Greenland, Charleston on collision course to meet as 3A’s best
Posted on Thursday, October 9, 2008
MANSFIELD - Whether Tracy Sutton likes it or not, the fact that Greenland may be on the radar as a sleeper pick for the Class 3 A state title will still surround his team this week.
Greenland (5-0, 2- 1-3 A ) dismantled Mansfield (3-2, 0-2 ) Friday, 34-6, and did so with its atypical attack - give the ball to Jose Ventura and throw downfield when the defense relaxes. The win kept the Pirates undefeated, and with a trip to No. 1 Charleston looming, Greenland has plenty of respect still left to earn.
A relative unknown heading into the season, the Pirates are starting to turn some heads in their first season from a shift down from 4 A to 3 A. The Pirates have outscored their opponents on average by 27 points, and scored an average of 38 points in each win. The Pirates even knocked off West Fork, a challenger in the 4-4 A, 47-26 in the first game of the season.
The latest Pirates victim, Mansfield, which lost 34-14 to Charleston on Sept. 26, was more than impressed in its defeat at the hands of the Pirates.
"They're just as good as Charleston," Mansfield coach Jason Gill said, simply.
A home game Friday with Mountainburg will come before the Pirates get their shot at knocking off what many believe is the state's elite 3 A team. Until then, it doesn't seem anyone is able to stop Greenland, Gill said.
Sutton isn't so sure.
"We dropped down but this is a tough conference," the Greenland coach said. "If you lose any Friday night, you're in trouble."
Greenland's 34-point output and five touchdowns Friday were the lowest of the season for an offense that no one has been able to stop. The Pirates punted twice against the Tigers, including one in the fourth quarter with most of Greenland's backups in the game.
Ventura again rushed for more than 100 yards, this time piling up 121 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, and quarterback Craig Thornton was consistent in the backfield.
"The good thing was, truthfully, we threw the ball and it kind of opened it up for (Ventura )," Sutton said. "He ran great but when we can throw the ball around and mix it up, they can't just key on him. And that helps tremendously.... I'm proud of all of them."
The dual threat quarterback completed 6-of-9 passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns, and his shortest pass was a 10-yard touchdown to Herb Riggles. But the Pirates didn't need Thornton's services that much. He completed three of his six completions on a 2-minute touchdown drill to end the first half, and spent the rest of the time handing off to Ventura or running the ball himself for first downs.
The senior has shown no timidness on the field after missing half of last season due to a knee injury.
"He threw the ball good," Sutton said. "Going into it I was really worried, but so far this year he's been great. Sometimes he thinks too much instead of just playing. Besides that, he's done a great job. "And so have the Pirates, who are starting to pop up on the 3 A radar screen.
"We talk to the players all the time about not reading how good you are in the paper," Sutton said. "Every Friday night we walk off the field and we look up at the scoreboard. Win or lose, that tells you how good you are. Right now we're 5-0 and we're really getting into the meat of our schedule. If we ever look ahead or read what the papers, Internet or magazine says, we're in trouble."
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