double figures in all butone game so far this season and has hit twobuzzer beating shots to help the team win.While her offensive prowess is undeniable,coach Brooke Walthall cites her star play-er’s development as a passer and leader astwo major reasons Midlothian has foundsuccess as of late.

Tournament turning pointUnlike their male counterparts, tournament

play hasn’t been very kind to the Lady Panthers.But it might have been the best thing for them.

After a 1-3 showing in the Flower Mound tour-nament and an overtime loss to Mineral Wells,Midlothian headed to the Cowtown Classic withgames against some of the best talent in theMetroplex.

While a 2-2 record might not sound like a bigdeal, it was at this point when the team’s fortunesbegan to turn. A 62-38 loss to Lewisville on Dec.5 was the last loss the team had as it reeled offfour straight wins before falling to Waco.

That tournament appears to have been the rallypoint for Midlothian, which has played well eversince.


Trisha Dupree was one of four Midlothianplayers to score eight or more points inthe team’s 59-50 win over Fort WorthSouthwest. That victory sparked a stringof success the team used to win five ofsix games late in the first half of the sea-son.

Surprise of the first halfThe starting five have gotten a huge

boost from the bench, in particular playerslike Heather Sides, Hannah Plante andHannah Miller. All three have come off thebench to play major offensive and defen-sive roles, especially during the team’s winstreak.

Sides, who got a handful of starts duringabsences by Nicole Hulshouser, has been asolid defensive player while Plante andMiller hit big shots in the Legacy game toturn the team’s momentum.

None of the three has piled on the pointsbut they’re not being asked to. Their rolesare limited but so far their impact has beenpretty profound.


Having players like Hannah Plante(left) and Heather Sides (right) growin the early part of the season willhelp the Lady Panthers down thestretch with depth.

First half MVPRuud (above) has been “Ms. Everything” but points

and rebounds aside, it has been her senior leadershipthat the team has enjoyed the most. Ruud has developedinto someone well-versed in reading the opposition’sdefense and has helped set up the team’s offense anddefense.

While Lauren Daniell is the unquestioned point play-er for the team, Ruud has been a calming voice, partic-ularly in late game situations where the team needed alast second shot.

Coach’s take on the second halfWhat first-year coach

Brooke Walthall has changedfor the Midlothian program isits outlook and attitude. Thereisn’t a lot of “could” or“might” floating around thelocker room as the LadyPanthers offer more assur-ances of things to come.

That renewed mindset willbe crucial for the team as itheads into district play.Walthall came into the seasonwith high expectations of herteam. So far, they have beenhappy to meet a large portionof those.

“We’ve set some goals as ateam and we’re getting there.Those goals are all still reach-able goals at this point in theseason and I think that that isgreat,” Walthall said. “I thinkthe girls are really learningevery game. I think that we’regetting better, we know whatwe have to do and we’re put-ting ourselves in position toreach those goals.”

The good news for theLady Panthers is they willhave already played two dis-trict games by the holidaybreak. An opening win overEnnis made the team 1-0 in district play while a loss to state-ranked Waxahachie gets the road game with their county-rivalout of the way. Games against other state-ranked teams likeHewitt Midway won’t be easy but the team should be ready forthe challenge.

What the team needs to work onA lot of teams talk about team work and balance. The

Midlothian players all recognize that Ruud is the best playeron the roster and none of them deny it.

The problem is, opposing teams know that too.While Ruud has been able to score, the Lady Panthers are

still searching for another constant scoring threat to balancethat offensive attack. Different players like Samantha Jackson,Trisha Dupree and Daniell have stepped up at different timesbut the team is still searching for one player to provide a sec-ond scorer, rather than who has the hot hand that night.

Against Ennis, that responsibility came down to Jacksonwho went off for a season-high 14 points. With a great jumperfrom long and mid-range distance, Jackson looks like a viablecandidate for the role, but only time will tell.

“Sam was square on her shots and she shot some shots thatweren’t quite in our offense but she was putting them in and Ithought that she really stepped up and we’re going to have tohave more people than just Natalie to step up for us to be suc-cessful,” Walthall said after the Ennis game.

Second half outlook


Sam Jackson’s 14 pointsagainst Ennis proved tobe a big lift for the team.Her scoring will be need-ed to continue in districtcompetition.

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Mirror Sports 12-30-09

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