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"Like Billy like Bobby"

Deja Vu 1991: the 2009 Bucs take down #1 in the nation Bellaire Cardinals

In 1991, Billy Poland was faced with the same type of hype that surrounds opponents that take on the three-ring circus that is known as the Bellaire Cardinals baseball program. Bellaire was also ranked #1 in the nation then and the Bucs won that series (see story below). Fast forward 18 years to 2009...#8 State-ranked Brazoswood. The outspoken Rocky Manuel. This time it's calm, cool Bobby Williams in place of Buc Baseball legend Bill Poland.

Bobby and the Brazoswood Baseball program had last been this far in the playoffs in 2003 when they went down to the wire against the Elkins Knights in the Astrodome. Brad Lincoln was among the heroes that year. That was the Region Semifinals.

Brazoswood Class of 2009, again the underdog, has just defeated the #1 team in the NATION!! Add this to the biggest series wins in school history, right up there with the 1984, 1991, and 1992 Teams and all the greatest games.Like 1991, B'wood-Bellaire played a home and home series. Like 1991 big names were involved.

Then it was: "Cheito" aka Jose Cruz Jr., Jeff Da Vanon, MacGregor Byers, Tim Peters...this time it was Bellaire baseball scion- Trace Knoblauch, Taylor Duffy, and Toller Boardman. For the Bucs then it was David Minor, Clint Koppe, Chad Stevens, Tom Good, and Chad Blessing among others. This time it was Tyler Green, Anthony McIntyre, Colton Lindloff, Jake Gonzales, Derek Hamilton and Ben Coram among others.

In 2009 it went down like this: Game one at Wilson Field- take away one error and the game is 5-5 possibly heading to extra innings and a Buc victory. Game two- Tyler Green too much for Cards as Bucs win at Knoblauch Field 6-4. Do or die Game three, again on the road and the Bucs just unloaded and showed what "blue collar" 24-5A Baseball is all about to the unofficial baseball magnet school from HISD and a 13-5 blowout of the apparently seriously overrated #1 team in America.

All season long the spotlight has been given to Bellaire, Houston Memorial, Alvin, Cy-Fair, Cy-Woods and Katy. These teams have all since been eliminated and the so-called "experts" were dead wrong. Jack of all trades and master of none.This webmaster has been watching this program for about 25 years starting as a kid watching the 1984 State Champion run...light years before the internet.

I don't claim to know Houston 5A baseball history like some think they do, (NO ONE MAN is big enough or sophisticated enough to be good at this) but I do know one team, having written for the Brazoswood Sabre as the school's sports editor, having written for the 1991 Region III Finalist Bucs, having watched the 1992 State Final, and having watched many of the big games over the years, actively covering ONLY the Bucs since right after the 2003 season up until 2007.While lots of great things have been happening to the program in that span including: Region III Semi-Final finish in '03, all the B'wood alumni who went to play baseball at the next level, the 2004 playoff run, the '05 year with victory at the Westbrook Tournament and Matt Vern, Dustin Damian, and Ryan Murphy among others, the '06 playoff run and victory over Kingwood, Brad Lincoln winning the Brooks Wallace Award and being named National Player of the Year, the '07 rebuilding year, the surprising playoff run in 2008, it is always sweet beating the #1 team in the United States of America.

On the message boards Bellaire fans were slamming us calling us: "Backwoods", "Possum grillers", and suggested we should "Tractor Pool" to Butler Field instead of car pool. Look who's laughing now. Bellaire fans were wearing red shirts with white letters that read: BELLAI(RED) and INSPI(RED).Maybe we should have given them blue shirts that read: BUC(KED) and BUTT(KICKED)....or the best, ROCKY(KO'D)!Mr. Mitch Mardis said it right today..."WHO ARE WE? BRAZOSWOOD! WHO ARE WE? BRAZOSWOOD!" "WE ARE" "BRAZOSWOOD" He had it right.

Baseball in Lake Jackson, Clute and Richwood is like mom, apple pie, and sweet potato pie. We've been doing this a long time...even when our people went to Brazosport High in Freeport before B'wood opened.The 1991 Bucs beat Bellaire and barely lost in the Region III Final to Clear Creek 1-0. The 2009 Bucs journey continues and hopefully it will end up as another State Championship on the Wilson Field Wall.

Go Bucs!

Courtesy Chris Cortez

District 24-5A to feature reloaded, new talent in 2009

Alas, it is 2009, and the revamped 24-5A is looking like a battle as usual! Pearland rejoins the Pasadena schools, Clear Springs and Dickinson join 24-5A, Alvin looms large, and Clear Creek will be a challenge as usual. This site stays out of predictions but we will put our 10 cents in. 

Brazoswood- May have been unknown to many around Houston, but those who follow the Bucs knew better. Regarding the Alvin series, historically, Brazoswood has dominated the series....up until the last couple of years. Bucs hope to return things back to normal.  The Bucs return a senior-laden team and returners include: Ben Coram,  Jake Gonzalez, Colton Lindloff, Tyler Green, Derek Hamilton, Tanner Ritchey, Cody Williams, Will Bedell, Jason Cuellar, Troy Deska, Andrew Garner, and Anthony McIntyre. Graduated are Joey Bacica, Sammy Knox, Justin Hamilton, Harrison Faickney, and Adrian Hogan.  

Alvin-  is looking to replace a slew of top-shelf talent it lost to graduation. The upstart Jackets had their best year since 1993, when they made it to state. They will try to build momentum off of last year when they lost to Bellaire in Region Semis. They will be looking to replace: Nathan Eovaldi, Travis jenkins, Travis Snider, Kevin Martin, and Mike Guerra.

Clear Creek- Jim Mallory's maroon cats are reloading after the League City split with Clear Springs....and always play the Bucs tough and vice-versa. CC shouldn't suffer too much from the addition of Clear Springs. Ryan Gunhouse, Shawn Blackwell add impact to Creek this year.

Clear Springs- Begins varsity play and will build off the Creek talent pool. Chris Floyd and David Brewton (Springs coaches) are former Clear Creek assistant coaches.

Clear Lake- Falcons are in a rebuilding mode having lost several impact players to graduation. 

Clear Brook- will try to contend this year with a young team. 9-14 Last year.

Dickinson- joins 24-5A for the first time.

Galveston Ball- Looking to improve after school took hit from Hurricane Ike. Still a young team. 8-18 Last year.   
        

                        New Changes in store for 24-5A Baseball

Many changes are on the horizon, and soon, District 24-AAAAA as we know it today will never be the same. 

Alvin ISD already has built Manvel High School, and the Mavs will eventually make it into Class 5A one day.

Clear Creek ISD is building three new high schools. One is already about to open- Clear Springs. Clear Springs (the Chargers) is located on the Western side of I-45 in League City off of Palomino Lane and will open Fall 2007 and get this- our friends at CCISD love us so much, that they adopted the B'wood colors: blue and silver, for their new high school!! LOL. Whatever happens, it will be interesting to see what new rivalries will develop and it will be sad to see old rivalries fade as new districts are formed.   

    These are my future scenarios for a future realignment:
    
District X:
(A Galveston County 5A District:)
Clear Creek Wildcats
Clear Lake Falcons
Clear Brook Wolverines
Clear Springs Chargers (West side of League City)
CCISD HS #5 (Seabrook/Kemah opens 2010)
Galveston Ball

District Y:
(A Brazoria County 5A District:)
Brazoswood
Alvin Yellowjackets   
Manvel Mavericks- will eventually hit 5A as the Hwy 288 South suburbs grow.
Pearland Oilers
Pearland Glenda Dawson Eagles
Pearland HS #3 (to be at the current PHS 9th grade center location on Bailey Road in Pearland)

(Angleton could rejoin if they ever come back to 5A)

A note about Pearland- The explosive growth of Pearland has forced the building of two new high schools. The first- Glenda Dawson High School is already in the works and is being built on Cullen Boulevard (West Pearland). A second new high school yet to be named, will occupy the current Pearland Junior High School campuses. The plan is to combine the two junior highs into one high school. Although currently in the Pasadena district, they are in and out of 24-5A. 
    
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